She leaped forward, over one final fallen tree, and relished in the dusty sand of the dunes beneath her boots. Astra turned as they broke from the forest, shivering as she caught something’s eye.
“Let’s hustle, Fire and Ice!” Luxuros yelled from the crest of the dune, the Court Below’s ravaged onyx gate rising over his broad shoulders. Astra skipped a bit at the sound of his voice, a movement so frivolous for their situation, for her in general, that Lunelle could not fight a wash of warmth over her chest as they climbed the base of the silted dune.
“For the record, I really like the version of you the commander brings out. Mortal enemy thing aside. What are you planning on doing about that?”
Their breaths grew short as the sand slipped beneath their steps.
“Small detail,” Astra said, her laugh shallow.
They pushed to the top, their knees aching and lungs puffing. Arcas and Mirquios both watched her with expressions that did something to her chest she couldn’t have denied if she wanted to—and in that moment, she wanted to. Her head cleared as she remembered his words earlier, his admission of his scheme. Mirquios winced as Luxuros tied off a tourniquet on his leg. Arcas reached forward to steady him, supporting his shoulder.
“Well,” the king said as he hobbled toward the gate. “Are we ready to take down a Lunar goddess?”
Lunelle threw her arm around her sister’s shoulders. She still had to carry so much of the burden. Astra turned her eyes toward the king.
“Weare.Youare going straight to the infirmary.”
Lunelle glanced toward Mirquios as Lux shuffled him over to Arcas, grabbing Astra’s hand and hauling her into the Rift.
Lunelle hung back, her heart sinking a bit as she pulled back on the prince’s hand.
“Shouldn’t we?—”
“Were you genuine earlier—did my mother offer to pay your debts to pretend to court me? Was it all just to clear your ledgers? After everything—afterlast night.”
Arcas snorted, his lips curling into a crooked smile as he balanced Mirquios’s weight.
“If you have to ask, then I wonder which one of us was pretending, starling.”
Lunelle’s chest flared, the sarcasm too much for her.
“Tell me plainly, Arcas! I can’t take more of these games.”
Arcas shirked Mirquios’s arm away from his shoulders slowly, moving to tower over her.
“Your mother made the offer, and I took it. That is true.”
Her lips wobbled, the hurt welling in that space within her, now consumed with Shadows—and not just hers.
“And I wasthrilledto do it.” He reached forward, hesitantly gripping her cheek. She moved to pull away, but he held her tighter. “I was honored to be the great Lunar queen’s placeholder if it meant you’d get everything you wanted in the end, no matter where it landed me.”
Arcas glanced at the Mercurian king, turning back to help him into the Rift.
“Arcas!”
“You will not have a king to choose over me if we do not see to this wound immediately. You can finish crushing me later!”
Arcas did not wait for her to pull Mirquios into the Rift, hauling him back to the Lunar Gate as Lunelle trailed them. She’d only just gotten her hands wrapped around his arms when they stumbled through the gate. Mirquios lost his footing, collapsing onto the garden’s pavers with a heavy gasp.
“Get him help!” Astra cried out. Lunelle could not hear anything—see anything beyond the dense crowd, her only thought was how to get the king back to his feet. Arcas stood behind her, his fingers brushing against her shoulder as maidens rushed forward.
“We need to get him inside,” Lura said to Ameera, searching through Ameera’s medical kit.
Arcas leaned forward to help the king up as Lura began mixing various powders into a liquid. Lunelle followed behind them as they dragged Mirquios through the crowd, her grandmother’s voice rising above the courtiers in a chilling sneer.
“Don’t scurry off now, you’ll miss all the fun!”
Lunelle did not care what she missed. The halls of the palace were empty as they moved in one mass toward the infirmary, maidens handing Ameera and Lura anything they called out for. Arcas helped push Mirquios’s limp frame onto the first bed he saw, the king’s eyes half closed as Ameera pressed a tonic to his lips.
