“Yes,” I sighed. We had gone over this countless times, and nothing had changed. “That was all she said. If I’m the High Lady of Life, what does that mean for the balance? What are we missing?” Frustration edged into my tone, and I groaned. “Why is this so hard?”
Xander blew out a long breath, his arms wrapping around me as he hugged me possessively to his chest. “We’ll figure it out, Aileana. We always do. You saved me from Edgar, and I have every confidence that you will do the same for Ithenmyr.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “You are incredible.”
I had saved him, but it had been far too close. The high king had been intent on killing Xander, having planned to execute him the day after his wedding. I never wanted to live through something like that again. I said as much to Xander, and he held me close.
“Tomorrow, things will be easier,” he said. “We’ll get to Nonna’s cottage and sort everything out there.”
After Saena’s reappearance, Xander and I decided to return to his grandmother’s, but we couldn’t go directly to the cottage. We wouldn’t risk bringing danger to the elderly witch’s doorstep. Instead, we spent the past month traveling across Ithenmyr. The wilds of this country were comprised of mountains and forests, the land calling to the green magic within me. We avoided people on our trek, stopping in towns and villages long enough to restock our supplies before we returned to the wilderness.
I hated hiking. It was long and tedious and used muscles that I was fairly convinced had no business being used. But we had few other options. It wasn’t safe for Xander’s dragon to fly us across Ithenmyr—he wasn’t exactly inconspicuous in either form. Besides, even I had to admit that being in the land gave me the opportunity to feed my magic into the earth.
I had spoken to Kethryllian three times. Each time, the Guardian of the Appointed Ones told me he could not help with the current situation. He was always willing to be called on, but he couldn’t right the broken balance. He might have held godly golden magic, but even that would not repair the problems High King Edgar created.
No, it all came down to us. The disequilibrium could not fix itself. Even the gods had their limits, apparently.
Though we avoided towns, the earth told me everything we needed to know about the new queen. Rats and mice and other small rodents showed me visions of Queen Saena—she had abandoned the fake moniker of Sanja the moment she stole the throne of Ithenmyr—walking through the stone halls of Kaerndale Castle in Vlarone, tearing down the crimson tapestries and replacing them with her own. I might not have seen the executions taking place throughout Ithenmyr by her command, but I felt the lament of the earth as copious amounts of blood were poured into it.
Even now, in the middle of winter, snow should have been everywhere. Up to my knees, at least, Xander had said. But the white powder dusting the forest floor was barely more than a few inches. The land was crying out, and my heart hurt at the sight.
How could we fix this?
I would have asked Myhhena, the Eldest Spirit of the Woods, but she and I hadn’t exactly parted on good terms. I wasn’t sure if I would ever trust her again. Not fully. She had betrayed Xander and I, trying to keep me in the Sanctuary even after the high king stole my bonded mate. To make matters worse, only after Xander had been gone did she reveal that she’d been given the fifth piece of the map for “safekeeping”.
After that, I knew I couldn’t trust her.
By the time Xander’s fingers slowed on my back, sleep was calling my name. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me close.
“Rest,” he whispered, pressing another kiss to my forehead. “Tomorrow is a new day. Perhaps things will be better.”
* * *
They weren’t better.From the moment we woke, I knew it was going to be a long, strenuous day.
Thunder roared through the skies, and heavy sheets of rain pelted us from above. Water seeped into the cave, dampening the moss carpeting the forest floor. Soon, we were soaked. Nothing was safe from the liquid, freezing deluge.
Shivering, Xander and I wrapped ourselves in our sodden cloaks and headed toward Nonna’s cottage. The weights of my daggers against my thighs were a welcoming distraction as I held my hands open, letting the magic slip from my palms. The deeper we went into the woods, the more black briars and thorns we encountered. An intense feeling of wrongness permeated the forest, from the unseasonable rain pouring from the sky to the murky, inky stains covering the land.
The trek was long, and neither of us spoke much. Even talking mind-to-mind—a gift that had emerged after my Maturation that both Xander and I were still getting used to—was tiring as we hiked. Our feet sloshed in the snow-turned-slush, the mud-brown water soaking our boots and pants as we trudged through the forests. The only good thing about this situation was that I wasn’t wearing a dress. That would have made this journey ten times harder.
If I had my way, I would never wear dresses again. I hated everything about them. Not only did they make moving difficult, but the garments were a reminder of High King Edgar’s oppressive regime. He was dead, but the Accompaniment Law still existed. Saena apparently did not care that the laws were harmful to half the population. She seemed more than happy to keep them in place if it meant her reign went unchecked.
By the time the crumbling chimney stack of Nonna’s cottage came into view through the trees, my teeth chattered. Xander’s hand tightened around mine, and he pulled me against him. Even his dragon’s warmth wasn’t enough to burn through the chill that had settled on my bones.
He asked, “Are you ready, Aileana?”
I paused, looking at this male who held my heart. His world had turned upside down and he was asking me ifIwas ready.
“Always,” I murmured, squeezing his hand. “With you by my side, I’ll be ready for anything.”
Xander drew me against him, swinging his arm over my shoulder. “I feel the same way.”
In my mind, he added,Come along, Sunshine. Let’s go home.
I hummed.Home. I like that.
This cottage was the only place where I had ever truly felt at home. Even with everything else going on in Ithenmyr, I was glad to be here.
Our boots squelched in the thick mud as we walked the familiar path to the witch’s home. The trees carried a sense of familiarity with them, and my magic thrummed in my veins. Heeding the call of the earth, I opened my palm, letting green ribbons flood from my hand. The land hummed in approval, and a feeling of rightness filled me as the falling-apart building where Nonna lived came into view.