A Court of Secrets and Moonlight

79: The Secret

Feyre

"You could have asked for help, you know." The dark skinned male grinned at us, white feathered wings flaring wide at his back, "I'm feeling a bit offended that I had to find out about this through the rumor mill."

"We came looking for you, and you weren't there." Rhys answered him, "Makes it kind of hard for someone to ask for help."

Drakon rubbed the back of his neck, "Yes, we realized that our glamor may have been a bit... too convincing."

"You mean to tell me that you've been on Cretea this whole time." Rhys frowned.

"Yes- until we heard about Hybern, about Miryam being hunted again." The male breathed, his wings fluttering in something like rage as he remembered the threat we thought Jurian posed.

I could not think.

Could barely do anything stare out at those ships, tears streaming down my smiling cheeks, as my father crested over the horizon.

"Where did you meet my mate's father?" I heard Rhys ask the male.

There was a pregnant pause, a moment as Drakon realized who I was, and who the male leading the army he had flown in with was.

"Your mate..." He breathed, "I met that man on the flight here, calls himself the Prince of Merchants. I did not realize you knew him, or that your mate was one of the daughters he claimed lived here. He has been amassing a private army ever since he heard of the incoming threat, even joined ranks with a human queen named Vassa."

"And Lucien?" Rhys questioned.

"I do not know who that is." I could hear the frown in Drakon's voice, "Like I said, we just met up with them on the way here. It's why we arrived late- we gave them a bit of a push to get here."

That was enough to pull me from my trance, "You did not see a redheaded male with a gold eye?"

Drakon turned to me, shaking his head.

"And have you seen my sister?" Rhys asked, some kind of new panic setting into his voice.

Drakon's brows furrowed when he turned to my mate, staring at him as if he had three heads, "Your sister?"

"Leuruna." Rhys explained, as if he was begging the male to respond, to tell him what he wanted to hear, "Have you seen Leuruna or Azriel?"

Drakon looked as if he did not know what to say, a soft hand placed on Rhys's arm as he whispered, "Rhys- Leur is dead."

My mate went wholly still.

I realized the misunderstanding before Rhys did, speaking up, "No, she is not. She didn't die 500 years ago. It's a long story, but we can't find her or Azriel. They disappeared from our camp this morning, have you seen them?"

Drakon blinked at me, trying to digest everything I said as he answered a simple, "No."

He turned to Rhys, "She's been alive all this time?"

I didn't think I had ever seen both relief and panic cross someone's face at once, not before I looked at the way Rhys's shoulders dropped from the tension they had been holding, "Yes."

"Mother above." Drakon whispered.

Cassian finally moved from where he was standing, "We need to keep going. There still aren't enough of us to drive them back."

His words seemed to break Rhys and Drakon from the spot where they had been standing in. The armadas at sea had begun a battle of all out bloodshed, cannons firing and magic spearing across the churning ocean. Vassa had moved on land now, diving and burning the soldiers who were rushing on land from the Hybern boats that had reached the shore. Wild rays of embers and sparks flared as her wings flapped, a true firebird in every sense of the word.