“I’ll take your word for it,” Andromeda grins slyly. Sighing she adds, “I should go talk to Midgella and make sure she’s all right.”
“Right behind you,” Daegan tells her.
“Just try not to stare at my ass, okay?” Andromeda teases.
Midgella sits leaning against a stone pillar between Ezra and Andromeda’s Landborn father. Andromeda’s not ready to think of him as anything else.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Midgella shakes her head as she leans into Ezra’s embrace.
“Midge,” Andromeda calls her name softly. Her sister’s sharp silver eyes, so much like Lyra’s suddenly focus on her.
“Oh, Eda,” Midge’s eyes flood with tears as she stumbles to her feet and envelopes Andromeda in a tight hug. “I was so afraid she’d kill you. That she’d kill us all.”
“Lyra can’t hurt us anymore,” Andromeda smiles wanly as she studies her sister for injuries. Despite not sharing blood, Andromeda and Midge could be twins now from the scars they both wear on their faces. The fresh, puckered lacerations on Midgella’s face inflicted by Lyra’s cruelty will take time to heal without Andromeda’s fast-healing Perscesian blood.
“Has Ezra told you all that has happened?” Andromeda asks cautiously.
“No,” Ezra answers quickly. “I figured there would be time for all that later.”
“For all what?” Midgella’s nose scrunches in confusion. “What’s going on?”
“Rest now, Midge,” Grus Mistsplitter speaks up for the first time. His voice is rougher than normal and Andromeda quickly offers him a drink from the waterskin at her side. “The city is a mess and I suspect there are many things yet to be put in order. What Ezra has to tell will keep.”
A scream pierces the air and Andromeda and Daegan take off running without even knowing which way to head. They follow the sound of anguished sobs until they find Antila crumpled on the ground holding a man in her arms. At closer inspection Andromeda’s heart sinks as she recognizes the lifeless body of Cutter Longbone laying in her blood-sister’s arms. Two arrows protrude from Cutter’s chest and a third is embedded in his back. Antila rocks him in her arms as her tears splash onto his face.
Andromeda drops to her knees next to Antila and touches her forearm gently. Carina and Ajax rush over and the Queen tries to embrace her middle daughter but Antila brushes her off easily.
“He was kind to me,” Antila hiccups. “For the first time one of the Landborn looked at me like I was just a normal girl, not a monster. And now he’s g-g-gone.”
“Shh,” Andromeda coos as she takes Antila into her arms. “It’s okay. We’ve got you. You’re all right.”
Cygni crouches down before Antila’s weeping form. “It’s Antila, right?”
Antila raises red-rimmed eyes to the Vacantian heir and nods slowly.
“Well, Antila,” Cygni takes her hands in his, “I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that the days of prejudice and hate are behind us. I can’t say that there will never again be petty squabbles over meaningless things like land and trade agreements, but our world is dawning on a new day. The Losteroan people are free, and I will make sure they are never enslaved again. The Shroudanian king lies dead in the rubble of the throne room, and that will pose a slight conflict as we deliver news of his demise and that of the soldiers who crossed the sea with him. We will assemble an enclave. Gather the leaders of all five kingdoms - Shroudania, Lostero, Perscesia, Vacantia, and the Starborn kingdom — and there will be no more separations of the kingdoms. All will be welcome on all soil — from one end of the world to the other and beyond. It might take time for the people to put aside old prejudices but I promise you, Antila; I will spend the rest of my life being the king my father always hoped I’d be and better.”
Chapter 28
Cygni
All in all it took three months for Cygni’s plans to come to fruition. The palace and the capital city had been hit hard during the battle for the city and much had to be rebuilt from the ground up. There were still parts of the city that needed work but Cygni had made the outer limits of the city, the home of those less able to afford to rebuild on their own, his priority. Now the impoverished citizens of Vanyia had safe, clean quarters big enough to house whole families comfortably.
Once it was safe enough for the residents of Vanyia to return Cygni addressed his people with Queen Carina, Lester, Thane, Octavia, and Dao at his side. He told the people of Lyra’s duplicity and assured them that her bloody reign had ended. Cygni told the people that change was coming to Vacantia and the other kingdoms and that old grudges held by gods who had long since turned their backs on their people would not stand moving forward.
Overall, the people of Vanyia responded well to Cygni’s plans. They were still wary of the Perscesians who centuries of teachings had taught them to hate but they believed in Cygni as they had his father before him.
That left him with a harder task. Explaining things to his younger siblings. Andromeda and Octavia accompanied Cygni into the tunnels beneath the palace once they’d determined there were no more threats hiding in the rubble of the city. They found Corvi and Veyla huddled in the dark with one of the maids, Ingrid. They were wide-eyed and scared but they allowed Cygni to lead them from the tunnels.
“How much of what has happened do you understand?” Cygni asked his twelve-year-old half-sister and his seven-year-old half-brother. Though half of them was made by Lyra, Cygni only sees their shared father as he looks into their worried faces.
“Mother scared us,” Corvi whispers as he burrows further into Ingrid’s skirts. “Everything was burning and she was acting strange.”
“She killed Papa, didn’t she?” Veyla’s directness startles Cygni speechless for a few seconds. It shames him to realize how little he’d bothered getting to know his half-siblings over the years. “She killed him and went crazy and now she’s dead too, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Cygni sighs. “I’m not going to lie to you. Lyra planned father’s death so she could rule the kingdom on her own.”
“Does that mean she was evil?” Corvi asks as tears fill his eyes. “Does that mean she never loved us?”
Cygni exchanges glances with Andromeda and Octavia before kneeling down before Corvi and Veyla and takes their hands in his, “Lyra was a very complicated woman. She thought she had been wronged by people her whole life and wanted revenge for that. She kept her emotions hidden, but I have to believe that somewhere, deep down she cared for you.”
Veyla looks like she doesn’t believe Cygni but it was Corvi he was trying to console right now. People always assumed that girls were the weaker sex, but that was a lie. Females were resilient, they could bounce back from anything, they brought life into the world and handled pain better than any man. It was boys you had to pay extra attention to. For their gender they’re told to hide emotions that are considered unmanly lest they be seen as weak so they shove their broken, bleeding hearts deep inside where they fester and stain their souls until they grow into angry, bitter men.
“I’m going to take care of you from now on, is that all right?” Cygni asks gently.
“But what if something happens to you?” Corvi’s lower lip trembles. “We’ll be all alone.”
“Come ‘ere,” Cygni gathers Corvi into a hug. “I’m not going anywhere, little man. I promise you, you’ll never be alone.”
❖
Andromeda
Watching Cygni with the younger prince and princess nearly broke Andromeda’s heart, but it reminded her that she had her own family issues she’d been putting off dealing with.
After Ezra and Andromeda told Midge the truth about all that had gone on she’d locked herself away in one of the soldier’s quarters in the military barracks, one of the few buildings in the city that had only sustained minor damage. Midge had been refusing to speak to Ezra or Andromeda and from the look of the half-eaten meals sent back to the kitchen, she was barely eating.
Andromeda d
ecided enough was enough. She’d allowed Midge to wallow in solitude long enough. It was time to clear the air.
She banged on Midge’s door. “Come on, Midge. Open up. You can’t ignore me forever. Besides, I brought sticky honey-sugar rolls fresh from the oven.”
Midge’s door cracked open a fraction and a silver eye appeared in the space looking Andromeda up and down suspiciously.
“I’m still the same person who grew up with you, Midge.” Andromeda sighs as she leans against the doorframe. “You’re still my sister, blood or no.”
Midge stares silently through the crack for so long Andromeda begins to feel nervous. Finally she says, “Show me the rolls.”
Andromeda grins and holds the platter of sweets up higher so Midge can see them and smell the wafting aroma steaming off them.
“Fine, come in,” Midge sighs as she opens the door and allows Andromeda to enter.
Midge’s long brown hair hangs in limp clumps down her back and purple circles mar the skin under her eyes. She’s thinner, much thinner than Andromeda has ever seen her before and Andromeda’s heart aches at the sight.
She hands the plate over hoping Midge will eat something but Midge places the platter on the bedside table and gestures for Andromeda to sit on a stiff-back wooden chair pulled up to a narrow desk.
“So talk,” Midge orders as she sinks down on the cot across the small room.
“I’m sorry, Midge,” Andromeda whispers. For what she’s not sure but it feels like the appropriate thing to say.
“For what?” Midge laughs bitterly. “For being the monster from the scary stories of our childhood? For your existence being the reason my child was stolen from me? Or do you pity me for marrying a monster and never realizing it?”
“Knock it off, Midge.” Andromeda snaps, fed up with the blame. Ever since Midge found out that Andromeda was the missing Perscesian princess who’s kidnapping precipitated the revenge stealing of Vacantian children and that Ezra, her beloved Ezra, was the brother of the queen of that very same kingdom all she had done was blame them for all the bad things that had happened in her life. “It was your mother who stole me from my true mother and created this whole mess. And you love Ezra, you know you do. Does finding out that he grew up in the sea really change so much? You still know his heart, Midge. When Wink went missing and then you and Father were taken by Lyra, Ezra returned to the one place he swore he’d never return to so he could ask for help. And your son is not lost, he’s been treated like royalty at the palace.”
“Yes, and now that he’s been exposed to the sea, to the sea he now belongs,” Midge glares at Andromeda.
“That’s not true,” Andromeda shakes her head. “He can split his time between the sea and the land equally without any negative repercussions.”
“He shouldn’t have to spend his life split between two worlds,” Midge retorts. “He should be normal. And don’t you dare refer to my father as yours. You’re no kin of mine.”
“Father suspected from the start that I was not his child. He shielded me from the nasty rumors spread by gossipy wives in the mountains where we grew up and loved me as if I were his own. He holds no ill will toward me.” Sadness tinges her tone as she adds, “I wish you’d do the same. I love you. You will always be my family.”
Andromeda stands and crosses to the door without allowing Midge to say another word. The air in the barracks stifles Andromeda and she feels the sudden need for fresh air so she ducks out the nearest exit and gasps as she sucks in fresh, humid air.
“How did it go?” Daegan asks as he pushes away from where he’d been leaning against the building.
“About as well as I expected it to go.” Andromeda smiles sadly.
“She’ll come around,” Daegan tells her as he fiddles with the beads Carina had woven into Andromeda’s braids after they were reunited. A golden draco mare for bravery, a silver bead etched with the ancient Perscesian symbol of family, and a dozen sea pearls as a symbol of the royal family.
Andromeda lays her hand over Daegan’s and brings it down to lay beside his other hand palm side up in her own. She traces the lines in his right palm. “You know, I was raised to fear the Perscesians, the same as all other Landborn children. The Mistborn, as we mistakenly called them — us - were the monsters parents used to scare children with to keep them in line. Your hands are stained with the blood of those you slain to protect the people you love, you’re scarred from murdering to defend yourself in the past and yet I trust you completely. I never feared you. Not really. Not even in the beginning. You freed me from a world of pain and delivered me from the Undrawhorl into a brand new life and I will be forever thankful even if I acted otherwise before.”
“I’d do anything for you, Princess,” Daegan cups her chin in the palm of his hand. “And not just because you’re the princess of my people and I’m sworn to protect you.”
Andromeda watches him through heavy-lidded eyes as he slants his lips over hers and captures her mouth in a long overdue kiss. Sparks sizzle over her skin as she wraps her arms around Daegan’s waist and sinks further into his embrace.
They break apart and Daegan rests his forehead against hers as they simply enjoy each other’s space.
“For so long I lived in a place where nobody understood me and everyone mistrusted me. I decided long ago that I would belong to no one, that I would allow myself to be owned by no one, give my heart to no one. I graced individuals who viewed me as a novelty with my time when they should have seen it as the privilege it was, not a gratitude for them putting aside their apprehension for one moment. I always knew my worth and figured I’d spend my life alone. But you see me. You really see me and you accept all of me. The part of me that is not as genteel and soft as other women, the sharp prickly, stubborn side of me. And I see you. And that is everything.” Andromeda murmurs as she kisses him lightly on the lips, the cheek, the neck.
❖
Thane
One Week Later
The sky was just beginning to lighten from the dark grasp of night into the loose hold of day as Perscesian warriors waded into the sea. The legionnaires and their draco mares still bobbed across the sea, small dots along the horizon waiting to return home.
Thane watched, raptured as the army of nearly ten thousand men and women became mist and wave but his pride kept him from admitting that without their alliance Cygni would never have stood a chance against Lyra and the Shroudanians.
Cygni stood awkwardly down the shore watching the procession of Perscesians returning to whence they’d come. The newly crowned king’s white furs were nearly blinding against the gray backdrop of the sea. Cygni shifted his weight from one foot to the other self-consciously, still not used to the crown that sat glittering upon his head.
Thane still could not believe it was real. Over the last three months the Landborn had found peace with the sea-dwellers. Thane’s mother’s people were free from slavery and Cygni’s grandfather had reclaimed the Losteroan throne. Thane had also discovered that his brother still lived. Harcule had grown into a wise, strong man raised by Perscesian nobles in their capital city, Faeloria and Thane couldn’t be prouder of the person he’d become.
The Watierai Warriors that Thane had devoted most of his life to were no more and he’d recently been elevated to the head of the Royal Vacantian Army. Across the sea, Shroudania had formed a whole new ruling system and instead of leadership of the kingdom transferring from one monarch to another the people had a greater voice and as a whole chose whose authority they wanted to follow allowing them the same right to oust a leader they no longer had faith in at any time. Vacantia had a new king to welcome a new era into all of Esternwhorl, an era for which all would be treated equally and fairly — no matter their race or species.
The Perscesian royals were the last to return to the sea. Princess Ceti bounded across the shore and leapt into Cygni’s arms to the amusement of Cygni’s royal guard. The Perscesian princess drew whistles and laughter from Lester, Rolfe, Hugo
and the other higher members of the Order of the Thorn that comprised Cygni’s guard and band of advisors by kissing the young king’s cheeks and neck before placing her lips indecently upon Cygni’s. Thane suspected a union not far off for the young royals if rumors of their late night meetings as of late turned out to be true. It would be a marriage that would further cement the ties between Vacantia and Perscesia, but still one born of love — or at least mutual lust - like that of Cygni’s parents.
Queen Carina and Ajax’s farewells were much less personal as they bid goodbye and slipped into the sea hand in hand.
Finally it was Andromeda’s turn to join her people. With Daegan standing sentry at her side she stepped up to King Cygni first and pressed him into a brief embrace as she kissed his cheeks and wished him well with a knowing smile. Moving down the shore she playfully swatted at a distracted Rian and shared a tearful goodbye with her adoptive father vowing that she would be all right and promising to visit regularly. Thane had heard that all was not yet aright between Andromeda and her adopted sister Midgella but they now stood face to face, their fingers laced together as they contemplated one another. At least it was a start. Andromeda’s blood-uncle, Midge’s husband Ezra had brought their son home from the sea and was staying behind as he and Midge tried to learn how to trust one another again.
When Andromeda finally reached Thane he bowed his head respectfully, “Princess Andromeda.”
He could have kicked himself for how formal he sounded. Andromeda was his friend, not just a passing noble from a foreign court. But he was terrible with goodbyes.
“Silly man,” Andromeda’s voice was warm with mirth, “you never need to bow to me. You will forever be known to me as the reluctant General who gave a smart-mouthed thief a chance — and as one of my dearest friends.”
“So where will you go from here?” Quickly changing the subject Thane rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
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