Page 190 of Death of a Mortal

It was a mark of our friendship that he didn’t push the issue or press me to tell him more.

Drayce pulled me into a hug, his arms holding the broken pieces of me together. Bramick joined to wrap his arms around us both, followed by a one-legged, hopping Aerie and a limping Bernitha.

Kellan just stood facing the castle, shaking with fury.

Noxie came to rest unsteadily on Aerie’s shoulder to avoid being smothered by the group embrace. We all stood there, clinging to each other, crying, absorbing, mourning together for what could have been hours. I’d lost all notion of time.

Even Drayce’s golden glow was dim and nearly completely red.

I still didn’t know what it meant, but I knew it couldn’t be indicative of anything good going on in his mind.

“Let’s go home.” Drayce’s voice was so defeated that it hurt my soul.

We let go of each other, Bramick picking up Aerie once more and Noxie flying haphazardly to my shoulder.

I looked back one last time at Ashthorn Castle to find the long green and gold banners with the flame and thorn crown emblem changing before my eyes.

“Look.”

The rest of the group turned and followed my line of sight, acouple gasping—the green was turning a deep blood-red, and the Ashthorn crest was slowly being replaced with a black heart, broken down the middle in a jagged line. The silver crown of thorns rested around the middle of the broken heart.

“Gods, what does it mean?” asked Bramick.

I couldn’t answer, though I knew what it meant—Malvina was the Ashenholt ruler now, and things were about to change, absolutely for the worse.

It was Drayce who responded, his voice beginning to strengthen with resolve. “It means we have a new enemy now, an even more powerful one. Today might have gone horribly wrong, but our mission is complete. Caedryn is dead—new mission, new goals now. We regroup and recruit—more than recruit, we gain allies. A war is coming, and it will take more than a band of rebel soldiers to stop it.”

* * *

After a somber,near-silent walk back through the woods, where Kellan’s three soldiers had waited (no Ashthorn servants in tow), we reached our ship, boarded, and collapsed on the deck. The crew and the aerial unit that had stayed behind came running to us, asking many questions I couldn’t answer. Not yet. It was all too overwhelming, and the questions were making my head swim.

Without a word, I finally stood and walked into Drayce’s cabin and curled up in his bed.

I didn’t move for days.

* * *

When I finallyleft the cabin, we were far out at sea, the salty, humid air refreshing after the stagnant cold and suffocation of Ashthorn. I still wasn’t ready to talk about any of it, but I needed food—I’d only had bites here and there that various peoplebrought to me.

Right on time, Drayce brought me coffee and toast, simply saying there was more breakfast inside, then fell silent. He didn’t make me talk, and I appreciated that so much.

I didn’t want to pull away from him. I needed him more than I wanted to admit, but I felt I had no capacity for emotions.

One of the aerial unit females was a healer in training, and she’d set Aerie’s broken arm and leg. They weren’t fully healed, but she could at least hold a fork and walk with a slight limp.

She’d fixed Bernitha up, good as new, and did her best to help Noxie’s wing. Some of his difficulties flying would persist until he grew new feathers, only able to go short distances until then.

She’d tended to Drayce’s burns, preventing the worst of the scarring. But the night after I’d finally emerged from my isolation, when he undressed, I could still see the continuous line across his biceps, chest, and back—a perfect and gruesome ring.

The healer couldn’t fix what was broken inside us all, though. Over the next week on the ship back to Elyndor, we’d eaten often in silence, haunted looks about everyone on board.

When we arrived in Fallorian, there was a stillness and an uneasiness in the air as all eyes followed us off the ship and onto the dock. My heart raced, fearing that Malvina had an army, and that they were here to capture us and bring us right back. But I recognized the dock owner who approached us, and my heart settled.

I wasn’t sure if I would now always be looking over my shoulder for Malvina, her influence, or for Sevrin.

The approaching male looked at each of us before addressing Drayce. “We got word that Caedryn is dead. Is it true?”

Drayce took a deep, steadying breath. “Yes. Killed by Malvina, who has seized the throne. She’s a mind-controlling Umbrathren. There are dark days ahead…”