10. Elianna

Chapter ten

Elianna

I stared at the peaceful face of my mate as he slept soundly next to me. The moonlight peeking through our curtains cast the tiniest bit of light onto his features, and my heart ached as the daunting feeling of what was still to come loomed over me.

My eyes traced down the scar that marked his face, and fury bubbled within me once more as not only that scene replayed in my memory, but now of just yesterday when Kellan once again struck him with wyvern’s blood. Jace was lucky this time since most of the blaze-infused substance caught on his armor, but I felt the moment it touched his flesh—graze or not, Kellan once again harmed my mate.

My body refused to sleep, no matter how desperately I begged for it. My mind constantly raced regarding what our future would hold. I had acted on impulsive rage and put the lives of not only myself and my mate in danger but also our friends. I just couldn’t bear the thought of leading our already wounded and exhausted army out to the battlefield once more. Too many lives had been lost the night prior, but this was war.

Zae was right—it was a shitty idea .

All I could focus on at that moment was that the wicked queen had ordered her troops here to harm what’s mine—my chosen family. She would take her other two children back and lock them in their own personal prisons for the remainder of their lives if she ever had them in her grasp again.

They came here in the middle of the night and tried to lure me out, but that wasn’t what bothered me. The second I rode out of the dungeon’s cavern on Nox’s back, I knew they would hunt me until the end of my days. The only thought that kept me going, kept me fighting , was that my loved ones depended on me and my claim to the throne.

A single tear slipped past my lower lashes. I wished that something as simple as forfeiting my life to the queen would bring the realm peace, but it would only make it worse. Giving up would doom my people, but if I were to not fight for them, the same fate would await. No matter where the journey leads us, death would follow—that was certain.

I pivoted my body to face the window, and my gaze landed on the moon. A memory of my father walking me around the castle gardens as a youngling when I couldn’t sleep played in my mind. The tiniest hint of a smile formed as I thought of him, but for the first time in my life, I despised that I shared his kind heart.

The actions I had partaken in the past few days wouldn’t have made him proud. That day, all those months ago in his chamber, when he gifted me the dagger, he said he was proud to call me his daughter and that I would be a fair and just ruler .

Had he not seen this inside of me then? The constant brewing of immense anger that rumbled beneath my skin, just itching, no, clawing with talons to come out and unleash itself onto those who have turned me into this.

I took pride in knowing that war wounded my heart when I led the queen’s armies. When I was the only commanding officer who deemed it necessary to personally inform and thank the families who had lost their loved ones in battle—battles that I blindly led them to. More so than that, I was proud of feeling empathy for the humans who were once on the opposite side of the lines.

Now, here I was, a throneless queen lying in her once-sworn enemy’s land, leading them to risk their fragile lives and fight against the fae I once swore to protect.

My heart raced in my chest, which caused Jace to stir next to me as if he could feel it in his sleep. I carefully slid out from under the covers and stood up, careful not to wake him further, and silently tiptoed out of the room.

Once in the hall, my eyes darted back and forth between Avery and Finnian’s doors as I sighed.

Their other sibling was killed because of me—would they see me as the monster I felt I was becoming? Or would they see it as being justified? Regardless of the fact that Nox was the one who took Kai’s life, I couldn’t confidently say to them I wouldn’t have killed him if my wyvern hadn’t.

Actually, no. I would’ve. I know I would have.

Whether they would be upset with me for the rest of their lives or not, I had to tell them the truth of it, and I wanted the three of us to be alone .

I moved on silent feet to Avery’s room and opened her door a crack. “Psst. Avery,” I whispered, and she stirred quietly beneath her sheets. “Avery, are you awake?”

Her fiery curls lifted from her pillow, and her eyes met mine. “Lia?” she asked. “Lia, it’s still dark. Is everything okay?”

I felt awful for waking her, but I didn’t know when else we would be able to talk without the ears of the others listening in.

“Can you come downstairs? I need to talk to you and Finn about something important.”

She sat up instantly. “You’re making me nervous…”

My voice was soft when I answered, “I know. I’m sorry.”

I shut the door once more to give her privacy and moved to my brother’s door. I opened Finn’s door a crack to see he was already sitting upright in his bed as he stared down at a sleeping Landon.

I pushed his door open further. “Can’t sleep?” I smirked as I crossed my arms.

“I haven’t been able to for quite some time now. Although, I suppose the past few days are for an entirely different reason,” he answered sadly.

My features softened. “Care to come downstairs? I’ll get a fire going. Avery’s getting dressed now, and I would like to talk to the two of you.”

“Of course, Lia,” he answered as his back straightened.

And with that, I made my way to the staircase.