Kenna
A heat like no other spreads through our joined hands. I almost pull away from Sydney, surprised by the searing pain. My heart hammers against my ribs, but I stay focused, looking down at my mate and praying so hard the words jumble together.
I barely notice how everyone but Amanda has backed away. Even Granger, who looks like he’s ready to flatten Eastonia to kill the rest of the Draven Rebels with his bare hands, is resting on his knees with his hand wrapped around Evander’s ankle.
But Dad stays by my side. My dad, who wanted to send Evander away, now rests his hand on Evander’s shoulder and squeezes.
“Come on, son.”
“Evander,” Granger whispers, squeezing Evander’s ankle. “Don’t do this to your mother. Don’t do this to Kenna.”
My heart wrenches. I let my tears flow freely, several of them dripping down onto Evander’s lips.
Sydney is shaking with the effort of this beside me. His eyes are pinched closed, and similar unintelligible prayers are mumbled from his lips. He strains, his brow pinched, and the heat between our hands grows so strong I think I might be getting burned.
I think of the night at the ball when I’d been crying in that corner. I remember that man in a mask coming to me, asking me to dance, and how safe and comfortable I’d felt in what I believed to be a perfect stranger's arms.
I wish I could go back to the night, just for a moment. I wish I could take off the mask he’d been wearing and kiss him again, for the first time, and know it was him.
I wish I could have a chance to dance with him again, one last time.
Because this isn’t working.
“Sydney,” I whimper, clutching his hand, knitting our fingers together over Evander’s chest as our powers flicker out. “Nothing is happening.”
Sydney chokes on a breath and hangs his head.
I keep clutching his hand, my body aching from sobs that wrack my ribs and spine.
Maybe not feeling the full brunt of the mate bond right now is a good thing because the pain of losing Evander is already too much to bear. I can’t breathe. My lungs won’t work. My heart is being crushed, twisting in on itself.
I look up at my mom with tears in my eyes as she clutches Brie to her chest, silent tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry,” I manage to say to everyone around me, to Evander. “I am so sorry–”
But Evander’s chest moves-rising as he breathes in deep.
Time stills. I feel like I’m imagining it.
I look at my mom again, and her eyes are full of silver fire.
“A little more,” she says in a mere whisper. “Give him a little more, Kenna. He’s there. He’s trying to fight his way back to you. Keep trying.”
I look around at the totally still people kneeling around me. Dad slowly blinks before closing his eyes, moving in slow motion as he hangs his head and outstretches a hand to Evander.
Again, I look at Mom. She nods.
Determination courses through me as I untangle my hand from Sydney’s and take Evander’s face in my hands. I look down at him, at his closed eyes, and let out a scream that shakes the trees and echoes off the mountain tops. I want every kingdom, every sleeping god and goddess, to hear me.
“Wake up!” I command, and the very last of my powers surge. “WAKE UP!”
His chest trembles, then relaxes, and then his lips part as he suddenly sucks in a ragged, shallow breath and coughs.
Time snaps, speeding up to normal, and Evander cries out, clutching my arm so tight I feel my bones scrape together.
Shouts fill the air, mingling with several surprised yelps and cries of shock.
“It’s me,” I blubber, leaning down to rest my forehead against his. “It’s me. You’re okay. You’re okay–”
“Kenna?” Evander rasps. He coughs painfully, wincing.
“Thank the Goddess,” Sydney says hoarsely, scooting back and falling over on his side.
The next several seconds are chaotic. Amanda throws herself on Evander again and sobs. He bursts into tears beside her, and Dad…
“Thanks the gods,” he breathes, slouching, holding his head in his hands beside me.
“Kenna,” Evander says hoarsely, opening his eyes to slits.
“Yeah?” I sniffle, my cheeks aching from smiling so hard.
“I’m fucking done. We’re going to Veiled–Veiled Valley. I’m going to sit on that throne beside you and that's it. I’m never fighting again.”
Flynn and Connor laugh nearby.
But I’m beaming, barely able to breathe. “That sounds nice,” I tell them, and lean down to brush a kiss to his lips.
* * *
Brie looks up at me, and I look down at her. Her eyes will be a soft hazel, I think, now that they’re beginning to change. In the sunlight streaming through the windows, I can just make out a hint of green near her pupils. She’ll be blonde, at least for a while. Peach fuzz hair has started to sprout, and golden eyelashes catch the light as her mouth pulls into a sleepy smile.
Rocking her to sleep is methodic and relaxing for both of us.
The door to my sitting room silently opens.
Sydney walks in, closing the door behind him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I whisper.
He looks much better than he did yesterday. His coppery brown hair is brushed back away from his face, and he’s clean shaven, dressed for a journey.
I swallow hard as he sits down in the armchair across from me and crosses an ankle over a knee.
I can’t look at him without thinking about what happened yesterday evening. I hadn’t known he had healing gifts. He never told anyone.
When my own powers were abysmal, he stepped up. I placed my hand over his, and together, we fought like hell when all odds were stacked against us.
“How is he?” he asks, his eyes downcast on Brie.
I heave a breath, blinking rapidly to stop tears from flowing down my cheeks. “He’s resting.”
Sydney nods absently but still won’t meet my eyes.
We almost lost Evander. We came so close.
It doesn’t feel real that he’s still with us. Our powers didn’t do much to heal his numerous injuries, and he’ll likely have a scar across his throat forever, but we rekindle what small flicker of life was left in him. We gave him a fighting chance.
Now, he’s in the bedroom, the next room over, asleep. I doubt he’ll wake up for some time. He’s on so many tonics to keep him at rest while the potions and herbs I’ve been using on him do their job and heal his body.
“I’m leaving in twenty-minutes,” Sydney says. “Your dad is jumping me to Veiled Valley. I’m taking a boat to Maatua from there.”
“So soon?”
He says nothing but cracks his knuckles.
“Say hi to Grandma and Grandpa for me, won’t you?”
“Of course. I’ll be back in a month for your ascension ceremony.”
Oh yeah, that. Nothing in the world, even almost getting killed by Gabriel, would stop me and Evander from taking over Veiled Valley, apparently.
Finally, Sydney meets my eyes. “Gabriel is still out there.”
“I know.”
He grits his teeth. Something is obviously wrong, something he’s not willing to share.
“We’re safe here, you know. Dad and Granger took out the rest of the coven. Commander Artyom and his forces have been canvassing the Roguelands, but so far, it’s pretty much confirmed that the Draven Coven is gone, for good.”
“Gabriel is still alive.”
“I know,” I repeat, sensing the rising anger in his tone.
“I tried to kill him.”
“Did he… did he say something to you?”
“Many things.” He rolls his neck and looks out the window. “I love you.”
“I love you,” I say, but he stands and leaves without another word.
But Dad catches the door on Sydney’s way out. Sydney steps past him as if in a hurry and disappears.
Dad sighs and closes the door behind him.
“Does he really have to leave so soon?” I ask. “He seems out of sorts.”
“His parents want him home, and he’s an Alpha. Now that the rebel threat is taken care of, he’s no longer needed here.”
“But Gabriel’s out there–”
“And Sydney has been tasked with tracking down Gabriel’s cousin.” Dad sits down, sighing. His eyes are a deep steel color in the sunlight as he looks down at where Brie is sleeping peacefully in my arms. “Sydney will be fine. I wanted to talk to you before I left to escort him to Veiled Valley, though.”
I rock Brie with more fervor. Dad and I have been at each other’s throats for some time now, which is highly unusual. If I’m fighting with anyone, it’s normally Mom.
“I treated you and Evander unfairly.”
I smirk. “You think?”
“Kenna, please, just listen.” He’s trying to look serious right now but failing. His mouth quirks as he leans back, sighing. “I would have never stopped you from being with him. Evander has always loved you. He’s loved you on a level even your mom and I didn’t fully understand. I knew, from the moment he swore he’d protect you, when was a child, that Evander was… going to get in the way of himself when it came to acting on the mate bond we all knew was there.”
“You knew?”
“I assumed,” he admits. “No one has ever been as committed to someone like he was committed to you without a mate bond in place. I honestly didn’t feel that way for your mother, my own mate, until after we officially accepted our bond.”
“Do you approve of him, then?”
“Of course, I do.”
“And you’ll be nice to him?”
“If he proves to be a good son-in-law and Alpha of Veiled Valley, yes.”
I playfully scowl, but that heavy feeling in my chest lifts as Dad rises.
“Let me take her. Your mom and Amanda want her, and you should rest.”
I allow him to lift Brie from his arms with practiced grace. When I was her age, my parents were trying to find a way home after fighting for their lives through Tarsian with me in tow. Brie is lucky, I think. She’s surrounded by so much comfort and love.
Dad leaves, and I quietly edge into my room. I pull the curtains closed, blocking out the sunset, and crawl into bed beside Evander.
I curl my body around his, spooning him, which is very difficult because he’s so much taller than me.
But in the quiet dark, I close my eyes, knowing we’re safe.
He squeezes my hand to let me know he knows I’m there.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” I murmur against his back, and his answering chuckle vibrates through the room, warming me through and through.
We’ll have a quiet life. We’ll wake up slow and eat breakfast together. We’ll fill Brie’s new nursery in Veiled Valley with toys and take her on walks to the city every day.
Once a year, we’ll gather in Maatua for Winter Solstice and watch our family grow, year by year, adding new members and gifts as time flutters by.
One day, we’ll have another baby. Maybe he’ll be the new Alpha of the Veiled Valley, or she’ll be the future Queen of Eastonia.
The future might be unclear, but what I do know is that this is exactly where I’m meant to be.
I drift off to sleep, clutching Evander tight, and thanking the Goddess for letting me find him, to know him, as my mate.