Page 5 of The Last Aether

That muscle along his jaw fluttered again. “This is to protect Aura as much as the rest of you. If it gets out that the bond has been formed, the attacks will increase. The closer she gets to the throne—”

“Throne?” I choked out.

Kai’s lips twitched. “You’re gonna be queen one day, Pip.”

“I-I don’t want to be queen. I barely know anything about elementals. How the hell would I rule them?”

Phoenix’s lips brushed against my temple. “You were born for this. Everything you need is within you. And we’ll help with the details.”

Forget about the fact that I didn’t want it, there was so much more. “No one else is going to want this either. I’m half-human. I didn’t grow up in this world. I—”

Phoenix silenced me with a kiss. “You’ll win them over. Just like you won over all of us.”

My gaze slid to Riven. The blank stare that greeted me confirmed that there was one member of this bond I wasn’t close to winning over.

Atlas’s fingers tangled in my hair. “All we have to do is take things one day at a time. But Riven might have a point about keeping the bond under wraps. Let them think we’re taking our time. It may give Aura an extra measure of safety.”

Kai shook his head. “It’s a mistake. We should tell the entire realm that her aether status is confirmed. Let her claim the throne now.”

Riven scoffed. “Are you delusional? Every queen has to make it through four years at the academy before she can be eligible to rule. Do you think she’d be able to do that if everyone knew she was steps away from being queen?”

“She’d have the royal guard,” Kai argued.

“None of whom would be loyal to her.” He scrubbed a hand over his lightly stubbled jaw. “Those guards come from the four kingdoms. They are loyal to their kings. Most of them won’t want Aura taking the throne any more than the assassins do.”

My stomach twisted at the thought. “I’ll never be sure of who I can trust again.” The knowledge had a deep loneliness settling over me.

“You can trust us,” Phoenix said. His words, while not spoken loudly, held a vehemence that couldn’t be denied.

I lifted my gaze to Riven. For the first time since I’d woken up, I stared at him without looking away. I took in every detail I could, trying to search for something that would give me a window into his mind, his heart, his soul. “Can I trust you?”

Riven stiffened, hurt flashing in his eyes. But then those glacial orbs seemed to reach a cold that cracked and burned. “You question my honor?”

“It’s not like you’ve made her feel welcome,” Kai pointed out.

“You two need to spend time together,” Atlas said. And I couldn’t miss the hope in his voice.

I didn’t look away from Riven as they spoke. “Riven would have to want to spend time with me for that to work.”

I was past the point of pride. Because there was some piece of my soul that longed for Riven. One that was out of my control. I didn’t want to be at odds with him. Didn’t want to be the reason he fought with his brothers. I wanted peace. I wanted our bond to feel…whole.

Riven shoved to his feet. “I’m trying to keep us all safe.”

Phoenix stood, those smoky shadows gathering around him again. “You mean you’re trying to keep yourself safe. Trying to keep your life in that boring little box where everything is predictable, and you don’t have to go against your father.”

An electric energy pulsed through the room. Wind spun around Riven in a tunnel. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. No idea what I’ve—” He shook his head, cutting himself off.

His eyes narrowed on the bed. On me. I swore I could feel them boring into me, taking stock of every wound and scar. And when he’d seen them all, he leveled the death blow. “I never wanted this. It would’ve been better if we’d never found you at all.”

4

Riven stormed out of the room before any of us had a chance to speak. The door slammed with a force that made the walls tremble. I shook too. Not from the slamming of doors but from those words. So full of hate.

I rubbed at my chest, that spot between my breasts where the bullet had struck. It was as if those cracks of silver were pulling towards Riven, wanting me to get up and go to him.

Atlas wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him. “What’s wrong? You’re hurting.”

“I feel him moving away.”