Chapter 10

10

T he black raven blinked at me as it proffered its leg, waiting patiently for me to lift the scroll attached there. The sigh that slipped past my lips carried the ache in my heart because there was only one person who sent me ravens – Endre. I reached for the bird’s leg, gingerly untying the string that held his note in place. The scroll was shorter than the last few had been, and I wondered if Endre was starting to give up because of my continued silence.

Unrolling the parchment, I checked over my shoulder to ensure the others were occupied in the training ring.

Liliana,

Kazimir insisted we attend the new princess’s announcement to the world. Viktor, Kazimir, and myself are departing today and bringing no one else. I hope I will see you in the Day Realm. You are my first thought every morning and the last thought before I go to sleep. I miss the feeling of you beside me at night and your beautiful eyes when you wake in the morning. Nothing is the same without you.

Always yours,

Endre

The scroll snapped shut as I blinked through the hot tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. I did not cry – not for any male. But my heart whispered a different story, one that said no matter what, Endre’s soul would always call for mine. Swallowing down the feelings, I straightened, and the bird cocked its head as if it expected me to pen a reply and attach it before it took off. Like every other time, I smoothed its blue-black feathers and offered it a morsel. It picked the seed from my hand, then flapped its wings and let the wind lift it high into the sky, disappearing into the mountains beyond. I watched it go until my keen Fae eyes could no longer discern the black dot in the distance.

“Who was that from?” Izidora’s bright voice startled me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I found her standing beside me, peering into the distance.

Clearing the thickness from my throat, I murmured, “Endre.”

“And you didn’t write back?” she clarified, lifting a dark brow. The color had returned to her skin, and she was able to walk around with ease, though she was soaked in sweat, and rivulets dripped from the tendrils of hair that had escaped her chestnut braids.

“I never do.” I lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, trying to act as though I didn’t care. But my best friend was an empath, and nothing got by her.

“Mmm,” she responded, her lips twitching as she suppressed a smile. “And why is that?”

“Ugh, Izidora, I can’t get into it,” I said, my throat catching on the words.

She wrapped an arm around my waist, and I rested my head on her shoulder. “You’ve supported me all this time. Let me support you.”

From her touch, the fear of voicing my true emotions aloud melted away, and my tense shoulders dropped in time with the sigh that allowed my feelings to flee. “I wanted him to choose me. The letters he sends tell me how much he misses me, but he’s still there.”

I wanted Endre to show me I was all that mattered to him in the world, and no matter what I did, he would always love me.

A warm feeling ghosted over my skin, and love flowed from my best friend and into me. “It makes sense that you want him to put you first and that you’re angry he isn’t. You deserve someone who worships the ground you walk on.”

“Fucking right I do,” I choked out as Izidora dissolved the barrier around my emotions, allowing me to feel them without fear of them overwhelming me.

“What about Drazen?” she asked, not releasing me.

Goddess, she was fucking perceptive.

“Drazen knows my feelings are complicated. He says that he’ll take what parts of me he can get.” Swiping at my eyes, I lifted my head from her shoulder and faced my friend.

A wide, mischievous grin stretched across her face as she took my hands in hers. “Remember how you said that you thought you needed two males to keep you in line?”

A mirror grin spread across my face as I recalled our conversation from the night of the masquerade ball. “I do.”

“I think you need three,” she laughed, her tone light and teasing, and it was everything I needed to shift out of my self-pity.

“Why stop at three? I could have four,” I joked, linking my arm with hers and strolling in the direction of the training ring where sweaty males of all mixes sparred. “Do you feel up to some hand to hand combat?”

Two full red cocktails rested against the fence, and she bent to grab one before popping off the lid and sipping from it. “If we go slow.”

“Don’t worry, you set the pace and I’ll follow,” I reassured her, not wanting Izidora to push herself too hard, and at the same time knowing she needed – wanted – to test her limits.

We leaped over the fence, and Drazen caught my attention from across the ring. His ocean blue eyes raked across my sweaty form, sending heat between my thighs. The hunger in his gaze was undeniable. As was how good he was in bed.

Zuriel stood beside him, along with Xorrek and Gozzak, two of the Demons who had evidently been captured alongside him and offered their blood willingly to Izidora. The whole situation was a bit odd, but every time I asked Zuriel about it, he dodged my question in his typical mysterious fashion.

Izidora and I squared up, raising our fists to shoulder level in preparation to strike. My friend was a few inches shorter than me, so I had the reach advantage, but she was fast and I knew better than to leave my sides open too long. I struck first, throwing out a quick jab to gauge her reaction. It was slower than it used to be, but she slipped her head to the side, rolling her shoulder to defend it. She returned with a flurry of fast strikes, all landing lightly as we began the dance. I sidestepped, and Izidora tossed a quick kick toward my ribs. I caught her foot, causing her to grin and hop.

“Pull it out!” Ruslan called from somewhere off to the side.

“That’s what she said!” I hollered back, and Izidora laughed before extracting her foot from my grasp.

Her breathing was already labored, so I slowed down and waited for her next move. She feinted like she was going to throw a combination of strikes at my head, and I raised my hands instinctively, falling for her trap. Without hesitation, she dove for my middle, locking her hands around my waist and sticking a foot behind mine, sending us tumbling toward the dirt. I tucked my chin and slapped the ground to ease my fall, lifting my legs and encircling her waist so she couldn’t pass around me.

“Nice trip,” I laughed.

“I’ve still got it,” she panted with a smile.

We turned serious moments later when she began her slippery assault, wiggling out of my grasp and popping to her feet while she trapped one of my legs between hers. Pinning my hip to the ground with one hand, she walked my legs to the side in an attempt to smash them into the ground and hop around them. I twisted onto my side, bracing my hands on her shoulder and knee, trying to prevent her from coming forward. She switched tactics, hopping to my other side, bracing her hand on my hip and bracing her shoulder against my knee. The other was smashed against the ground, and I allowed her to slide through until she was perpendicular on top of me.

Sweat poured from us both as she locked her hands around my head and shoulder, panting to catch her breath. “We can stop at any time,” I reminded her.

“Nope, I want to keep going,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Slide your knee across,” Ruslan instructed from wherever he watched.

“Hey! No one is coaching me over here,” I protested.

“Prevent her from sliding her knee across!” Drazen yelled, his voice drawing nearer.

I rolled my eyes. Males.

As Izidora went to slide her knee, I pushed off her, spinning in the dirt on my back until my feet pushed against her hips and flung her backward. Scrambling to my feet, I dusted myself off as she laughed and did the same. Izidora’s face was a violent shade of red from her exertion, and she swayed slightly upon straightening. “Okay, I think that's enough for me,” she admitted, though the tightness in her jaw spoke to her frustration.

Ruslan appeared beside her faster than anyone should be allowed to move and clutched his mate to him. “You’re doing so well, sprite. I’m so proud of you.”

She craned her neck to look at him, eyes shining with the type of love I wanted for myself one day. Drazen bumped his arm into mine, signaling his arrival.

“I think I’m ready to face the world again,” Izidora told Ruslan, sending a smirk across his lips and darkening his eyes.

“Are you?” he replied. “Because I haven’t even seen you practice flying up and down from the palace roof yet.”

Izidora chewed her lip, then pushed out of his hold and fetched the half-empty red cocktail, draining it in a few gulps. Her glittering white wings burst from her back as she tossed the glass away, and with a devious smile, she shot into the sky.

The look of panic that crossed Ruslan’s face was priceless.

His leathery black wings burst forth and he shot into the sky after her, staying within range of his mate as she flew hundreds of feet into the air.

“Bet she makes it,” Drazen said, our attention following them.

“Of course she’ll make it, Drazen. Come up with something more interesting.”

“Fine. I’ll wager she makes it to the top, then tries to fly down but gets scared and Ruslan has to carry her the rest of the way.”

“I’ll wager that Ruslan tries to help her when she falters but she yells at him and then makes it to the ground on her own.”

Drazen held out his hand, and we shook on our deal. The two winged Félvér disappeared over the ledge that served as the roof of the palace built into the mountain. Silence stretched between us, though with Drazen the silence was never uneasy. His laid back attitude was a comfort more often than not, balancing out my excitable personality. A finger caressed my waist as we stood there, and I subtly leaned into the comforting touch.

Two dots appeared high above us, and I held my breath as Izidora and Ruslan began their descent to the ground.

“She looks scared,” Drazen teased, his Dragon senses giving him an advantage over my Fae ones.

“She’ll be fine,” I replied, though I couldn’t lie to myself and say the drop from the roof to the ground didn’t make me wildly uncomfortable. It was a long way down, even with wings to safeguard me and a lifetime of flying practice.

They dropped lower, finally coming into focus for me. Izidora’s brow was furrowed in concentration, and her white wings reflected the midday sun, making her truly look like an Angel from the nursery tales my mother told me as a child, descending from the heavens. Ruslan’s hands hovered in front of him as he watched over her, allowing her the space she needed to succeed but offering support should she require it.

About halfway down, Izidora’s wings faltered, and she dropped severely. I gasped, bringing my hands to my mouth as all I could do was watch as she fell. Ruslan snapped his wings shut and dove to catch her, but moments before he reached her, those white wings spread wide again and caught a draft. Her furious descent halted, and a fierce, determined look reappeared on her face.

“Thank the Goddess,” I breathed, watching as Izidora whipped her head toward her mate and they exchanged words.

“I guess you win,” Drazen teased, bumping me again with his shoulder. “The usual reward?”

I snickered as the two made their final drop to the ground. “You know it.”

Izidora beamed with pride as her feet touched land, and she collapsed onto her ass, breathless and giddy. Drazen and I jogged toward them, and Drazen released a whooping cheer.

“Guess you both can be finished with training today,” Ruslan smirked, snaking his arms around Izidora’s waist and lifting her into the air as he captured her mouth.

“As if I need your permission,” I scoffed, trying to worm my way between them so I could steal my best friend, not caring they were mid-kiss.

Ruslan growled at me, but I didn’t relinquish my position, especially as Izidora laughed. Drazen snorted behind us, and I raised a brow at Ruslan, waiting for admonishment. He only sighed, looked between me and his mate, and said, “Go have fun.”

I snatched Izidora’s hand, giggles bubbling over for both of us as I tugged her toward the hidden passage that led to the lift. Ruslan and Drazen’s heavy footsteps followed, echoing off the rock until Ruslan pushed past us to open the door. The four of us piled into the pillar in the mountain, and with the slowness he knew Izidora preferred, Ruslan lifted us to the top of the palace, directly onto the floor that held the giant suite that had become like a home.

“Ruslan, we really should build a wing for our friends to sleep in,” Izidora said as she stepped into the foyer that barred entry into the suite unless you were magically granted access to come and go.

“But they’d never get any sleep,” he grinned down at her, opening the door for us to enter the large living space. If Izidora’s face wasn’t already so red, the blush that covered her cheeks would have been more evident.

I grinned to myself as the four of us entered the enormous bathroom. Being around my friends made me forget that my blood family was in the Night Realm, serving a mad king, and I was in the Iron Realm, enjoying the luxuries offered to me.

If only Endre could see what I did in Kazimir, then he would be here, with us.