12. Elianna

Chapter twelve

Elianna

Once everyone aside from Landon was awake, we all sauntered into the living area of the townhouse to plan out our next move.

As everyone took their seats, I couldn’t help but stare at my mate’s arm, where the gash from the arrow had thankfully already begun to heal. I reached out and gently brushed my thumb along it, and he turned his head to stare down at me.

Jace took my chin between his fingers, lifting my gaze to his. “It’s healing, my Lia. I’m okay.” He kissed my forehead.

“We need to find out how much wyvern blood they have in Isla. Luckily, we know they cannot replenish what they have lost, and without Nox in their grasp, it’s highly unlikely they can obtain more,” I announced to the group as my eyes remained on Jace’s.

“We wouldn’t necessarily have a way of knowing that, but it’s safe to assume that they don’t have much left if they used a significant amount in your most recent battle. It is possible they traveled with the remainder of what was left,” Veli said from across the room .

The corners of my lips tipped up at that. “Then they are either out or will be soon enough.” I turned to face them. “We ignited their supply wagons, so anything they were traveling with was likely incinerated.”

Veli blinked, and her face resembled something like satisfaction, which was incredibly rare to see on the sorceress. “Excellent.” Her stare then locked in on my own.

Ignystae? She mouthed the word.

I answered her with a dip of my chin, and she crossed her arms as a knowing grin formed on her face.

“This isn’t over yet, though. Not even close. Even with Kai dead, the queen still remains, and whether she is of the Valderre line or not, she likely will not inform the kingdom of Kai’s death as it would threaten her claim to remain on the throne since she isn’t a Valderre by blood. Though I doubt the people would retaliate after everything they’ve witnessed from the castle in only a few short months.”

My eyes flew over to where Avery and Finn sat, making sure that they didn’t flinch or shudder in response to the casual mention of Kai’s end. To my surprise, they seemed unphased, which meant they were being honest this morning when I told them the truth of it all. Something resembling pride bloomed in my chest.

“We need to move as many as possible beyond the mountains. Things are different now. Adler is still out there, and the queen will be desperate. She may make reckless decisions when she learns of her son’s death,” Jace announced.

I stiffened at the fact that what I had done was extremely reckless when I was trapped in my own desperate rage and need for revenge. He eyed me warily for a moment, as if sensing my thoughts down our tether, but then focused his attention on the group before us.

“Will they all go?” I asked. “Beyond the mountains.”

Jace sighed. “Likely not, and I won't force them. We will make them aware of how the threat has shifted, and they can make their own choices on whether to stay or evacuate. The crown will know that Silcrowe has been rebuilt now, but our other hidden villages should remain safe.”

“How do you move people to the valley?” I asked.

Zaela cleared her throat. “There is a passageway through the base of the Ezranian Mountains directly beyond the courthouse, built into the peak. It’s hidden within the city. We never originally planned to rebuild it to what it is today, but now Ellecaster serves mainly as a gate to our true home.”

“The path is narrow and rocky in most parts and takes about a day to get through on foot before you are out on the other side, but it’s safe. Especially since we’re the only ones with access,” Gage cut in.

My eyes flared. “Is that how Alaia was discovered to begin with?”

Jace let out a chuckle. “It was actually. A few curious boys wandered too far from home one day many decades ago and were missing for almost a week. The people were distraught and unsure if they had been taken by some kind of creature, but they returned speaking of a valley beyond the peaks.”

“What happened then?” I asked .

Zaela gave me a knowing smirk. “No one believed them, of course, until they became entirely too irritating regarding what they had seen. Their persistence finally convinced the commander at the time to listen to what they had to say. He secretly sent soldiers beyond the mountains the very next day to find that the children were speaking the truth.”

I smiled. “Those boys were heroes.”

Zae nodded proudly. “They were. And continued to be for the remainder of their lives. One of them was my father, who, as you know, grew to be the commander of our race before Jace.”

My eyes flared as my head flew in my mate’s direction. “You said your mother was here, on this side of the mountains, when…”

Sadness radiated down the bond. “She saw it as a cage, even though it was meant to keep everyone safe. By the time there was enough built and ready for citizens to uproot everything and move to Alaia, my mother was an adult. She made her choice even when my uncle begged her to go. After she was attacked, they were finally able to convince her to move and raise me there, but by then, the damage was done.”

His pain echoed into my own, and I couldn’t bear seeing him like this for a moment longer. I laced my fingers with his and gave them a squeeze. “We’ll make them pay. For all our loved ones.” My eyes moved to meet Zaela from across the room on the last word, knowing that she had lost her father as well .

Her lips tilted up as she quickly looked away. “My mother will be pleased to have found herself with several new house guests. She’s been itching to fill the vacant rooms. Time hasn’t exactly allowed us to be home since Jace took command.”

“Gods, I miss her cooking,” Gage announced.

“I’m sure she’s been bullying General Vern into many dinners and chats since we’ve visited. She doesn’t do well with an empty nest.”

I remembered that General Vern was the man Jace had told me about when I first arrived in Ellecaster. He handled all affairs and his soldiers beyond the mountain range in their commander’s absence.

Jace laughed. “Leon doesn’t do well with an empty stomach, so I’m sure she never has to beg.”

Zaela smirked. “Perhaps you’re right.”

“I’ll head to the barracks and round everyone up that I can,” Gage announced. “We’ll move the first bunch of them now, and we can either come back for those who remain once injuries are healed, or they can head there if they choose to later. When do you want to leave, Lia?”

“As soon as we are able to. I don’t want even a second wasted. We need to think of a more permanent plan once we bring everyone to safety.”

He gave a curt nod. “Absolutely. I will go and take care of it.” My brows furrowed slightly as I watched him make his way to the door, but he quickly turned around to face Avery as if he had forgotten something mid-step.

Her cheeks blushed as he took a confident step toward her and lifted her tiny hand in his own, pressing his lips to it. “ I hope to finally see you when I’m through speaking with them, Avery. These days have refused to allow me any time with you, and I dislike that very much.”

“Of course,” she whispered with a nervous giggle.

Gage flashed her a grin in response right before he continued his trek to the door and made his way into the street.

“Mother of the gods,” Jace grumbled with a sigh as he stood beside me.

“That’s a battle you’re not going to win, handsome.” I nudged him playfully with my elbow as I winked at Avery.

Her eyes widened with a hint of fear as Zaela leapt up from where she sat. “While he prepares the soldiers, I’ll head into the city and start moving door to door. This shouldn’t be a surprise to them at this point, but if they’re too reluctant to leave, I will let you know,” she announced with an edge to her tone, right before she followed Gage’s footsteps out the door and then slammed it shut behind her.

He turned to me then. “I don’t know why she cares so much…if she has feelings for Gage, she…”

Jace was cut off by a sharp cackle from Veli, who had remained silent in the corner for the last several minutes, earning a curious head tilt from me.

“You men are moronic,” she stated as she pushed herself off the wall and stalked across the space to her bedroom door.

I bit my bottom lip to try to hide my smirk as Jace turned back to me. “Is there something I’m missing? Or is she just always this wonderful? ”

“If you would like honesty, it would be a bit of both,” I teased. I pivoted my body to face Avery and Finnian, who were the only two left in the room, aside from us. “What do you all say the rest of us follow her lead and make our way through the city to help warn everyone?”

They all nodded silently, and we moved toward the door, Nyra trotting alongside us.

Hours after we set out to inform our citizens of the new plan, Jace had found me and taken my hand, guiding me to one of his new surprises he said he had in store. However, when I reached down into the bond, it wasn’t excitement that I sensed, but lingering sorrow and empathy, further intensifying the dread I couldn’t seem to shake in recent days.

He cast a fleeting glance back at me as he led me past the city gates, as the vibrant sunset on the horizon ignited the sky in an inferno that stretched as far as the eye could see.

“Are you going to tell me where we are going?” I asked, mockery and the tiniest hint of sass filling my tone.

“Always so nosey, my Lia,” he cooed, causing me to blush. “I just have something I want to do for you, but it can’t exactly happen within the city.”

That piqued my interest.

Past Ellecaster stretched immense waves of boundless fields and meadows. So, when Jace veered right once we were beyond the gates and proceeded alongside the city's wall, my mind raced regarding where he could’ve been bringing me.

After finally rounding the first bend, my eyes flared as I spotted Nox perched beside the outskirts of the wall, patiently awaiting our arrival. My breath caught as I took notice of what sat at my wyvern’s taloned feet—a wooden box adorned with intricate engravings and silver embellishments.

“Jace,” I whispered as my steps faltered and my hand slipped from his.

He turned to face me, and as his eyes met mine, the corners of his lips tilted upward. My mate gestured behind him to the box that lay atop a bed of freshly picked wildflowers and said, “A proper resting for a once great male.”

I moved past him, my strides slow. When I stood before my wyvern, Nox’s gaze fell from me and down to the box before him that beheld what was left of one of the greatest souls the realm had ever been graced with.

A small, sad chuckle of disbelief left me as tears streamed down my cheeks while I took in the sight of what Jace had made for me—for Lukas. A male he had never had the pleasure of knowing, but he took it upon himself to make sure that Lukas had a chance for his soul to rest with the gods.

I crouched down to the ground, and the tips of my fingers traced over the engravings that read Sir Lukas Salvinae. Beloved male and guardian.

Jace slowly approached me from behind, and I pivoted to face him. The cast of the setting sun forced me to squint, but the light that shone behind him beautifully framed his figure, giving him an otherworldly aura, as if Lukas was casting the light onto him himself. He carefully reached down, silently asking for my hand, and then pulled me to my feet.

He guided me backward leisurely. “Thank you,” I whispered. “This means so much to me.”

His hold on my waist tightened, and he craned his neck to kiss my forehead as he spoke the words onto my skin. “Anything for you.”

My gaze moved from Jace to my wyvern, who continued to wait in silence as he watched us curiously. I cleared my throat and gently gestured to the box. “Send him home, Nox.” I paused, and when I spoke again, the word was barely above a whisper. “ Ignystae .”

Nox’s gaze softened as he let out a chirp that more resembled a whine. His eyes moved from me down to the box before he opened his jaw and sent a small, contained blaze of flame directly at the chest before us. I watched in awe as his fire swallowed what remained of my lifelong guardian, trainer, and dear friend.

“Thank you for saving her,” Jace whispered from beside me. I glanced up and observed him as his focus remained on the box that had already been nearly reduced to ash. “Your sacrifice will never be forgotten,” he finished.

I reached up and cupped his cheek with my hand. “I wish you could have met him. He would have loved you.”

He gave me a soft smile in answer.

I continued to watch him. “Are you ready to finally put an end to all of this? ”

A small smirk tilted his lips as his eyes found mine once more. “Always.”

Our gazes returned to the embers that lingered on the ground, where nothing else remained but charred terrain and where Lukas was finally put to rest.

A triumphant grin slowly spread across my face as I took in the sight—the time was finally upon us, upon me .

I would reclaim the Valderre family name, my rightful throne, and the Kingdom of Velyra if it was the last thing I ever did.

By blade, blood, and flame.