Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Anash

So the Gatekeeper is terrifying. Effective, sure. But terrifying.

He lobs one giant burst of his power, bright blue and icy cold, and it slams into Queen Aurielle, freezing her solid. A layer of ice encases her from head to toe.

Yikes.

The rest of us stare. Me, safe in Zenith's arms. Randal, his eyes bugged wide. Our soldiers, jaws dropped. The other army, blinking stupidly.

The Gatekeeper rolls his neck, shakes his long black hair away from his face, and plucks Aurielle from the sky as if she were little more than an errant toddler.

"You're welcome," he says to the masses. "I suggest the rest of you find a way to get along with each other from here on out. Or I'll come back for you next."

No one moves.

"Boo."

We flinch as one.

The Gatekeeper and his captive disappear into thin air, his parting chuckle echoing.

My heart's racing. I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm myself down. I think everyone is doing the same thing. We exhale a collective sigh of relief.

I knew Suvi would come through for us. I didn't know how, but in her last missive, she promised help was on the way. I believed her.

And more importantly, Zenith believed me, even after everything that's happened.

"Are you hurt?" asks Zenith.

"I'm fine. You?" I push him an arm's length away and look him over. "Oh no! You're bleeding."

"Don't worry. It will heal."

A lot of blood is dribbling down his thigh. "You need stitches."

"Maybe, but it can wait. Others have fared worse."

"Right. Like Nola and Rolan. Her men knocked them out just after you left for battle. We were going to hide and then thwack! We have to check on them."

"I'll take you there. One second. Let me speak with Randal."

Zenith does that while I scan the wreckage. Soldiers from both sides help the fallen. What was once a grassy field is now a trampled, muddy, and blood-speckled patch of land.

It's awful.

Still, it could have been so much worse, even though nothing justifies the lives lost today. The wounded soldiers. My heart breaks for them. Their families. Our realm.

"Randal will handle things here. Let's get back to your guards." Zenith opens his arms.

I step into them gladly. He flies us over the carnage. I make myself look until the chaos fades into the distance. Today's battle will not be forgotten.

When we land, Rolan is awake, one hand on his head, the other on his sister's.

"Is she okay?" Fear laces my voice.

"I think so," says Rolan. "Her breathing is steady. Are you?"

"We're fine," Zenith answers for us both, waving away the bloody thigh Rolan is staring at. "We should wake her. She shouldn't sleep with a head wound. Neither should you," he says to Rolan.

Oh. I hadn't known that.

Zenith kneels next to them and places his big hand under Nola's pale cheek. He brushes the hair from her face. "Nola. Time to wake."

Her lids flutter open, and she groans. Then her eyes focus. "General. Anash. They took Anash. I'm so sorry."

"Ssh, Anash is fine. So is your brother. We're worried about you."

"Head hurts."

"Yes, I imagine so. Anash says they hit you hard enough to knock you out."

"I'll kill them," she growls, fierce even in her misery.

"It's over, Noles," I say, kneeling beside Zenith. "The war is over. We can go home."

Her lips curl to a small smile. "I miss home."

"Me too." More than ever. But more than home, I miss my mother and sister. The sooner we can head back, the better.

It's an odd feeling to be back at Lord Warner's estate. The man babbles excuses for himself when he heard what's happened to his queen.

"Always knew she was touched by evil. I never wanted to hurt anyone. Not me. All her. Her mother was the same. But Aurielle is worse. Frozen is she? For good? Yes, yes, of course you can use the house. The wounded? How many? Too bad."

Anything to avoid being arrested. But Zenith and I aren't here to punish. If that's something Suvi wants, she'll handle it herself, I'm sure.

The wounded from both sides are triaged and cared for by our healers inside the huge estate. Zenith and I give up our room happily and bunk with the uninjured in the hayloft. He's obviously glad to be staying with his soldiers, talking with them, checking in with everyone.

I'm pretty torn up about Isolde. She fled before the dust settled, but I know not where. To have been deceived by a spy in our midst feels wretched. I can hardly believe I put Zenith through it. I'd apologize one hundred more times, one thousand even, but he puts a gentle finger to my lips. "Nasha, it's all right. I understand, and I'm not mad."

My heart melts beneath that soft, loving gaze every time.

I cannot believe our luck. To have found each other. For Zenith to awaken from his long stone slumber. For me to have traveled all the way from Tierney to Lemossin. That he saved my grandfather all those centuries ago. That we've somehow made it relatively unscathed through this war.

Our life together is a miracle, one that I'll never take for granted.