Page 74 of A Trial of War
Skylar’s hand brushed mine. Her voice in my mind was soft but certain.“She means it. She’ll fight with us.”
“Then we’ll fight beside her.”
Before I could speak aloud, a sharp rustle echoed through the trees. One of Réalta’s soldiers stumbled into the clearing, breathless, armor clinking.
“Your Highness!” he panted, bowing low. “Royal patrols on the southern road—too many to be a coincidence. They’re sweeping the forest. I think they found our trail.”
Wyndfall’s hand went to his sword. “We can hold them off.”
Réalta’s calm faltered. “No. If they find us here, they’ll know. Everything will fall apart.” She turned to us, urgency in her tone. “You need to leave. Now.”
Gunnar was already moving to arm himself. “Pity,” he muttered. “I was ready to spill some blood. My axes are far too clean.”
Skylar hesitated to leave. Réalta reached for her, and the two cousins met in the middle, openly embracing each other.
Réalta’s composure cracked, the faintest tremor in her voice. “Be careful, Skylar. If she senses what we’re doing, then—”
“She won’t,” Skylar said, gripping her cousin’s shoulders. “Here, take this.” My mate handed her cousin theparchment tucked into her cloak. “If you write a message on it, I will receive it on the enchanted twin piece. And vice versa.”
“Amazing. Don’t worry. I’ll keep it safe,” the princess said, tucking it into her bodice.
“Meet me on the battlefield, Réalta,” Skylar said, eyes blazing with her inner fire. “We end her together.”
Réalta’s throat bobbed as she nodded. “And when it’s done?”
“Then we rebuild,” Skylar said. “No more lies or lines between our worlds.”
Réalta smiled, a wide, true, unincumbered smile. “Go. I’ll buy you time.”
I took Skylar’s hand, cold meeting heat, our bond snapping into place like a current. Gunnar clasped his hand on my shoulder, signaling he was ready.
The last thing I saw was Réalta turning toward her captain, issuing orders with a familiar spark in her eyes. Then, the magic pulled tight, and the Rainbow Woods vanished.
When the light cleared, we stood on the balcony in Crimson City.
Gunnar stepped back and exhaled hard. “Well,” he said, “that could have gone worse.”
Skylar didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixed on the horizon.
Through our bond, I felt the steady flame of her resolve followed by the quiet ache beneath it.
“You did well,”I told her.
“We did well.”
I moved closer, resting a hand at the small of her back. “She’ll stand with us,” I said quietly. “When the time comes, I know she’ll honor her word and fight with us.”
Skylar nodded. “And Minaeve will finally fall.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Réalta Avermont
My forest hideaway swallowed us whole as we raced across roots and rocks. Curved trunks began to straighten as we left the safety of the Rainbow Woods, a new hope fluttering in my heart for peace after this war.
As we raced on, my mind drifted back to the countless summers of my childhood spent in Burns—the city just outside these woods. Each year, my mother brought me to this hideaway for picnics, pretending that it was only the two of us in the world, and that anything we imagined or dreamed here could come true.
That was why I summoned Skylar and Daxton here: the idea of an alliance and eventual peace in Valdor was my greatest dream.
