REGROUP

12

Aria sat on the ground by the river, her back against her favorite sitting stump. The waxing moonlight reflected off the surface of the water, offering just enough light to barely make out the surroundings.

"How long do I have to stay up here?" Taren whispered loudly from the tree canopy behind her.

"You know, hiding up there is futile if you keep talking to me," Aria replied without looking back. She had really been enjoying the gentle sounds of the running water and the chirps of the crickets.

"My ass is falling asleep, okay? I didn't expect to be up here all night ."

"Taren, it's been like three hours. Don't be dramatic."

Taren huffed. "You try being my size and sitting on a tree branch for that long, you wouldn't be so smug."

Aria rolled her eyes with a laugh. "You try being my size and doing anything fae are supposed to be good at. I don't want to hear it." As she spoke, the foliage across the river ruffled. It still jarred her, seeing everything on the other side so clearly, no longer marred by the distortion of the wall. The minute she'd arrived at her post, she'd been tempted to fly across just to see if she could. Taren had politely reminded her that was still a bad idea.

An enormous black dragon appeared above the tree line and floated toward her. Finally , she thought. His underbelly was a few shades lighter than the rest of him, and it was nearly the only reason she could see him, the rest of him camouflaged against the dark sky. No wonder he'd gotten past the guards so easily the other night.

Luka hovered just above the river's surface until he landed a few short feet to her right. The wind from his landing tousled Aria's short hair around her face. She watched as Luka shifted into his mortal form, his dragon scales making way for scaled, armored leather.

"I recognize the expression of someone admiring my size, and you're wearing it," he offered in lieu of a greeting.

Aria rolled her eyes as she stood and closed the distance between them. "Good thing your ego is so small to balance out the rest of you."

"So, what's the news?" Luka ignored her jab.

"Oh okay, we're skipping the foreplay this time?" Aria teased as Luka glanced briefly back at the trees across the river. She didn't let herself linger on the fact she was a little disappointed he wasn't amused by her jokes. "All right, then, let's cut to the chase. My librarians haven't found anything yet, and it's not looking promising on that front."

He finally met her gaze. As much as he could in the dark, anyway. "Do they know what they're looking for? How much have you told your people about what's coming?"

"The librarians and guards know everything we do, but the public knows nothing more than the disappearance of the border. We didn't want to alarm them any more than necessary, at least until we have some sort of plan in place," she explained. "You? "

"We actually trust our people," he sneered, "so they have been fully informed. Just the basics, but they're aware the border is gone and that we are negotiating with the fae against a common enemy."

"I see," Aria replied, doing her best not to react to his baited words. She cursed the two realms' leaders for not agreeing on what to say to their people. The fact that Denover knew to expect something on the equinox would no doubt make its way across the border. "Vera also showed up today," she said, crossing her arms.

Luka's eyes narrowed in concern. "And?"

"And that's not good news, either. She's got something brewing up north, and she refuses to compromise. My mother told Vera that she needed to either fight with us or against us. And that included the shifters." Aria cut off Luka when he tried to protest, "Before you get your leathers in a twist, we're on your side. We're committed to working with you all. You have our protection against her, should she decide to try anything."

Aria knew she was stretching a bit. Okay , fine , she was stretching a lot. Queen Joyen had made no such claims, but Aria would ask for forgiveness later if it came to that. Right now, she had to figure out how to get the shifters to go all-in with them against whatever they faced—the Unifiers and Vera, Mallium, whatever. If they didn't come to an agreement soon, they would all be screwed.

Luka processed her words skeptically. "What did Vera say, exactly?"

"That it's too late for a compromise, that ‘she would not be stopped,'" Aria quoted. "That's all we got before she fled back to Erdane, presumably."

"Was she alone? "

"Yeah. And in amazingly good health," Aria added, though she wasn't sure why Luka would care about that part. She had seen for herself how fast Vera had traveled away from the castle, and her grandmother's flight agility was shocking compared to the last time they'd seen each other. "She was escorted by two of our guards but returned home on her own. She was probably afraid it would raise concerns if she traveled with her own protection. As far as we know, it's not common knowledge that she's the leader. At least not in Allar. And I'd like to keep it that way for now, if you don't mind."

His face remained neutral. "We have no plans to disclose that information until it's beneficial for us."

She eyed him warily. Was that supposed to be reassuring? What game was he playing? Was he actually open to being allies or not? They both stood in tense silence for a moment, attempting to gauge the other's intentions.

But that approach was getting them nowhere. And time was precious. Gods , she was so tired. Tired of worrying. Of being coddled, undermined, and underestimated. Honestly, she was also tired of holding historical grudges against people she didn't even know.

More importantly, she didn't like the person she became around the shifters. Guarded, snippy. Yes, Luka was an arrogant asshole, but that didn't mean she had to stoop to his level, did it? All she was doing was upholding whatever preconceived notions they had about her. And this game of back-and-forth was obviously not winning him over anytime soon.

"Can we be honest with each other?" she finally asked, meeting Luka's eyes, shedding the anger from her tone. "I want to protect my kingdom, just as you want to protect yours. We're running out of options and time, and I just want to know if we can rely on your realm to fight alongside us without all of this stiff nonsense," she gestured between them. Their gazes remained locked. "Can we trust you?"

***

Luka searched Aria's face for any sign of lies, but the telltale signs of nerves and tension weren't there. What he did find was a worried, young fae woman whose dark undereye circles had grown larger even since he had seen her just a few short days ago. Shadows that rivaled his own.

He saw a woman who had been through just as much mental anguish as he had, trying to determine how to save her people from their unwitting demise. He saw pleading green eyes that cut through the night air between them.

Truthfully, Luka was sick of this militant dance, too.

He wouldn't completely let his guard down, but he could meet her halfway. "Sure, little sprite," he said with a smirk. Aria's jaw clenched. The movement made him soften his tone just a bit when he said, "You can trust us. Despite what you may believe, we are good people. We'll make good on our bargain as long as you do the same. We'll put aside our past until the equinox is over. Should we succeed, we can go from there."

Luka extended his hand to Aria. She took his hand—hers soft and slight, his firm and callused from years of relentless training—and returned his grip with surprising strength. They shook.

Luka swore he heard a growl from the trees and quickly shot a warning glance toward the protesting panther who waited for him across the river, listening carefully to the agreement with her predatory hearing.

Aria sucked in a breath, exasperated, seemingly still unaware Evelyn lurked impatiently across the water. Luka let his shoulders relax as Aria said, "I think we need to get the Council and Assembly to meet again. If we're really going to do this, you and I can't be responsible for everything."

"I agree," Luka said. "For starters, why don't you tell your friend to come down from that tree and we can be properly acquainted."

Aria's eyes widened in panic. "What do you—"

He tapped his temple. "Night sight, remember?"

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Come on down, Taren." An earthen pillar rose to meet the tree limb where the dark figure sat. Luka watched as a tall fae person with long limbs and a broad chest rode the pillar back to the ground.

"Thank the gods, I was about to fall asleep up there," Taren joked as they walked up to Aria and Luka. Their sharp features were at odds with their warm aura. "Taren Voltis," they introduced themselves with a slight bow of respect. "Nice to meet you officially, Captain."

Surprise grazed Aria's face as Luka returned the gesture with a slight bow of his own. The movement pulled at the strained muscles in his back, causing him to wince.

Unfortunately for him, Aria noticed. "You okay?"

"Fine," Luka replied sharply, kicking himself for showing any weakness. But he couldn't keep doing this, flying back and forth. And they didn't have time to wait for the fae to make the trips, either. He tilted his head to the sky, praying to Mallium that his mother wouldn't kill him for this, before addressing her. "If we're truly allies now, we're wasting time by traveling back and forth. Come to the Legion Academy. You'll be safer there anyway, and we can actually use our precious time to strategize instead of just passing messages along."

The words left his mouth before he truly considered the implications of bringing the heir of Allar to their training center, the hub of almost all important political business in Denover. But selfishly, his body was going to collapse if he kept this up. And he promised himself that he'd assign someone to keep watch over her the entire time. Just in case.

Aria raised a thin eyebrow. "How would I be safer there, away from my family and guards, surrounded by shifters who probably have it out for me?"

"If you're so worried about Vera, there's no way she'd expect you to be in Denover. She won't come looking for you there. You can bring Taren, too, if that will make you feel better," he gestured toward them, but Aria's face told him she was not sold on his offer. "We'll also keep an eye on you, for your protection. And ours, of course," he added seriously. "Plus, coordinating another meeting between the Council and Assembly is going to take some convincing, and not just from me. Hearing the request directly from you might help sway them," he finished. "It will look better if we're both there to confirm our agreement to work together."

He could already feel his mother's skepticism at inviting Aria to the Academy from halfway across the continent. But it was true. If they arrived together to meet with the Council, it would be much harder for them to say no to Aria's face.

Aria looked at Taren, who gave her an affirmative nod. "Okay," Aria hesitated. "Don't make me regret it."

"I can't promise that," he said with a chuffed laugh. "We'll meet you tomorrow afternoon, further west, where the trees meet the mountains along the river. It'll be easier for us to get there and give us time to ready your rooms. You can tell your Royal Assembly about our plan," he explained. "Try to convince them about meeting with the Legion Council again while you're here. We can figure out the rest later. "

He took a few steps back, not bothering to wait for her response, and shifted. They'd see each other again soon enough.

***

"Gods above," Taren muttered to themselves as they watched the dragon fly south and disappear against the dim stars. "He really is big, huh?"

"Don't get any ideas," Aria smacked Taren's arm playfully. "Are you really going to come with me?"

"Is that even a question? Yes. Obviously. You think I'm going to send you into a pack of shifters without backup?"

"Well—"

Taren cut her off. "Not a chance."

Her friend's unwavering support filled her chest with an aching warmth. "Thank you," she smiled. "Now go home, get some rest. I still have a while left in my shift."

"And miss out on the chance to annoy you for the rest of the night? No ma'am," Taren scoffed. "Besides, I desperately need to stretch. I still can't feel my ass. So, I'm sorry to say that you're stuck with me at least for a little while."

If Aria had learned anything about herself recently, it was that she obviously didn't hide her emotions well. Taren knew Aria well enough to know she wanted the company, even if they just sat in silence. So that's what they did—Taren keeping watch any time Aria's head dipped in exhaustion—until the sun peeked over the horizon.