Nights of Fire & Ash

Chapter 17

Day after day of intense training to gauge if I was ready to go to the mountain wore me down. I didn't know what I could do or say. I didn't feel emotionally or mentally prepared.
"It is only a decision. You won't be heading to the Mountain without some sort of further training." Tatiana tried to assure me. Her kind words didn't reassure me as we laid down on the warm sand.
"I just don't feel like I'm mentally prepared for that decision either." I ran my hands through my hair. It had grown longer since being in the Fae Realm. It was as if the food had more nutrients than it did back in the Human World.
"You are. You know what you want, or else you probably wouldn't be working this hard to get yourself physically ready." Tatiana rolled onto her side and stared at me. "You have nothing holding you back from wanting to become part of this world. Your family is gone, and there is nothing out there in the Human World for you anymore. Stay here. Stay with me and our friends."
I took a deep breath in and held it. I slowly nodded my head and closed my eyes. Just listening to the sound of the waves. Taking it all in. I could barely keep myself from falling asleep here. My body was physically exhausted.
"If it makes you feel any better, none of the other males took as much interest in making sure that I was ready for my Journey." Her fingers ran in traces down my newly formed muscles. I stared at her out the corner of my eyes. "I also never developed real muscle tone either. I was practically a stick when I ventured up there.
"If I agree to it, you have to tell me what you experienced. I need to be prepared for what can come for me." She glanced at me, and I felt the flash of pain the moved into her eyes.
"That is a story best served over drinks. We will discuss it only after you talk to the King." Her golden bracelets jingled together as she rolled onto her back and babbled on about something her and Zathrian were up to the night before.
~
I waited for her outside of the dining hall. The Summer King was going to be coming in for dinner soon, and Raeva was once again pushing the clock. I didn't need him to have any more reasons to punish her. My body was begging to move to do something. My magic thrummed inside of me, begging to be let out.
"If I were a fool, I would assume that you are worried about a mere human." Aillard probed me as he came closer to the doors.
"If I were a fool, I would assume that you care about what I worry for." I snarled at him.
"She is going to die on that journey, General. I would find something knew to bide your time with." The groan in the mechanism started as she made her way down the lift. "If she doesn't, I am sure that she will find out about your treacherous deeds anyhow."
My teeth bared, and I snapped at him. The smell of dark woods with a hit of vanilla filled my senses, and I knew that she couldn't see us when those doors opened.
"Fuck off and get the hell out of my face." I could have ripped his limbs off in that moment.
"As you command," He chuckled and made his way through the door. The lift doors opened, and that beautiful woman was there, standing in front of me again. A smile forced its way onto my face. A smile that I had not thought about having in many years.
"What was that about?" Raeva questioned as her eyes followed Aillard into the dining hall. She held her breath until the door shut. I new that he set her off just a little. She never talked freely while they shared a room, and her instincts to be wary were not wrong.
"He's just an asshole." I muttered. I caught her eyes once again. Gods, those eyes. I loved looking into them and seeing the different colors. "We should head in. If we keep the King waiting, he will have something more to say about your decision tonight."
I held open the door for her, and we made our way to the table. Tatiana and Raeva shared a look that told me they had already shared the decision together. The pit in my stomach grew as I thought about her going back to the human world. I couldn't imagine what torment she would go through if they imprisoned her for killing her own family.
I had gone back in the months since then to find out if they ever found her youngest brother that she mentioned once or twice. I could feel her pain more than anything. It was as if he was the one she missed most of all.
After the King entered the hall, the meal proceeded as usual until dessert came to the table.
"Before we continue, I think we all want to know what you've decided, Raeva?" The King cocked his eyebrow at her. I heard her heart start to thunder in her chest.
She hesitated, and I started fidgeting with a fork under the table until I bent it nearly in half.
"What shall it be Raeva? To the Mountain or to the Human World?" She huffed, and her eyes glanced up towards mine.
"I will make the Journey." She whispered. It was barely loud enough to hear.
"I am sorry dear, even with this fae hearing. I can't hear everything." He was just taunting her now. Ripping away the one thing that she had from her home now.
"I will make the Journey. I will become fae." She looked up and stared into my eyes.
What would she look like as fae? She would be even more breath taking than she already is, and I don't think that I could live through that. She already is more beautiful than most females in this world.
My breath hitched as I thought about what a future with her could look like. We would spend the rest of our immortal lives together. With her by my side, I could take my throne back if I wanted to. I would no longer be the male who lost everything.
"That's what we wanted to hear!" He smirked. The toasts and the cheers around us seemed to vanish as we stared at each other, and I felt like for the first time in centuries that maybe things were starting to get better for me-for us.
"Your training starts tomorrow, but tonight, we will celebrate as we bring you into our court." I leaned over, and for the first time in front of everyone, I kissed her.