Map of Ember and Moonlight

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Lyv had seen the ship anchor out in the bay as she rolled up the furs from the bed to store away. Gone were her fantasies from the night before and that morning in the bath when a smaller boat was headed for the port town.

All of her things were packed and ready to go, her bag sitting by the door and everything else already packed up on the horses. Amory had done it for her after the fifth time asking her if she was okay and her answer being only silence.

Her tears had been well-hidden that morning. But in the last half hour that Amory had been away from her, she'd let them fall. Seeing the ship, though, caused them to dry up quickly. She couldn't let him see, so she wiped her face, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was still flushed from their morning in the bath and now it was matched by her red-rimmed eyes.

Picking up her bag, she made sure the fire in the hearth was out before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, the sound a feminine laugh echoed up from the end of the dock. She peered out to see the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen hugging Amory and talking to him.

No, she wasn't a woman. She was a Fae female, bright blonde hair in a bun at the top of her head and dressed in formfitting armor made of steel and leather.

She'd been talking quietly to Amory as they hugged just before she pulled back, sniffed at him, and her eyes widened. What was exchanged between them was loud and clear.

"Do you want to meet her?"

"She's here. And you're leaving her?"

Leaving her. Yes, he was leaving her. She knew it was what had to happen, but still didn't want it to.

Lyv put her bag down at the doorway and stepped out onto the porch, just as Amory and the female looked up at her. Setting her jaw, she held herself high just as her mother had taught her when she was a child. Pride filled Amory's gaze as the female murmured something to him and Lyv started down the steps to the dock.

The closer she got, the better she could focus on the female. She was devastating, even in her armor. She wore cosmetics as Lyv's sisters did, her eyes dark and smoky and lips painted red to contrast her perfect, white teeth. The males in the boat were appreciative also, but they knew how to reign it in. That, or they knew she could cut them down with one swing of the sword she had at her waist. She had to have been higher up on the command chain, having four silver stars in a row on her shoulders, along with thin bands around her arms, which none of them carried on their own armor.

Amory stepped away from her, extending his hand for Lyv's once she was just a few feet from them. Almost subconsciously, she took it, threading her fingers through his. The female was still looking at her, but Lyv couldn't understand her expression. It was one mixed between awe, respect, and pure happiness.

"Alyvia, I would like you to meet a friend, Camilla of House Gaius and general of Dalcaine's military forces. And Camilla, this is Alyvia, Princess of Escarral."

"House Gaius...as in the ruling family of Aarden? And general?"

"Yes, though the title Lady of Aarden will pass to my older sister. And I earned the title general just as anyone would. No one took the daughter of a lord seriously until I was cutting them down on the training field or in battle," Camilla answered with a bright smile, and bowed her head in respect. "But it is an absolute privilege to meet you, Princess Alyvia."