Ember (18 page)

“They didn’t stumble, Calliope. There was no stumbling. They watch you like a hawk. They wanted to catch you when you least suspected it. When they knew we wouldn’t be around. Even when you think you’re alone, you’re not. You think you can handle yourself, but today clearly shows that you can’t.” The skin between his eyes was pinched, his face more severe than I’d ever seen it. “And I know you are strong. I know. But, Calliope, you can’t be stupid. There is too much at stake.”

“What do you mean I’m never alone?”

He sighed and looked up to the open ceiling. “After all of that, that is what you picked out to argue about?”

“Well, we had a deal. Are you telling me you breeched that?” My voice rose.

“I’ve done what’s necessary to protect the Queen of Faylinn,” he said steadily, without apology. His aqua eyes fixed on me once more. “We give you your space, but we aren’t going to be reckless about it. We are trained Keepers. We know what is best, and we will do
everything
in our power to make sure you are safe.”

“Unbelievable!” I threw my hands in the air.

“My Queen,” Evan’s hesitant voice came from the doorway. We turned to him.
Oh, the timing of that man.

“What is it, Evan?” I asked shortly.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but…” Evan wavered. “My Queen.” I’d never seen him unsure of himself before. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. His normally rosy cheeks paled, and his eyes watered up.

“Evan?” I took a step toward him.

He swallowed. “They’re back.”

“Who’s back?”

The pause that stretched on between us was relentless. The thought began forming in my head, but I was too afraid to think it could be possible. I was about to press for more, when he finally spoke up.

“All of them,” he breathed.

Chapter Fifteen

D
eclan was a statue. My chest tightened as I watched realization hit him. A hesitant glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes. I could see he was afraid to hope, but he stood and, without a word, brushed passed me and through the doorway.

“Evan so help me … if it’s not really all of the fae that have been missing …” I feared for Declan if his father wasn’t among them—feared for what it would do to his heart. This could shatter him.

With nothing else holding me back but my trembling legs, I raced through the castle to the main entrance. I heard them before I saw them. There was laughter. There were tears. There were shouts of joy and gasps of disbelief. Everyone was in the open grass meadow, a part of some sort of embrace. I’d never seen anything like it. There had to have been at least five hundred more fae here than before.

Amongst the chaos Adair moved forward with Skye and Sakari flanking his right and left side. Adair smiled kindly, and my brain couldn’t figure out what they were doing here. Why were they here? Did we have a meeting that I forgot about?

“I figured it was best to finally return what was rightfully yours,” Adair declared.

I paused as his admission set in. “
You
had them? You had them this whole time?” Something started to boil inside of me. Either I was going to burst with anger or relief, but there was too much to process for me to be able decipher which one yet.

“I’d like to explain everything,” he said calmly. “Could we go inside where we will have more privacy?”

I didn’t know where to start. I blinked, still floored by the fact that everyone was back. Looking beyond Adair, I saw elation and awe in the eyes of everyone. He brought this happiness into our kingdom. Though I felt betrayed for this secret kept, I wanted to know why, so I nodded before we headed into the castle.

We assembled in the atrium when Adair spoke first. “I’m sorry we kept this from you, Calliope, but I didn’t want to bring back your fae without knowing for sure what I was bringing them back to. I needed to know I could trust you—that you were going to be a good leader.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make,” I said. “You could have told me you had them. Their families have gone years without knowing what happened to them. I’ve been here for
months
. At least you could have given us the peace of mind of knowing where they were—that they were alive.”

He nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry for causing you distress, but I used my best judgment to decide what was necessary. I needed to trust you. We obviously couldn’t trust Favner. Your kingdom has been put through enough as it is. I needed to be sure that you were going to be able to guide them. We’ve also never had a Royal who was half human. I didn’t know what kind of difference that could make.”

“Because I have human blood you think I’m less competent?” He wasn’t making a very strong case here. And if he dared to use my human blood against me, crap was going to hit the fan.

“Human blood could lessen your abilities as a Royal,” Skye said. “Humans aren’t nearly as capable as we are.”

My eyes darted to Skye. I’d only ever heard him speak a handful of times, but the more that spilled out of his mouth the more I disliked him.

“What I think my father and brother wanted you to understand,” Sakari interjected, “is that your existence as a Royal with human blood is new to every single faery from every kingdom. There are certain traits as Royals that no other fae possesses. I’m sure you’ve already noticed differences between you and a full faery. It was not a prejudice, merely caution. We most definitely do not find you to be incompetent.” His eyes pled with me to understand, to forgive him. “We’ve seen how you’ve already transformed Faylinn into a happier environment from what it was before.”

Adair continued firmly, “When Favner cut us off us, we didn’t dare hope that we could see our fellow fae and unite families once again. I made the choice I felt was right.”

I took a deep breath, thinking of Declan.

Had he found his father? Was his father here? Did he survive? What if he had died?

I hadn’t experienced the years of Favner firsthand so I guess I could see where his hesitation came from. He didn’t know what had come of Faylinn in the years of being cut off, nor did he know me until now. “Thank you, then,” I sighed. “Thank you for finally bringing them home.”

“I didn’t bring them back to get recognition, Calliope. You’ve proven yourself as a Royal, and it was time. Families needed to be reunited. So here they are.”

“How did you even end up with them?”

He motioned for me to have a seat at my table. “There’s a space in between the kingdoms when traveling through the Oak where they were stuck. Have you traveled through the Oak yet?”

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

“Well, the space is a small blip, but Favner had made it so that they couldn’t travel on to another kingdom, merely kept them in a stall pattern, almost as if frozen in time. One of my fae stumbled across a few of them when traveling to Oraelia and brought them to me. We took off the enchantment, but we couldn’t send them back, obviously. So then as time went on, I instructed one of my Keepers to keep an eye out for more strays.” He leveled his stare seriously. “I want you to know that they have been well taken care of. I’ve done everything in my power to keep them safe.”

“I believe you. Thank you.” I nodded, still distracted by the thought of Declan. “I do have a friend I would like to check on.”

“Of course. We will let you take care of business.” Adair stood and bowed. He gestured to Sakari and Skye to leave the room. “I hope this will give your kingdom some peace of mind, and I apologize for any heartache we might have caused. It was never my intention.” He stepped out of the room.

Sakari stayed back as his dad and brother headed out. “Calliope, I’d really like to see you again … under different circumstances. Could I return tomorrow?”

I didn’t want to tell him no, even though tomorrow was probably going to be a busy day. With his warm eyes gazing at me, so full of hope, I found myself saying, “Okay.”

He took my hand and kissed the top of it. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

I couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“It won’t come fast enough.”

When they were gone, Evan began, “I believe that went rather well. Our people are back. And I can see a bond is being formed between you and Sakari. He would be a perfect match for you, Calliope. Rymidon would be a wise kingdom to unite with. We can trust them. I think Adair took mindful care of our fae.”

Sakari was handsome, and I could see kindness in his eyes, but that didn’t mean I wanted to bond with him. Yet. I still wanted more time to decide, and I was running out of time.

“I’m going outside.” I walked past Evan without looking at him.

“My Queen?”

“I need to be sure Declan is all right.”

• • •

I passed through the embraces in search of Declan. My eyes scanned their faces, but I didn’t see his. The only other place he could have gone was his home. I pushed on through the crowds acknowledging the fae who smiled brightly and thanked me. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I had nothing to do with the return of their family. I could tell them later.

When I reached the tree his cottage was built in, Allura paced outside the base of the trunk with her arms hugging her body.

“Allura,” I spoke hesitantly so I wouldn’t startle her, but she had already heard me coming, talking as soon as I said her name.

“If he doesn’t make it, I really think it will kill Declan.”

“His dad is here? He made it back?” I asked, hopeful.

She shook her head, but it wasn’t the answer to my question. “He’s not doing good. Not good at all. He can’t die though, right? He’ll survive. He has to. It’s the only way Declan will survive. I couldn’t stand the thought of … without Declan …” Allura didn’t take a breath. Her words trailed off as if she couldn’t finish. She clenched her teeth, but wouldn’t stop pacing.

I heard a door shut, and a figure dropped between Allura and me. Kai. Allura stopped and rushed toward him, eager for an update.

“It’s not looking too good,” he said solemnly.

“What happened to him?” I asked.

“He’s growing old, but his life shouldn’t be ready to end just yet. I don’t think he was taking the best care of himself in Rymidon. But he fought hard to stay alive in hopes that he would see his family again.”

Not a word was spoken. Our heads bowed.

Maybe it was because of the news we had just heard, but when I turned around, suddenly the scene of rejoicing and happy tears drifted into the foreground, and a different scene pushed itself forward. There were those holding their arms around themselves or others with silent tears of sadness streaming down their faces. I heard cries of broken hearts and saw faces fallen in sorrow.

Not everyone had made it back home.

The three of us waited below Declan’s home for a couple hours. The only sound was Allura muttering to herself as she paced. I made out little snippets here and there as she spoke faintly. “He’ll live … Even is he doesn’t … I’ll take care of him … He’s my only reason …” I saw a tear escape her eye, but she wiped it away before it fell any farther.

It was then that something clicked. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t figured it out before. I had a feeling, but it never surfaced completely. But it was so clear now. Clear as the wings on my back. Allura was falling apart over Declan, not his father. I knew there was a connection between them before, but I didn’t know how deep that connection ran. I knew now. Allura was in love with Declan. Of course she was.

With my epiphany, I tried to tune her out to give her privacy and moved to be near Kai. He stood off to the side with his hands tucked in his front pockets, staring up at the sky. I noticed he hadn’t moved for a while. I didn’t want to bother him so I stood silently just to be close to him.

His low voice broke through the stillness. “Declan’s dad had become a second father to me after my dad passed on.” I looked up at him with wide eyes, surprised he was opening up to me. The evening sky heightened a darker blue in his indigo eyes. “I hated him at first for it. I knew he meant well, but it felt like such pity. And he wasn’t the same as my father.” Kai lifted a hand and ran it through his dark locks. I wanted to know what that felt like. What might it feel like for him to run his finger through my hair? “He took care of me and my family,” he continued, “watched out for us and our needs until he disappeared.”

Kai gazed down at me. The intensity of his stare clenched my chest. He was so vulnerable. I had only seen him this vulnerable once before, in the forest with Favner when Favner confessed to killing his father. I didn’t know what to say. There were so many things to say and yet nothing that my brain could compute and put into words for me.

“If we lose him again, Declan won’t be the only one affected,” he sighed, but kept eye contact.

I reached up and rested my hand on his shoulder. The warmth of his skin radiated through my fingers. I just wanted to touch him, to comfort him, and let him know I wouldn’t abandon him. He smiled softly, a ghost of a smile that almost didn’t seem real as he reached his hand to my cheek. The smallest gesture, the lightest of touches, and my body zinged to life. When Cameron had touched me I thought that life made sense, that I could never want anyone else to touch me the way he did. But here, now, with Kai’s hand cradling my face I felt—

“Calliope,” Kai gasped. His eyes narrowed as he let his hand drift down my cheek to my neck. His fingertips stroked my tender skin, and I knew what he must have seen. “You’re bruising.” He sucked in a breath of air and brought his other hand to my neck, tilting my head gently from side to side. His hands lightly cradled me as his eyes focused on the color changing skin.

I watched with wonder as he took care of me, healing the bruising with his touch. His eyes closed briefly as if to hide the pain before he gazed back into my eyes. “I could kill him,” he whispered.

“It wouldn’t do you any good.”

“At least it would give me a peace of mind to know he was no longer alive to ever do this to you again.”