All I Need ✔️

Chapter 98

Safania's POV

"Safania!"

Liasa's shouting woke me from my restless sleep. Emalina rose too, probably wondering why Liasa was storming into our tent so early in the morning.

"It's a letter from Peria," Liasa told us anxiously.

Now I was wide awake. I could hear my heart thudding in my chest.

"For you," she said, passing the letter to me.

My hands trembled as I opened the letter. I nearly burst out into tears when I saw Cassius's familiar handwriting.

"It's Cassius's writing," I told them. "He's alive."

Liasa and Emalina both let out sighs of relief. "What does it say?" Liasa asked eagerly.

I read through the letter. It was extremely brief. Liasa and Emalina watched my face closely as I read, probably looking for signs of what the letter said.

"It just says that they won and to come as soon as possible," I told them. "And he told me that Ari and Alton are both safe."

Liasa smiled while Emalina buried her head in her hands, sobbing.

"Em?" I asked, walking over to comfort her.

"I was just so worried," she told me. "They're okay. They're all okay."

"They're all okay," I repeated, smiling. "Let's get ready to go so we can get there as quickly as possible."

We left almost immediately, with a few other elementalists joining us, including Maria. The trip was fairly uneventful, with the exception of Emalina constantly chewing at her nails and Liasa constantly telling her to stop. We spent most of the journey in silence, which caused my anxiety to spiral. Why was the message Cassius sent so short? Was something still going on? Was this safe? Maybe Alterius was trying to trick us? Or maybe there was something Cassius didn't want to put in a letter? But what?

After days of these thoughts spinning around my head, I was beyond relieved when we finally made it to Peria.

"Oh my god," Emalina remarked. We all looked at the city in shock. Entire buildings were demolished – homes scorched and burned to the ground. People were already starting to rebuild, but they had a daunting task ahead of them.

The people quickly noticed our small caravan. "Is that Lady Safania?" someone shouted. "Lady Safania!" some began to call at me. Soon, a crowd had formed around our carriage, making it difficult for us to continue.

"I have to speak to them," I told Emalina and Liasa.

"That doesn't seem like a good idea..." Emalina began, looking apprehensively at the crowd.

"If it looks dangerous, I'll come back. But I want to talk to them. These are my people now. They deserve to know why I wasn't here with them."

"There's no talking you out of this, is there?" Emalina asked with a sigh.

"No," I replied.

"Please make it quick," she said, giving up.

I stepped out of the carriage cautiously. Immediately, the crowd noticed my now clearly visible bump. A murmur went through the crowd. "Lady Safania is pregnant!" the villagers began telling each other excitedly.

I placed my hand softly on my bump. "I so badly wanted to fight with you. But Prince Cassius was worried about the baby...he didn't want to risk it. I promise I'll come back and help you all, but right now I really need to see him."

"You heard her!" a man in the crowd yelled. "Get out of the way so our new queen can get through!"

New queen. I hadn't even thought about that yet.