Page 189 of Crown of Briars
Tears streaked down his face, and he closed his eyes. “Sybelle…”
I drew closer to him, pressing my forehead to his. “It will not be easy. But I will be by your side the whole time. I will help you through it. I swear it.”
A shattered moan poured from his lips, and his arms encircled my waist. His head dropped to my shoulder, his large body shaking with fresh sobs. “So much pain. So much loss.”
I gently lifted his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. My throat knotted with emotion, and I blinked the moisture from my own eyes, determined to keep my composure for his sake. The sight of him like this broke me, but I needed to be strong right now.
For him.
“Let’s make sure that loss was not in vain,” I whispered. “One step at a time, husband. And right now, the first step is to face this army and stop a war. We can focus on the next steps later.”
He inhaled deeply and nodded, drawing back to look me over. He stroked my cheek, his eyes warming despite the tears that still lingered. “How did you become such a mighty and courageous leader?”
Half my mouth quirked in a smile. “I’ve always been like that. It’s just taken you a long time to see it.”
He huffed a laugh at that, then allowed me to steer him toward Azure, who was still kneeling before us. I climbed on her back, and Varius followed suit. I glanced uncertainly at Tislora, noting her torn wing.
The sorceress rolled her eyes. “My crow’s wings are still intact. I can fly behind you.”
“Or I can heal you, if you prefer,” I offered.
Her eyebrows lifted, and the irritation on her face melted away. “I—well, that would be much appreciated. Thank you… Sybelle.”
I smiled at the usage of my name. Without her, none of this would have been possible. The curse would never have been broken. She had become… an unlikely ally, of sorts. And having her on my side had been an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
We weren’t the closest of friends, but it was certainly a start.
A few minutes later, with Tislora freshly healed and flying behind us, Varius and I rode atop Azure as she flew us back to Agnarr Castle. With her great wings, Tislora managed to keep up easily with Azure’s pace.
I held my breath when we passed the forest, expecting to see the clash of weapons between humans and fae.
Instead, I found the two armies facing off. Shouts and screams echoed below, but… no one was fighting.
Azure circled the crowd, then slammed into the ground next to both armies. Shrieks of alarm filled the square, and I found myself laughing. For so many years, I had been desperate to keep Azure’s identity a secret.
Now, it seemed, it didn’t really matter. In the kingdom of the unseelie, there were all kinds of beasts and creatures. Like me, it just felt as if Azurebelongedhere.
And it was time for her to make herself known.
I slid off her back and raced toward the road where the armiesstood. In front, wearing a massive silver crown and a scowl worthy of our father, stood my sister, Orla. Her face was pale as she took in my dragon, but when her gaze fixed on me, she glared with venom.
“Orla,” I panted when I reached her side. “What is this? Why are you doing this?” I gestured to the fae, then faltered when I realizedallof them were in their seelie forms.
No wonder the humans had stopped fighting. When the curse broke and the fae realized they could shift forms, it had probably shocked everyone enough to halt the fighting.
For now.
“They are unseelie!” Orla snarled, jabbing a finger toward the row of fae soldiers in front. “They must die!”
“They aremy people,” I said firmly. “You would kill them all just because of your prejudice?”
“Their shadows have been attacking our people for years,” Orla snapped, then pointed to Varius. “Hisshadows!”
“They were not mine,” Varius said, drawing forward. His gaze flicked toward his soldiers, and the barest hint of agony crossed his features.
I slid closer to him and laced my fingers through his, giving his hand an encouraging squeeze.
Varius cleared his throat and continued speaking. “We were cursed, Orla. Your sister has now broken that curse. Don’t you wonder why we are all suddenly able to change forms?” He spread his free hand toward his soldiers.
