“Please…” She choked out. “I-I—”
I ripped a knife from my belt and held it to her throat, my patience wearing thin.
“Evander!” She was sobbing now, her entire body trembling.
I’d expected it, but halfway hoped I was wrong. I turned away, running a hand through my hair. Ara was going to be devastated.
“Is Ara… Is she dead?”
I whipped my head to her, and smoke rose around us as my feet singed the hay on the floor.
“No, thankfully for you.” I stepped closer, just inches away from her face. “If she does die, however, you will die along with her, and it will not be quick. You will suffer the most excruciating death I can imagine.” I reached up, digging my thumb into the bruise along her cheek, and she screamed, sobbing harder. “It will be much,muchworse than this.”
Exiting the cell, I locked the door behind me. Her cries echoed down the hallway as I left.
“Keep her here,” I ordered and the guards gave a quick nod.
I returned to the surgery to find Alden and Iaso at Ara’s side. Joining them, I nodded in greeting and glanced at Ara, wincing. Her torn shirt was still caked in dried blood, pulled back to reveal the wound on her side. Iaso applied a poultice and Alden’s shaky inhale was audible as she pulled her shirt back to down to cover it.
“Have you made any progress with the antidote?” I asked Iaso as she joined us by her side, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Will it help to close her wound?
“Yes, it still needs to brew for a few more hours, but I had everything I needed. It won’t be much longer now. Once she receives it, the wound should heal like normal.” Alden and I simultaneously sighed a breath of relief and she gave my shoulder a light squeeze. “All will be well soon, my child.”
She returned to her seat and continued grinding tea leaves, filling the room with the floral aroma.
“Will Doran and Delphia be returning soon?” Alden asked.
“Yes, they should be back within a day or two.”
With Ara’s attempted assassination and everything that followed, their return hadn’t even crossed my mind. I rubbed the back of my neck, guilt pricking at me. I’d left them there, albeit for good reasons, but it still made their journey home a much harder one. While it wasn’t an incredibly long trek, they would have to cross the border mountains by foot and that was difficult in itself.
They would also be passing by Nautia if they went the traditional route, the town that Alden and his mate hailed from. It was a coastal town tucked away within the mountains, hidden from Auryna.
I peeked at Alden and he was still focused on Ara, placing a hand on hers.
“When was the last time you visited Nautia?”
“It’s been a very long time, too long,” he said, almost whispering. “Not since Ara died.”
“Your mate’s name was Ara, too?”
A ghost of a smile painted his lips.
“Yes. I’m assuming you know Vaelor was my son, with all your constant eavesdropping.” He gave me a flat look and returned his gaze to Ara. “When he told me of Elora’s pregnancy, he said if it was a girl, he wanted to name her after his mother.”
His eyes brimmed with tears as he gripped her hand with both of his.
“I didn’t know he’d told Elora, or that she’d actually named her Ara until I met her the first night. I recognized her right away, you know. She looks so much like her mother, but those eyes. Those are Vaelor’s, as they are mine.” He leaned down and kissed her hand. “She is my blood and all that I have left of my family.”
Iaso stood, placing a hand on his back. “We will save her.”
Alden nodded, wiping a tear from his cheek.
“I never thought I’d get to meet her, not in this lifetime. She is so much like him,” he said.
“Yes, she is. She has his compassion,” she said with a sad smile.
Alden smiled, laughing lightly as another tear fell.