Storm Princess 3: The Princess Must Reign

by Jaymin Eve

  “Our other option?”

  “Keep her here in the Royal Residence.”

  “But this is their target.”

  “It is… but Indira had an idea that I supported… And given that I now know the deep springs must be protected at all costs…”

  He glances up.

  I follow his gaze.

  The cliff face shifts above me. Pieces of mottled brown and gray rock slide away from each other, pulling out and up, rising and taking on new forms: muscled legs, broad wings, determined faces. Almost the entire cliff face peels off as seventy gargoyles materialize. From beneath their massive wings, smaller gargoyles emerge, all female, all armored and armed to the teeth.

  There is only one clan whose wingspan is broad enough to hide other gargoyles within it: Hideaway. And there is only one clan whose females are as ferocious as these: Grievous.

  Baelen leans in to me. “Indira made an agreement with the Hideaway Clan. She said that both Grievous and Hideaway made up the greatest numbers in Howl’s army and that they owed the royal line a debt.”

  I chuckle. “She guilted them into this?”

  “Actually, I think they would have done it regardless. The respect you showed Cassian didn’t go unnoticed. He was apparently very protective of his clan. He kept many of them alive when Howl would have killed them.”

  Bethany and the other females fly down to the ledge, followed by the males. There are so many of them that they fill the space and some have to hover above us. They either take a knee or bow their heads. “Supreme Incorruptible, we honor you.”

  “I am honored,” I reply. “And grateful that you will protect the deep springs from the elves.”

  Bethany saunters toward me, stopping with her hands on her hips, beaming at me. “Supreme Incorruptible, I hope we meet your expectations.”

  “This is… truly amazing, Bethany. Thank you. Is Gretel safe?”

  “She stayed on Mount Grievous along with a quarter of our females. I hope you understand, we still need to protect our homes from the panthers.”

  “Definitely. The more of those beasts you kill, the better.”

  As the gargoyle warriors disperse, the Phoenix breaks into my thoughts. It says, I will also be here to protect the springs.

  Phoenix?

  It shakes its feathers, shivering hot sparks into the air around me like fireflies. Opening its mouth, I catch sight of fire rumbling in its throat. I was born in the age of dragons, it says. I will pour molten wrath over anyone who dares approach this place.

  I consider the firebird with awe. Thank you, Phoenix.

  Running footsteps draw my attention back to the entrance to the springs. Jasper shoots through the opening, skidding to a halt beside me before he slides right off the cliff.

  “Jasper!”

  “Marbella, come quickly.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She… Elyria…” Trusting me to follow him, he runs back in the direction he came from. Baelen is close on my heels as we descend through the wide entrance into the tunnel, racing along the pathway lit by spider web. The cavern at the end glistens a rainbow of colors around us while the rhythmic single water drop echoes in the silence.

  Elyria stands toward the middle of the pond but at the shallower side nearest us. She is wet and shaking, immersed to her waist, eyes wide, chest heaving.

  I frown as we pull to a halt at the water’s edge. Elyria doesn’t look quite right…

  “I came here to heal my wing.” She presents her back, speaking over her shoulder through chattering teeth. “But now my wings are gone.”

  24

  My first instinct is to rush into the water and drag her out of there, but my next instinct is to stay as far away from the pond as possible.

  Water drips from the ends of her hair as she shivers. “I thought I was prepared for anything, but it turns out I’m not. I don’t know what I am now.”

  It only takes me a heartbeat to know. “Elyria! You’re… human!” When I first saw Llion’s baby girl all that time ago, I thought she was a human baby because of her rounded ears and delicate skin. Only her wings told me she was a gargoyle. Without our pointed ears and the luster of our skin, elves could appear human too. Male gargoyles are the furthest from human in appearance. Now, without wings, Elyria looks just like I imagine a human looks.

  “Human!” Elyria takes a step back, splashing involuntarily as her legs buckle.

  Jasper jolts beside me. He’s ready to race into the springs to help her but he pauses before his foot hits the water. His hesitation tells me that, like me, he doesn’t want to go in. I study the waves, the sparkle within them, casting my gaze upward to the single drip falling from the ceiling. I’m not afraid of the springs themselves, but some instinct tells me not to go in there at the same time as Elyria. The deepest magic is at play here to cause this final stage of her transformation. That sort of magic should be treated with the greatest respect.

  Remembering Senturi’s advice that Jasper is the only one who can help Elyria, I withdraw to Baelen’s position off to the side, reaching for his hand.

  A tear tracks down Elyria’s cheek. She’s frozen, panicking, unable to move.

  Jasper’s soft inhalation is both worried and determined. He hovers at the water’s edge before he seems to make a decision. “Elyria, come out. You’ll be okay.”

  She shakes her head, wet hair slapping against her small waist. “I don’t think I can.”

  Instead of softening his approach, Jasper becomes stern, an insistent frown settling on his forehead. “Come out of there, baby.”

  Her eyes widen, surprised at what he called her, before she gives way to panic again. With a small shake of her head, tears spill down her cheeks. “I can’t, Jasper.”

  “Then you’re never going to know what I want to say to you.”

  Her body language shifts, a flicker of curiosity overcoming her fear. She takes a step, but the water swills and laps at her hips and she sucks in a breath. “What if I can’t come out? What if I disappear? I died four hundred years ago. What if my wings are just the beginning…”

  Jasper’s jaw tenses, his eyebrows drawn down. “You know I won’t let that happen.”

  His response seems to jolt her out of her panic. She pushes through the water, inhaling sharply as it washes around her, jumping at every splash. She reaches the stone steps at the side, ascends, but stops on the top one, her feet mere inches beneath the surface, water spilling from her clothing, fear washing over her so fast that she turns deathly pale.

  He is three paces away but he doesn’t close the gap, waiting for her to take the last step on her own. When it’s clear she’s not going to budge, Jasper plants his feet, but he visibly relaxes.

  “Elyria,” he says softly, making her crane forward to hear him. “I want you to come here because I want to tell you…”

  She tips forward. “What?” she whispers. “Tell me what?”

  “You’ll never know if you don’t take a chance.”

  She worries at her lip as she stares at the final step between them. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m scared.”

  His posture doesn’t change. He’s still relaxed, but his voice takes on an edge. “I won’t hurt you. Ever.”

  I’m surprised, but I shouldn’t be. Jasper has Sight and he must have seen that it’s not only the water and its effect on her body that she’s afraid of now, but of what her relationship with Jasper will become. It’s plain to me that he loves her but sometimes you can’t see what’s right in front of you. The uncertainty must be killing her.

  She sucks in a breath. “That’s not true. You’ll break my heart.”

  He considers her words in true Jasper style, without fuss, taking them in like a wave sweeping up over him before responding. “Love can’t break your heart, Elyria. Only mend it.”

  Elyria is the polar opposite in her reaction. She’s suddenly a hot mess, tears streaking down her cheeks. “Yo
u can’t mend my heart, Jasper Grace. Nothing can do that.”

  “If that’s what you choose.” He’s still incredibly calm; much calmer than I would be. But just when I think that’s all he’s going to say, the corners of his mouth move in an upward direction. A slow smile breaks across his face.

  Yeah. I’m never going to get used to seeing that.

  Elyria suddenly sobs, gasping, pressing her hand against her heart. “Are you… smiling at me right now?”

  He shrugs, slowly, deliberately. “I guess I am. Because I just realized something.”

  “Wh-what’s that?”

  “You wouldn’t be so upset if you didn’t love me back.”

  She hiccups and cries at the same time. “I… what?”

  That same slow, compelling smile rests on his lips. “Come here, baby.”

  “Okay,” she whispers. She climbs the last step and sloshes to him, her wet feet slapping on the stone. She’s drenched, wingless, barefoot, and completely vulnerable as she turns her face up to his.

  He gently brushes her hair back from her forehead, searching her eyes before he brushes soft kisses against her cheeks and finally kisses her lips. She melts into him, their bodies drawing closer to each other.

  Baelen and I take glances at each other and quietly leave them alone, heading up the pathway and out into the open where the Phoenix patiently waits for us.

  Baelen grins. “No nudging necessary.”

  I lean into his side, urging his arm around me as I contemplate the setting sun. “It’s too late to head back to Rath land now. Let’s stay the night here at the Residence.”

  “Good,” he growls, pulling me flush against him, dropping a lingering kiss on my lips. “They have bigger beds here.”

  My heart flutters and my pulse speeds up. I blush as one of the gargoyles higher up on the cliff clears his throat—a gentle reminder that we’re not alone. Baelen doesn’t seem to care, kissing me again before we approach the Phoenix.

  I ask it: Can you come back for Jasper and Elyria? And bring them to the Residence?

  The firebird answers: With pleasure. Then it pauses before asking, Have they finally admitted what they feel?

  They have.

  The firebird chuckles. It’s about time.

  Llion, Liliana, and Talia are waiting for us when we reach the Residence, along with the old Priestess. I embrace each of them and marvel at how the babies have started walking in the last month. Liliana is glowing and Llion seems happier than I’ve ever seen him. To my surprise, Talia hugs me the hardest. My skin tingles with the same strange sensation I always feel when she is close by—how her deep magic is like a force around me.

  “Thank you,” she says. “For saving our lives on the cliff.”

  I’m surprised when all of my gargoyle friends arrive over the course of the evening: Welsian, Arlo, Iago, Roar, and Gilda, even Rhain and Carmen. Then Indira and Erit fly in with a group of strong male gargoyles who carry Reisha, Jordan, and all of my Storm Command with them. All of my ladies are here.

  They tell me that Sebastian and Eli have remained behind in Rath land to help my brother continue to protect it—and that Elise is still too weak to travel, but my ladies have seen the healers and are fully recovered. They look so much better than the day before: bright-eyed, determined, all of them smiling again. Several of them give me wide-eyed blushes as they talk about the males who flew them here. Each of my ladies gave up a normal life to join my Storm Command; most of them have never had boyfriends, let alone got up close and personal with a male like they would have when they were flown here. I try to hide my smile but don’t quite succeed, ending up laughing and joking with them.

  Later, Senturi makes an appearance with little Adalie who runs to the babies to hold their hands as they totter around the room.

  To their credit, none of my friends seems to care that Senturi and Adalie are Sighted, speaking with them openly and welcoming them to the dinner table.

  When Elyria and Jasper arrive, the gargoyles and elves welcome them too, making room for them and filling their plates with food. Nobody asks about Elyria’s wings and my heart swells to realize that race and appearance no longer matter in my kingdom.

  After dinner, we sit around the glowing fire in the meeting hall and my friends take turns giving me updates about our preparedness for battle. Only Iago has a different kind of news, proudly telling me that the new home for the orphans and priestesses is half complete already.

  “At first I thought I should be on the battlefront,” he says. “But Baelen Rath helped me see that building a new home for the children is just as important as the fight ahead. We have to look to our future with hope, not fear. He gave me a team of builders—gargoyles he could have easily sent to the border instead. I never would have gotten so far without them.”

  “I’m grateful for your work, Iago. I can’t wait to see your progress.”

  As the firelight flickers and begins to die, Senturi approaches me, dropping to a knee, his wing spikes gleaming in the light the same way they did the first time I saw him. He is very solemn. “Supreme Incorruptible,” he asks in front of everyone. “May I have permission to speak with my grandson?”

  I cast a quick glance at Jasper. He is sitting with Elyria snuggled close to his side, but Senturi’s question causes a hush that grabs his attention. He raises his head from the kiss he dropped on her forehead, peering intently at the older gargoyle.

  Senturi stands and turns. Recognition flashes instantly across Jasper’s face. He’s quicker to see the resemblance between himself and his grandfather than I was.

  I say, “I believe you have much to talk about.”

  Beside Jasper, Elyria is in a state of awe, her mouth dropped open and her eyes wide. “Jasper, you are descended from Sighted Ones!” Happy tears leak down her cheeks before she can stop them and my ladies crowd toward her, asking if she’s okay. She accepts their hugs and their concern, smiling and crying at the same time. “This has been a very emotional day.”

  Jasper rises to his feet, eyeing the older gargoyle’s spiked wings and the chain of talons he wears around his neck. The two males stand head to head, their facial structure and the color of their eyes so similar despite the very different color of their skin and the fact that Jasper doesn’t have wings.

  Senturi begins, “Greetings Jasper, son of Grace. I am Senturi of the Outlier Clan.”

  At that moment, Adalie runs over and tugs on Senturi’s hand. “Is this my uncle, Papa?”

  Jasper startles, studying her and the way she uses her power unwittingly when she looks up at him. She breaks into a sweet smile.

  Senturi grins from her to Jasper. “And this little one is—”

  “Adalie,” Jasper says for him. “I somehow know… that her name is Adalie.”

  Adalie beams at him.

  Senturi says, “She has wanted to meet you for a very long time. As I have.”

  Jasper gives his grandfather a sincere nod and gestures to the seat nearest to Elyria. “Please, we should talk.”

  Everyone gives them space to get to know each other and I spend the rest of the evening mingling with my friends and ladies until eventually, they all start heading to bed.

  Before I leave, the old Priestess draws Baelen aside, beckoning him to lean down so she can whisper something into his ear. He gives her a curious glance and then a formal nod. He promptly spins on his heel and leaves the room.

  He is already gone before I can ask what’s going on. “Baelen—?”

  The Priestess hurries over to me. “Please don’t worry, Supreme Incorruptible. The Wrathful One has something he needs to take care of, but you do not need to be concerned.”

  The last time Baelen tried to take care of everything, he almost pushed me away. I’m reluctant to agree, but it doesn’t look like I have much choice. “Oh. Okay.”

  She waves to someone at the side of the room and the Head Cook approaches me with a bowl full of berries that makes my mouth water despite the big me
al I just ate. “We have prepared a special dessert for you, Supreme Incorruptible, in honor of… uh… your return to us.”

  As I take the bowl, he quickly adds, “And before you ask: yes, the kitchen staff all enjoyed a hearty meal earlier this evening.”

  I smile. He knew exactly what I was going to say. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed dessert. Even Grayson didn’t eat sweets. As I take the first mouthful, I’m suddenly aware of Elyria’s gaze, her mouth pursed into a wondering “oh” before she quickly returns her attention to Jasper and Senturi. They are the last to leave before I finish eating and stretch my legs, handing the bowl back to the Head Cook with my thanks.

  “It is our honor, Supreme Incorruptible, to serve you on this night.”

  The old Priestess walks with me to my room. Before we reach it, I admit to her, “I don’t know your name.”

  She seems surprised. “I am Dorothea of the Prime Clan.”

  “The same clan as Badenoch,” I exclaim and then point to my headpiece. “The Prime Heartstone.”

  “The most passionate heartstone.” She shows her dimples as she smiles and her rainbow-colored wings glisten.

  We enter the corridor to my room and I head toward the end, but she stops me before I reach it, her bony old arms snaking around me in a sudden hug.

  I return it, surprised. “Hmm?”

  She grips both my arms and turns me to the right—toward a closed door that is closer than mine. She gestures, palm out toward it as if she wants me to go in.

  I raise my eyebrows at her. “That’s Baelen’s room.”

  “Yes,” she says simply. “It is.”

  “But he’s in my room.”

  “No. He isn’t.”

  My eyes widen, remembering her whisper to him earlier.

  I’m standing in front of Baelen’s bedroom and she isn’t blocking my way. “May I… go in?”

  “I will not stop you. But the choice is yours—and yours alone.” She withdraws with a cheeky grin. “Although… you did already eat the royal wedding berries so you may not be able to back out now…”