66. Declan

Chapter 66

Declan

M y feet dangled over the ledge again as I leaned against a stone pillar. Ayden sat beside me, his feet flopping like a child kicking water in a pond. His hand lay atop mine—where it belonged.

We returned to Rea Utu as the last of the wedding festivals ended. Keelan and Jess made a striking couple. I even caught my big brother smiling and waving at the cheering crowds.

Magic was clearly alive in the world.

I knew we should go inside, to see what Atikus was destroying in the kitchen, but something in the night air held me in place. As much as I always said I craved freedom, I was coming to realize that the peace I felt in this place was far more important than the power to roam freely.

Here, I was alive.

Here, I was free.

The brine of the ocean tickled my nose.

“You are thinking. I can see steam curling out of your ears.” Ayden’s smirk was infectious.

I laughed and shook my head. “I do think from time to time.”

“Care to share?”

I smiled, a fond sadness seizing my heart. “I was just thinking of my mother.”

“I wish I could have met her.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he had met her, that she had wrapped him in her arms and kissed his cheek, accepting him with the love only a mother can bestow. There would have been no harm in telling him. The magic of the place would steal that memory, too, when we again headed home.

It seemed somehow cruel, dangling that knowledge before him, knowing how it would frustrate him to not remember someone so special.

“Despite the swiftness of the outside world’s turning, our time here was measured in years. I didn’t just meet the mother I thought long dead; I came to know her. I came to love her.”

“I’m sorry, Dec.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me tight against him.

“When I close my eyes, I can still see her bright eyes and mischievous grin. Keelan would probably say I inherited both of those traits.”

“He would be right.”

I chuckled and stared out into the forest below.

“I was so young, a boy of only three, when I was told my parents were gone. I think I understood, but who truly knows the mind of a child?”

My mother did.

That thought curled my lips again.

“I know it sounds crazy, but she came to mean so much in such a short time.” I blinked away tears. One still managed to escape. “She taught me how to tap into my power. Spirits, she taught me that I had power. Her patience was as limitless as the sea. But she taught me so much more than magic.”

Ayden’s arm fell away, and I rested my head against the pillar.

“I was so lost when I arrived on Rea Utu.” I couldn’t look at him as I spoke my next words. “Life made no sense back then. I’d fled the capital and joined the Rangers, more to escape than to run toward anything. I spent so many nights alone in the woods atop the mountains that I wondered if being around people would ever feel natural or good.”

And then I met Ayden.

That arrogant, irritating noble’s son who refused to be ruffled by my bitterness. How I hated that man and his perfectly coiffed hair and glistening teeth. Who is drawn to men with red hair anyway? What madness possessed me?

I couldn’t imagine life without him.

Without his smile . . . or playful winks . . . or infuriating positivity.

I shifted our hands so mine gripped his, and I held him as a drowning man clings to a raft.

“Mother accepted me. Without question or complaint. That was an act of magic and healing I doubted even she understood. She hadn’t just given permission for me to love another. She showed me how to love myself.”

Staring out at the waning sun casting rays of brilliance across the island, I missed her more than I could express.

Spirits, how I missed her.

“Tell me more about your Rangers,” I said, desperate to change the subject to something—anything—that didn’t make my heart ache.

“My Rangers?” He chuckled. “They named me a Captain, but I am not the Captain.”

“It’s only a matter of time. You lordlings always end up in charge. If it isn’t some ridiculous birthright thing, it’s all those coins you keep hidden beneath your bed.”

He snorted and punched my arm. “I keep my coin buried in the ground, thank you very much.”

I shook my head. “Sound plan. Now, back to the Rangers. You’ve been hard at work. I had to kidnap you and drag you to a faraway island just to get a little alone time.”

“Is that jealousy in your voice? My, my, Mister High Holy of Magic.”

Now it was my turn to punch his arm, but he snatched my fist before it could connect and raised it to his lips. I thought my heart might melt and dribble down the cliff.

Ayden released my hand and sobered. “We are recruiting as quickly as possible. Before we left the mainland, our count had just reached four hundred.”

I whistled. “That many? In, what, eight months? Even with all the damage to the capital?”

He nodded. “We are vetting applicants carefully, ruling out those who have families who need them to help rebuild. Without those guardrails, we would be well over a thousand. Our goal is to ultimately build a force of five thousand green cloaks.”

I blinked. Five thousand Rangers. Melucia had never fielded so large a corps.

“I know.” He chuckled at the surprise in my eyes. “It is . . . overwhelming.”

“Ayden, it’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

The most beautiful crimson flared across his cheeks as his head ducked, though he couldn’t hide the smile that curled his lips.

“How’s Grove’s Pass?”

His smile fled.

“The first Mages arrived a few weeks ago. The guild only has so many to spare. They lost . . . we all lost so much.”

We sat in silence for a long moment, savoring the mountain air and waning sunlight, each lost in memories of days—and people—before the war.

“Dec, we are going to rebuild everything. The corps and headquarters—hell, all of Grove’s Pass—will be stronger and better than before. One of the Mages is planning the whole thing out. You should see his models. They’re marvels in themselves.”

“I can’t wait to see them.”

“But . . .” He hesitated. “We are doing more than simply rebuilding. We want to remember. No, we want everyone to remember.”

“What do you mean?”

“The first thing the Mages built was a monument to those we lost. It is . . . I hardly know how to describe it. It looks like glass, but it’s not. The Mages . . . Dec . . .”

I cocked my head. Ayden was never at a loss for words.

“It’s a sculpture as clear as ice but made of stone. It is a giant flame that towers far above the height of the old headquarters. And . . .” He squeezed his eyes shut, as if picturing the flame in his mind. “It never stops moving. Dec, it looks as if real flames churn within the glassy surface.”

“That sounds . . . beautiful.”

“And terrifying, if I am honest.” He looked back at me. “The name of every Ranger lost flares in gold, a perpetual roll call of those who died. The Mages really outdid themselves.”

“Sounds like it.”

A faint scraping noise caused my head to turn. Ayden tensed.

I squinted and shielded my eyes but couldn’t make out what had caused the sound.

I turned back to enjoy the last rays of the dying day.

Then the scraping came again.

Slowly, I peered out of the side of my eyes, careful not to make any sudden movement.

On the ledge, not ten paces away, skittered a tiny tuft of fur.

A rusty-colored tuft with a fluffy white tail.

Ever so slowly, I turned my head to face the intruder.

Giant eyes blinked.

The shadowed creature shuffled back.

I froze. Ayden’s head turned, but he didn’t speak. He barely breathed.

Curiosity drove the furry critter forward again. It stopped only a few paces away.

Now, within the light from the lantern on the table, I saw my guest clearly.

A baby fox, whose tail was larger and fluffier than its entire body, stared up at me. In my peripheral, I could make out Ayden’s grin widening.

“Shy little fella, aren’t ya? How did you get up here?” I glanced around at the sheerness of the cliff.

The fox cocked its head as if trying to figure out why the silly human was talking to a baby fox.

A childlike joy flooded my chest. I couldn’t explain why, but a sense of hope blossomed within me.

I carefully reached to my other side where Ayden and I had been snacking, found a couple of macadamia nuts, and tossed them toward the fox. I wished I had some of the dried meat I usually carried when traveling but figured the nuts would at least show good faith.

The fox cocked its head to the other side, scooted forward a couple of paces, then back.

I remained as still as possible.

After another few seconds, it repeated the dance until its prize was within reach.

What the fox did next stunned me speechless.

Ignoring the nuts, a paw tickled the back of my hand that was palm down on the ledge’s stone. I chanced a glance just as the fox crawled over my hand and onto my left leg.

It froze.

And stared.

And blinked.

When I didn’t respond, the creature released a yawn that stretched its mouth nearly the span of its tiny head, scratched at my breeches a few times, then curled up in my lap.

I glanced at Ayden.

He stared at the fox and smiled.

I looked back down to find our new friend fast asleep.

I had always had a way with animals, but this was beyond strange. I waited another minute before reaching a finger down to stroke the fox’s head. At my touch, the furball emitted an oddly familiar sounding high-pitched whirr.

My heart flew into my throat, and tears filled my eyes.

I croaked out, “órla?”

The fox’s eyes flew wide.

She nuzzled my outstretched hand, cooing and purring the entire time.

Then she curled back into the safety of my lap and drifted off to sleep.