Day 3
Violet
Lady Mona wrapped her arms around Kahlia, shaking her head. “No,” she breathed out. “We are not coming with you. No.”
Kayden chuckled darkly. “So be it.”
Then his eyes landed on me. “You just made a big mistake, Lettie.” His voice echoed through the room. “You too, brother. You shouldn’t have betrayed me.”
The doors flew open, the wind howled, and then they were gone. Kayden and Camille. The doors slammed shut, and everything went still.
Everyone rushed to the windows, and I pulled Kylan’s hand, pushing through until I could see. Kayden was already outside, on the ground within seconds, while Camille limped at his side.
“The devil,” someone whispered. “That boy has been possessed by the devil.”
I grabbed Kylan’s arm for support. “What was that?”
Kylan locked his jaw. “I think we finally met Kian.”
He was unexpectedly calm under the circumstances. We had just seen his brother’s hair light up, his wolf return, and no one could stop him.
This was worrisome.
A sharp clap cut through the chaos. “Do not let him escape!” the queen called out. “And take the king to the dungeons!”
Within seconds, a group of guards rushed out the door. I highly doubted they would catch up to whatever the hell we had just seen, and Cecilia knew that. It was just to calm the people. Make them believe something was being done about it.
“You cannot do this!” the king thrashed against the elders. “I am the king! I am—”
They dragged him away, and his protest faded until we couldn’t hear him anymore. After the queen intervened, the room had turned into a different kind of chaos.
People were crying, hugging, laughing through tears. You would never have guessed what had just happened from the change of mood in the room.
Kayden might’ve vanished into thin air, but we could finally breathe again. I stood there for a moment, just taking it all in. My legs felt weak, my body still shaken from everything that had happened.
Then I felt him. Kylan’s arms wrapped around me from behind, and he pulled me deep into his chest, burying his face in my hair. I felt his warm breath against my neck. “It’s over,” he whispered.
I turned in his arms and looked up at him. His brown eyes were soft, tired, but there was relief there too. So much relief.
“Is it?”
He cupped my face with both hands. I didn’t even realize I had been crying until he wiped the tears away. “This part is.”
Kylan pressed his forehead against mine, and we just stood there for a moment, breathing each other in. We would be able to go back to Starlight, and that was enough for now.
“Violet!”
“Trinity!”
She crashed into us so hard that Kylan had to steady all three of us. Her arms wrapped around us and squeezed as if her life depended on it. Dylan, who was right behind her, joined in the group hug.
I caught Sora smiling at Madam Renata before she dragged Lian from across the room, her eyes glowing again as she forced them into the hug. The six of us just held each other, laughing and holding on.
When we finally pulled apart, I saw the others scattered around the room.
Jack and True sat on a bench in the corner.
She was crying into his chest, and he was holding her. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I didn’t need to. Nate stood a few feet away from them, holding Kaelis’s hand.
A bit further, Lady Mona kissed Kahlia’s head, then her other children who had walked in. The queen was standing and laughing with Kiora.
Fergus and Sonya made their way over to us. Sonya’s eyes were red and puffy. Fergus looked exhausted but relieved.
I pulled Kylan’s hand mid-conversation and forced him to walk with me toward the Bloodroses, melting into Fergus’s arms.
“The two of you are a funny pair,” Fergus said, pulling us into a hug. “Dylan told me everything that happened. Do not ever scare me like that again.”
“We’ll try,” Kylan chuckled.
Sonya joined in, and I laughed at Kylan, who didn’t know how quickly to pull away. “With that king out…I suppose, does that mean you’re officially king now?” Fergus questioned.
Kylan shook his head, his eyes slowly moving toward Cecilia. “I’m not ready yet. I still want to finish Starlight, and Lyperia has more than enough leadership at the moment,” he said calmly. “The kingdom doesn’t need a king right now. It needs…my mother.”
“Kylan!”
Kaelis waved from across the room, her hand intertwined with Nate’s, who was glowing again. When they made their way over to us, Fergus and Cecilia gave us a respectful nod and stepped away.
Nate squeezed Kaelis’s hand, and the two gazed at each other, almost bumping into us. “Hey!” Kylan scolded, making me giggle.
Kaelis shot him a startled look, then wrapped her arms around Kylan’s waist. “I can’t believe I just did that,” she said, burying her face in his chest.
“I can,” Kylan whispered against her hair.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Kaelis said, her voice muffled.
It was the kind of hug only they could share. Incredibly warm, but still a bit awkward.
My eyes shifted to Nate. He was already grinning at me and held up his hand. As I slapped it, his fingers curled around mine. We started laughing at each other, relieved that all of this was over. Kind of.
He let go of me when Kaelis and Kylan pulled apart, his hand finding its way behind her back like it had always belonged there.
“Do you think I’m good enough now?” she asked Kylan. “To become the Beta’s mate?”
Kylan looked at her for a moment.
“No.”
“Kylan!” My hand connected with his chest. Her face fell, but Nate released a chuckle.
“I think Nate is good enough now to become yours.”
Kaelis gasped before shoving his shoulder lightly.
“You’re an idiot!”
“I think the two of you will be amazing together, and Kylan and I,” I said, looking over at him, “will be lucky to have you at our side.”
One by one, the others made their way back until we were all together again. “So now that everything’s sunshine and rainbows again, what now?” Dylan asked, pulling Trinity in close at his side.
I felt like everyone was ignoring the elephant in the room, which was Kayden, but could one blame us?
Nate glanced at Kaelis, then back at Kylan with a nervous expression on his face. “The ceremony,” he said. “I want to do it as soon as possible…Before we leave for Starlight again.”
Kaelis’s eyes widened. “Really?”
He hummed a nod. “Yes, really. I do not want to wait anymore.”
“Me neither.” She had a dreamy look on her face. “How does tomorrow sound? It doesn’t have to be big. We can keep it small—”
“Tomorrow sounds great,” Nate beamed. All it took for them to agree to a mark was a few minutes, meanwhile…
I let my eyes fall on Kylan, who was too busy smiling at his sister and his best friend.
Sora let out a squeal from somewhere behind us. “The two of you are a perfect match,” she told them. “I hope we’ll find our mates soon. Right, Lian?”
“Well, after what I have just seen…I’m okay with being mateless,” she said, her face calm. My thoughts went back to Camille. I never really had it with that girl, but what Kayden had done to her went way too far.
I felt Kylan’s arm wrap around my waist. He pulled me closer, his lips brushing against my temple.
“You okay?” he whispered.
I leaned into him. “Please ask me again when we’re back at Starlight.”
I looked around at all of them. My friends, my family, everyone who was still here. We were all traumatized in ways that would take time to heal, but we were alive.
We were together.