Solar Reign

X I

NOHX PACED back and forth, back and forth. His hands were in his hair, and despite his best efforts, his room was covered in sheets of ice. It seemed to flow from him freely, and something was bursting in his chest.

Once, he had been so skilled in keeping his emotions hidden deep within himself. But now, now it was different. Andorra had ruined him.

He couldn't keep himself contained, not when it came to watching her fight for her life. "She's fine," he told himself out loud. She had defeated the Flayre. Had gone into Moribund, and escaped from the Deathwringer. Had destroyed the Daemonium.

She was fine. She would survive. Nohx knew it to be true.

He burst from his room onto the little balcony. Of course, his room didn't face her. He wasn't given that luxury, not when Fraseri thought that he and Andorra were linked to each other. And even though he was right, Nohx wouldn't reveal that to a lowly dryad.

He stared at the night sky that stretched over his head. The stars winked down at him like they always did. They spoke to him in riddles, in song, and he usually did his best to ignore their calls. It was easy not to step outside during the night time. Easy to leave their message in the sky where it belonged.

But he felt their call. Heard it in his bones. "Fine," he said to them as soon as he was outside. "You win. What do you want to talk about?"

There was an edge in his voice. How could there not be, when Andorra was out there hanging by her ankles? When she had damned herself to save him?

But even knowing that warmed his chest. He had never, not once, allowed himself to dream of a day where Andorra would love him back. He had never dared let himself get swept up in that fantasy, because it would be painful. A dream, and nothing more. Yet, he felt it in her actions that it was a dream coming true, right in front of him. His throat tightened at the realization that, with or without Sivelle's declaration, Andorra loved him.

The stars scattered, forming a constellation above him. He waited patiently as they spread, settling into a single image: Fraseri holding up Andorra's hand in a we have a winner! gesture. Just as Nohx decoded the image, the stars moved once more, shifting into something else. A vial of something twinkled in the night. Another movement revealed a crown, worn onto a man's head. Nohx tilted his own head at this image, trying to see what it meant. And then, finally, the stars moved one last time. The man wearing the crown holding the hand of a child.

Nohx stood there, trying to make sense of the scene above him. What was the story there? There were too many missing gaps, and Nohx's mind wasn't clear enough for him to be solving any sort of mystery. As he turned from the image, back to his room, the stars shifted once more. A boat, rolling into a shore.

Once back into the room, Nohx paced back and forth. The stars had called out to him, and gave him that in response. He would drive himself mad trying to figure it out. "Sivelle will know," he muttered to himself.

He sent one last look out to the balcony. "What matters is that she'll escape this." And Nohx trusted the stars more than he trusted himself.

* * *

Eiriae was quick to cut Andorra down. "There, that'll feel better."

Andorra found her footing on the branch with very little issue. Training with Vulara, it seemed, had given her more strength than she realized.

"I don't understand. You're not a part of the Reaping? Why on Earth would you come close to this madness?" Andorra reached down to rub her raw ankles. She flinched from the raw cut, then let herself heal swiftly. Amazing what being a faerie entailed.

"On Earth?" Eiriae tilted her head with a smile. "They warned me about your human tongue, but it's still interesting to hear it."

Andorra's cheeks burned in embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess it's hard to drop the phrases. But what are you doing here? You could've been killed."

Eiriae shrugged. "Killed? Not likely. My father is a general for the Autumn Court army. I've trained alongside the best of them. Would put myself on the line, too, if he let me." She rolled her eyes. "But that'll never happen. Not while he's general."

"So you, what? Hang around the Woodland Forest? With the dryads?"

Eiriae let out a snort. "No. I'm here to free these fae. The Autumn Court detests the dryads for this ceremony alone. I was going to cause a little mishap in their games by letting everyone go. But you're more than welcome to help, my Queen."

Andorra found herself staring at Eiriae for a beat too long. Not that it surprised her that someone else wanted to help, but there was something genuine about this fae. Something kind beyond the surface.

"Of course I'll help. I think I'll be most useful bringing them to the forest floor."

The two of them worked together like that, well into the night. Eiriae cut the fae from the vines while Andorra pulled them into the in-between, releasing them safely onto the ground. Some were skeptical, of course. Others were grateful. And only a few tried to kill her in the process.

By the time they were finished, Andorra and Eiriae stood at the bottom, surveying the scene of fallen fae. There were perhaps a little less than a dozen bodies, frozen in time, dead before they could blink. Something tore at Andorra's heart to see them there, broken and bent.

She knew she wasn't going to save them all. Had known, going into it, that she would be the lone victor. But still, something crawled up her chest and into her throat, triggering tears.

"We'll give them a proper burial." Eiriae noticed the unshed tears in the Queen's eye. "And then I'll be on my way."

Andorra helped Eiriae dig shallow graves under the night sky. Every time Andorra looked up, expecting someone to be watching them, she saw the twinkle of the stars above. They were so bright here in the wood. They reminded her of the stars in Icewood, gleaming against the frozen tundra, bright and unbothered. The lack of light pollution made them burn.

Was Nohx still there, with Fraseri? Had he gotten himself to safety? Andorra wanted to know so badly, her chest ached, but she continued to tuck fae into graves, covering them up with dirt and a prayer. By the time they were both done, Andorra felt raw with grief.

"It never gets easier," Eiriae offered, noticing the way Andorra couldn't seem to swallow. "But we do it to honor them. The Reaper Clan is known for this, hard as it is. But there is honor in death, and we will always remember."

Andorra found herself nodding. Despite the death she had witnessed in Anlithamy in such a short period of time, she still wasn't completely used to it. And her human heart repealed the idea of so much death, so many lives wasted. Again she tried to swallow, and again it got caught in her throat.

"You saved them, my Queen. Even if some lives were lost, you bargaining your life for them was enough. They know it to be true; we all knew what you did by entering the Reaping. Word of your kindness will spread across Anlithamy."

But guilt still rode her hard. Because yes, it had been to stop this awful tradition, but also she had done it save Nohx. She had been selfish in her bargaining.

Andorra turned to Eiriae. "If you're ever interested in fighting, come to the Royal Court. There will be a place for you in our armies, if you so wish. And if you need someone to talk to, a friend perhaps, the castle will always welcome you with open arms, Eiriae."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer, my Queen. For now, I suggest you get back up on that branch. The first rays of light will come soon, as will Fraseri."

As Andorra opened up the in-between, she smiled goodbye to Eiriae. A friend, maybe, she thought. And how blessed she felt that Anlithamy seemed to be full of them, whereas the human world had been so starved for such kindness.

Andorra waited, stiffly, on the branch for morning to arrive. By the time the sun began to filter through the trees, yawning up against the night sky, Andorra was ready. Ready to accept her win. Ready to meet with the Rumplewren. Ready to be one step closer to destroying Roseria and any other enemy that would arise.