FOR HER, HE WILL SET EVERY KINGDOM ON FIRE.
Kyron LeFur never wanted to be king. He may have united a torn people and ended a bloody war, but none of that matters without his queen. She sacrificed her crown for him, and now he will stop at nothing t...
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The final pyre goes up in flames, engulfing the body shrouded in the center. Embers drift to the clear night sky as if carrying our beloved friend to the stars. The Basecamp soldiers stand in silence, their arms clasped behind their backs and heads bowed. Kyron tosses the torch into the kindle at the bottom of the fire and takes a step back. The flames flicker bright in his onyx eyes, a sharp contrast to the violent storm brewing in his soul. Terro and Ulric step forward and to flank him, loyal guards keeping watch over their friend and king.
They say nothing. No goodbyes. No words about how Greer will be missed. They stand as silent sentinels ensuring she makes it to her final destination. Kyron takes a knee, and I follow suit with the rest of the soldiers. Together, we pound our fists to our hearts, representing the pain we feel at her loss. The salute also reminds us that we still live. With each heartbeat, we can honor her memory by living our lives to the fullest.
Kyron stands, and with his gaze focused straight ahead, he slips through the crowd. The pain in the center of my chest is enough to have me rubbing my sternum. I want to chase after him, to hold him and tell him everything will be all right. But it's not true, not right now, not when his heart is still bleeding. He needs a moment to sit in the brokenness before he starts to reassemble himself in a way that doesn't include Greer in his every day.
"I'm sorry I wasn't faster," Ashavee says.
I glance up at her and the admire how the light dances over her face. Her sorrow makes every sharp line harsher, but she holds such compassion under her edges. She possesses the kind of beauty that is amplified by what's on the inside. Ashavee is beautiful through and through.
Gripping her arm and giving a squeeze, I say, "Greer knew what she was doing. She made a vow to our people, to Kyron. She wouldn't want you to feel guilty because she fulfilled that promise."
Ashavee wraps her fingers around the lime green stone hanging from her neck. She clenches it as if she is torn my its existence. It is a gift to protect her people, yet it was used for such destruction. "I hope the new treaty between Pliris and Allaji honors her sacrifice."
I lower my head in reverence and say, "It does, Your Majesty."
She scoffs at the formality, and I understand the sentiment. I spent my entire life preparing to become a queen, she was bestowed the honor unexpectedly. We hadn't even left the battlefield in the heart of Stigian when the shifters prostrated before her. Not one of them challenged the position freely given to her. How could they when she was the link to stopping a bloody war and solving the issues behind their hunger?
The relationship she had formed with Kyron and me was the answer to the Allaji people's greatest dilemmas. We could work together to end the abhorrent acts that lead us to this war, and supply the resources need to replant their barren land. Every Allaji person would benefit from our union as allies. The five kingdoms would prosper because of it.
"Once I've personally seen to the care of each Cyffred in Allaji and they are well enough to travel, I will give them safe passage home."
I fight back the tears threatening to spill down my face. This never needed to happen. One bad ruler can bring such devastation, and one good ruler can begin to right every wrong of the past. If only the Allaji would have originally chosen the latter to be their king months ago.
