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Ekko and Cliff had managed to hit it off, which was surprising considering how cold he still was with Tanith. He’d warmed up some since the first day, but not notably enough for her to feel like she wasn’t burdening him by asking for his help.
She’d gathered all the historians—Cliff, Nathem, and Yamra before dinner that evening, and also took it upon herself to kick Ekko out of the library, much to Cliff’s chagrin. The dark-skinned man had kept his gaze glued to the prince of Ograboden until he was gone, which lowered Tanith’s mood as she felt guilty for making the three spend well over an hour broaching the most pressing topic on her mind.
“Is there anything else?” she asked the historians finally.
Nathem ran his hand through his long, dark curls with a sigh. “This isn’t exactly our expertise, Tanith. Not to mention we aren’t allowed to try and sway your decision in any way.”
She gestured to the paper in front of her, a list of positives and negatives scrawled on it. “You aren’t breaking any rules by helping me. Now, come on. Any last thoughts?”
“Not unless you get so remarkably seasick that the journey home wouldn’t be worth the trouble,” Cliff muttered, his chin propped up by his fist as though bored by the conversation.
Yamra’s green eyes lit up. “What about family? Not any of the instances you wrote down, but a future family. If you had fae children, they could live forever. That’s a positive.”
“Good thinking,” Tanith complimented, jotting it down before leaning back and surveying the list.
Pros of Wickenvare:
Live longer.
Be a historian.
Stay in contact with Javaid.
Live in palace.
Shaw.
Ardeen.
Peace.
Freedom.
Future.
Family: security for children.
Cons of Wickenvare:
No mother.
No Meelah.
No Coatis.
Give up title.
Sacrifice the Ellesmere legacy.
Can only return home when humans are extinct.
“Should we make another one for Ellesmere?” she suggested.
“The outcome would be the same,” Nathem assured. “No matter how you put it, there will always be more positives when it comes to remaining in Wickenvare.”
Tanith eyed the list again. There were nearly twice as many pros and staying put seemed to be undeniably the best option. “Then I believe I have my answer,” she finished shortly. “I thought clarity would be more relieving.”
“You still have time to think on it,” Yamra reminded her. “Plenty.”
She nodded in agreement. “I know, and I wouldn’t have planned on leaving until I had to, anyway. I’d still want to have more time with Javaid and Ardeen. Ekko and Ward too, if they decided to stay.” She rolled up the list and held it in her hand. How life decisions could be so light and heavy at once, she didn’t understand. “I just wish I could say goodbye to my family one last time.”
Yamra’s pale hand reached for hers. “Leevi will let you see them whenever you want. I know it isn’t the same, but it’s something.”
Tanith smiled sadly. “I know. In due time, I’m sure I’ll come to accept this place as my home. Until then, I need to work through the grief of leaving my birth home behind.”
“Maybe by distracting yourself with some baked goods from the kitchens,” Nathem suggested, wiggling his dark brows.
“Definitely,” she agreed, “but first, I should tell Riven I’ve made my choice.”
Tanith pushed her chair away from the table and stood as Cliff shot out of his chair, holding out his hand. “And for our records, I’ll take that,” he said, eyeing the list clenched between her fingers. “We’re going to write about how you made this decision today.”
With a subtle eye roll, she handed it over, almost glad to be rid of the paper she’d poured herself into. “Fine, but I expect a glowing description.”
“As you wish,” Yamra answered with a content smile.
Tanith was eager to step out of the library for the first time in her life, filled with something almost antsy at the idea of seeing Riven again. In the garden, she felt as though their conversation was left unfinished. Almost all of their little talks were, and she found herself wanting to be in his presence just a bit longer.
She let the library doors close behind her, strolling down the hall with her head high and a sense of relief washing over her. The palace was her home now. Beautiful and more familiar day by day, though the serene silence was quickly interrupted by the sound of screaming.
“Get your hands off me! You can’t do this!”
Tanith stopped mid-step as she saw a leg fly around the corner, two guards appearing a second later with Kent between them. His feet weren’t even on the ground as he struggled, Shaw behind him with his lips pressed tightly together.
Kent’s eyes fixed on hers, widening with hope. “Tanith! Tell them!”
The guards looked at her, but even she knew that if she were to change her mind, it would be too late. Their orders came from the king, and even though it was her request, there was simply no going back. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped aside and allowed the guards to pass, watching Kent’s eyes narrow in betrayal.
“No! No! Don’t do this!” he bellowed, kicking again as though he were being sent to his own execution. “Tanith! We had a pact! You promised!”
She looked away, telling herself their agreement was null and void. They vowed to go and return together, but that promise had been broken when Shaw threw him overboard. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t either of theirs. They were just different people with futures headed in opposite directions.
“He won’t remember,” Shaw reminded her. “I can’t promise you that he won’t turn right back around and try to find you again.”
Tanith nodded slowly as she considered his words. “He won’t remember that our pact was broken. If he returns without either of us, he’ll believe it was only possible because we’re both dead.”
She watched him pause. “And you’re okay with that?”
As the guards turned out of sight, Kent’s yells becoming nothing more than far away echoes, she answered. “I think I have to be.”
Shaw’s brown eyes were filled with an emotion she’d never seen from him. Uncertainty. He looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it and started on his way again, leaving Tanith to watch them go.
She had half a mind to rush back into the library and watch Kent pass through the barrier from the observatory, but she stubbornly told herself that Kent Shaw was no longer any concern of hers. Their friendship was dead, and soon, he’d believe she was dead too.
Swallowing her hurt at the thought, she took a deep breath and continued on her way to the throne room. She knew Riven was there if the two guards waiting outside the double doors were any indication. They didn’t even look at her as she approached, pulling the handle and letting herself inside.
It was just as breathtaking as the first day she saw it, but now, she followed the black carpet to the wide steps in front of the throne of chains, catching the king’s attention immediately. He looked up from where he’d been running a frustrated hand down his face, perking up instantly at the sight of her and straightening as a way of greeting.
“Kent is going home,” she stated, though she hardly had to tell him that. He’d given the approval, after all.
His chin dipped in confirmation. “As you requested.”
She reached for a kernel of bravery inside her before responding. “And I’m staying in Wickenvare.”
The silver-haired man paused—blinked once before his lips stretched in a smile and he rose from his metal throne. With quick feet, he descended the steps, holding out his arms and embracing her in a warm hug. She hadn’t expected to hear a chuckle tumble out of him, nor did she count on being spun around, but she found herself laughing along with
him before her feet touched the ground again and he pulled back to look at her with an ever-hopeful gaze.
“Is your decision final?” he asked.
No going back, she reminded herself. Not for Kent, and not for her. “It is. This is my home now. The island is my future.”
Riven bent down, kissing her cheek fondly. “Then your room is yours do with as you please. Decorate it as you wish. I’ll have anything made that you desire, and you can begin your work with the historians after the ceremony.”
“Ceremony?” she asked. Surely, she’d remember if such a thing had been mentioned.
“Autumn is almost over on the island, and on the first day of winter, any firstborn who chooses to stay will touch the Light,” he explained. “It’s tradition. This time next month, eternal life will be yours.”
“Winter? How cold does the island get?”
“Historically, not very. It hasn’t gone below sixty degrees since my great-grandfather’s reign, and only then because the Ghods weren’t pleased with the conditions at that time. The reason we wait for winter is because there’s a Nihm that guards the Light. The creature remains on guard until hibernation season.”
Tanith sighed shortly. “I hate to make this a history lesson, but what the hell is a Nihm?”
The king looked away thoughtfully. “I suppose you could say it’s a snake, though it’s eighteen feet long and thicker than your leg. There are spikes running along the middle of its back and it has razor-sharp teeth. Nihm’s are known to digest people whole, but there’s only one left on the entire island, and given the limitations to its diet, it’s known to have managed to evolve into a dangerously poisonous creature.”
“I suppose it’s no mistake that it guards the Light,” Tanith figured.
Riven shook his head. “Certainly not. They’re wild beasts, but they do have some sense of understanding. The Slayer who killed off the others cornered the last one in a cave, and so long as it remains, hibernating on schedule, we allow it to live.”
“Fair enough,” Tanith decided. “The only question now is whether or not Ward and Ekko will be joining Ardeen and I.”
“Only Ekko is undecided,” the king corrected regrettably. “I thought he would say goodbye to you, but Ward chose to leave earlier this afternoon.”
Her chest tightened for a moment. The prince of Xeres had made his loyalties clear. He didn’t buy anything outside of their teachings from home, but she thought he would have at least bothered to tell her himself. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t let Ekko or Ward leave until the end of the day?”
Riven shrugged. “He was insistent. He wouldn’t even believe a thing Leevi showed him, so I chose to stop fighting him on the matter.”
Tanith knew the feeling, but something still didn’t sit right with her. “I just saw him earlier. With you, and I was… That doesn’t add up,” she said quickly. “I was with Shaw after speaking with you, and he wasn’t taking anyone else to the barrier. He didn’t even mention Ward when he was taking Kent a few minutes ago. When would he have had time to escort Ward between everything else?”
The king’s gaze went vacant for a moment, and Tanith had become familiar with the look of someone speaking through the mind link. It was only a moment before Riven’s attention returned to her.
“He didn’t,” he answered shortly.
“What?”
“Shaw didn’t take him anywhere. Ward hasn’t been seen since noon,” the silver-haired man explained.
Her breath hitched. “Do you think he rowed home with his memories?” she wondered quickly. He wouldn’t make it far. There were spies everywhere in the human lands, and it wouldn’t take long for one of them to bring him back.
The king shook his head, his mood darkening. “No. He’ll be searching for what he came for before daring to return empty-handed.”
“The Light.”
Riven nodded. “And it isn’t even Winter yet.”
Panic seized Tanith, and she felt her heart pounding faster in her chest. “But unknowing humans have reached it before. Twice, you said.”
“Only two have survived,” he corrected, “and both times were during the cold season,” he confirmed.
“How do we even know he’s going in the right direction?” she wondered. No one had told them where the Light was kept. In a cave somewhere, but she’d only just learned that minutes ago, and only because she’d chosen to stay.
“Because he was in the library this morning. All he had to do was pick up one of the right books.”
“Shit,” Tanith whispered, fearing the worst for her friend.
Riven sighed deeply in agreement. “Shit, indeed.”
CHAPTER 30
“I’m coming with you,” Tanith stated in her most steely and royal tone.
Riven was dressed like a true king for the first time since she’d known him, flexible dark gray armor suited around him and his crown poised atop his knotted back silver hair. “It’s not safe for humans,” he insisted. “Not for Ward, and certainly not for you. Don’t bother following. I’ll be able to smell you from a quarter-mile away.”
The three guards around him were also ready for the occasion, tense, but with eager looks drawn on their faces at the promise of danger.
“I’m not asking. Either bring me with you, or lock me up here, but rest assured, if I can slip out during a fire, I can most definitely escape under these conditions.” She didn’t have to add that if he did lock her up and throw away the key, their trust would be broken. It went without saying that the next week and a half would be rocky ground because there was still time for her to change her mind. She didn’t plan on it, but if Wickenvare became as much of a prison as her old life of royal responsibility, nothing would be able to stop her from sailing away.
With a ticking jaw, Riven looked over her shoulder at the guards before caving. “Fine, but you remain within ten feet of us at all times. If you can’t keep up, Levitka will escort you back here.”
Tanith looked over her shoulder at the dark-skinned man. Levitka. There was something akin to disdain in his gaze, and she remembered seeing it before. He’d been one of the guards who attacked her, and she’d cut him quite badly. It seemed he still hadn’t forgiven her, so Tanith made a mental note not to put him in a position where he could exact revenge.
“I’ll keep up,” she promised.
One of the guards cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, the horses aren’t prepared yet. We were under the impression that we’d be running long.”
Levitka’s lip lifted slightly as he looked down at Tanith. She didn’t have fae speed.
“Given the fact that Ward has hours on us, I suppose that’s the quicker option,” Riven agreed. He scanned Tanith for a moment. She’d changed too—into the clothes she’d worn when she arrived. Her pants felt heavenly, despite the fact that the olive-green fabric was rough and scratchy as opposed to the silk, satin, and tulle dresses she’d become so accustomed to. “I’ll carry her.”
“But my king—”
“I’ll hear no more,” the silver-haired man interrupted. “She won’t slow me down.”
Turning his back to Tanith, he knelt to the ground, an invitation that she gladly accepted. With a victorious smirk, she fought the urge to stick her tongue out at Levitka who seemed nothing short of exasperated. Riven’s back was all hard muscle, and she wrapped her legs around his middle tightly, keeping her arms loose around his neck.
He stood without any trouble, and Tanith figured she shouldn’t have been surprised. She was a hundred and fifty pounds, but to him, that was nothing. His large hands found her thighs, gripping onto them to secure her before facing the doors. “Shall we prevent a disaster, princess?”
Even though he couldn’t see her, she nodded. “We shall.”
Without warning, he took off, and Tanith ducked her head into the crook of his neck as the harsh, rushing wind met her face. She kept her eyes closed at first, held back her yelp of surprise before daring to look up again.
She watched the trees pass by in a blur, the sound of rushing water passing as soon as it came. It was a sensory overload in the most intoxicating of ways, and Riven’s warmth beneath her kept her grounded all the while.
Unconsciously, she let out a laugh, squeezing him tighter and breathing in the metallic scent that always seemed to encase him. Tanith decided she could get used to the feeling as the minutes passed. It wasn’t long before they flew beyond a landmark she recognized. The rocks where she’d slept the first night and the grass below that was still stained with dry blood after the guards had ambushed her.
She felt a small pang of regret. That was the last time she and Kent had gotten along before she banished him from the island, but her thoughts were quickly drawn to the fact that they weren’t stopping there.
They were headed towards the volcano.
The slope was steeper than she released, and Riven slowed slightly due to the increase, but he was still moving faster than she ever could have thought possible, his men grunting behind him as they dug for footholds, grabbing onto tree branches and stepping over rocks.
“You keep the Light in the volcano?” Tanith wondered, speaking directly into his ear so she wouldn’t have to shout.
Riven’s breath had become labored, but he kept on. “It isn’t a volcano,” he assured. “It used to be known as Everdine Mountain in the days the Ghods had first created it, but once they dropped the Light, this is where it landed. It only looks like a volcano.”
Tanith & Shaw (The Fealty of Firstborns Series Book 1) Page 26
