Jordan
I didn’t have to wait long. “Jordan?”
I clutched the runestone, heart racing at the sound of her voice. “Ayla.”
“I’m so glad to hear your voice.”
That was definitely mutual.
She continued, her tone threaded with concern. “Are you—is everything okay?”
“Yes. I just…I needed to talk to you.”
There was a little pause, then she said, “I’m glad you called me. You can always call me. You know that, right?”
There was that burning, thick feeling in my throat again. I swallowed it down. “Yes. And the same for you.”
“I know. Jordan… you’re upset. I can hear it. Did something happen?”
I sighed. She knew me too well. “No. I just—” I drew a heavy breath. “The coronation is in a few hours, and I’m just not… I don’t know the customs, and everything here is different. I feel this massive pressure not to let them down, to be the king they need, but I don’t—” I paused, and the last few words came out thick from that ache I was still fighting in my throat. “I just don’t know if I can.”
“You can.” She said it immediately, as though there wasn’t a doubt in her mind. “You can, and you will. You were born to do this, Jordan. Literally. There is no one better suited for this than you. You just… have to learn, a bit. So what? We all do. Everyone who ever started a new job had to learn things. Every CEO, every school principal, even every LeyGuard. I’m learning new things everyday. Everyone’s a trainee at some point, Jordan. You aren’t expected to know it all right away. But your heart—that’s what will set you apart, what will make it all okay. Because you care. You always care. And you always do the right thing, no matter how hard it is. The Teionyrians are lucky to have you as their king… and if they don’t know that yet, they will.”
I let her words wash over me, trying to believe them, as I stood staring at the stone, wishing more than anything that I could see her face. “I love you, Ayla.”
“I love you, too.” She paused. “Is Reina there, at least? I hate to think of you doing this alone.”
“No. She and her parents are still in Arcvale with Callan, protecting Kaizyn.” My words came out sounding more strained than I’d meant them to. It had been a hard choice to send Reina away. I did want her here. We’d been friends my whole life. There hadn’t been a single milestone or ceremony, school or LeyGuard or otherwise, that one of us wasn't there to cheer the other on.
“You sent them away for me—to protect Kaizyn, because of me,” Ayla said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” I whispered back.
She sighed. “I wish I could be there for your coronation.”
I drew a breath. “So do I.” A tiny spark of hope tickled in my mind. “Maybe… I mean… how’s your magic coming? Have you made any progress?” It was foolish to think she’d have mastered her magic so quickly. But if she had, maybe she could come—
“I figured it out,” she said, excitement taking over her voice. “Doctor Harlowe put me in a simulation, and—I can use my magic now, Jordan. I can control it.”
“Are you serious? That’s amazing!” I tried to visualize what her magic looked like, but I didn’t know enough. “Tell me what it was like. What can you do?”
The stone’s bright glow blinked rapidly—the warning that the charged rune which powered our call was about to run out.
“Oh,” I said, unable to keep the disappointment from my tone. “We don’t have much longer.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I can tell you about my magic later. Jordan—I want to come to you, but… the Hub’s on lockdown. They say no one can come in or out, until they’re certain where the Dark Fae army is and whether the Hub is a target.”
Oh. Right. I could hear the disappointment in her tone as well. “It’s okay, Ayla. At least you’re safe there. And now that you’ve mastered your magic, you can come once this is all over, right? I mean, we still have to figure out the bond, but—”
“I will be there the moment I’m able to, Jordan. I promise.” She paused, and her next words were full of regret. “I hate that you and your parents are there all alone.”
“It’s not your fault. But…” I sighed. “So do I. I miss everyone… even Callan and Madison. I even kind of miss Kaizyn.”
Ayla laughed. “Really?”
“Yeah. I know things are ridiculously complicated, but… he was my father’s son. He knew my father, he knows what he was like, and he also knows all about Teionyr and what’s expected of the king. If I’m honest, I’ve kind of wished he could be here to help me. Or at least so I could get to know him a little.”
“Wow, Jordan.” Ayla’s voice was gentle as she responded—loving. “I’d love for the two of you to get to know each other. Once this bond is broken, I mean. I actually think you’d get along. I have a feeling he and I will always be close, after what we’ve been through… or at least I’d like to be. I know the bond is beyond weird, but I’ve come to think of him kind of like… like family. Is that crazy? ”
I pondered that for a moment, the unexpected future in which Ayla, Kaizyn, and I could all be friends. Family, even. I wasn’t sure if that future was possible, but I hoped it was. “It’s not crazy,” I said softly. “I want that, too.”
The stone gave a rapid warning flash, then began to dim.
“We have to go. I love you, Ayla. I miss you so much.”
“Please call me if you need me, even if it uses another charge from the stone. I love you, Jordan! I miss—”
The stone’s glow winked out.
I stared at it, tempted to call her again… but there were only ten runes on the stone, and we had already used two of them. I didn’t know how much longer we’d be apart or what else we might need them for.
I pocketed the stone, suddenly feeling very, very lonely.
The robe stared at me from its fancy, cushioned bench.
I sighed. “Okay. Guess it’s time.”
I hoped the water from the bath hadn’t gone cold, though I could warm it with my fire magic if it had—so long as that didn’t violate some kind of ceremonial rules. If it did, hopefully Kurrum would have mercy on my ignorance.
I had just unfastened the third button on the side of my leather LeyGuard vest when a heavy knock sounded on the outer door.
I left the changing room and hurried to open it.
Kurrum stared at me in shock, surrounded by a cluster of attendants. “Your Highness! Have you still not bathed?”
But the redhead standing behind him was all I could focus on. “Reina?”
She blushed and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I know you may not want me here, but I—”
It was then that I noticed Callan, Kaizyn, Reina’s parents, and Kaizyn’s strange fire-cat, all standing behind the cluster of palace workers.
I shoved forward, servants jumping out of my way, and threw my arms around her.
She stiffened, then wrapped her arms around me and returned my hug.
“I’m so glad you came.” I pulled back, staring her in the eyes. “I mean it.” Then I turned to the others. “I’m so glad all of you are here.” I made sure to make eye contact with Kaizyn as my gaze slid over the group, so he would know he was included in that statement.
Kaizyn stared at me in shock—not that I could blame him.
There was a brief, tense silence as all the palace workers gaped at us, then Reina broke into a grin. “Maybe we should—”
“Right! Yes, of course. Come in, though I can’t talk for long because they’re expecting me to bathe.” I hurried back into my chambers, gesturing for Reina, Callan, Kaizyn, his fire-cat, and both my and Reina’s parents all to join me inside.
“We can give you only a small while longer, Your Highness, then you’re needed in the great hall!” Kurrum called out as I shut the doors.
I turned to face my unexpected visitors, and as I stared at the group of them, my aching heart was almost full again. I must’ve been more of an emotional mess than I’d realized, because I was even happy to see Kaizyn’s weird, flaming cat. I was still missing Ayla, but having them all here… “Thank you. Thank you all so much for coming for this. I thought…” I trailed off.
There was a hint of tears in Reina’s eyes as she smiled back at me. “That I’d miss watching my best friend become king after he sat through my annual, three-hour piano-recital-slash-Christmas-concert every single year since we were seven?” Her smile spread into a grin. “Not on my life.”
The awkwardness there had been between us in the past few weeks, that tension I hadn’t been able to figure out, was gone now. I had my best friend back… and she’d brought an entire chunk of my family and friend circle with her.
As I swept my gaze over them, Callan nodded his support—and Kaizyn shifted minutely closer to Reina, which didn’t escape my notice, but I decided I’d explore that curiosity later.
“We’re here for you, Jordan,” Reina’s mother said, drawing my attention to her. “And we’ll all be right there, front row or wherever you want us to be, to support you during your coronation.”
“Thank you,” I said again, truly meaning it, then I turned to Kaizyn. “I know things have been strange between us, but I—I would love it if you…” I didn’t quite know how to ask what I wanted.
But he smiled. “Whatever you need, Jordan, I will do. I’ve come to support you, as our king, and… as my brother. I hope one day we can use that term in its fullness, as Father would have wished.”
I smiled back as relief flooded me. “I would like that, too. And I am so grateful you’ve come, because I do not have a clue what I’m doing.”
He laughed. “I will help you. Whatever you want to know, just ask.”
I looked back over the group of them again, and as I met my parents’ proud gaze, my world felt infinitely less overwhelming than it had just minutes earlier.
Kaizyn glanced at the tub, which was no longer steaming, then winced. “Your water is cold.” He sent a stream of fire into it from his hand and set it steaming again. “There. You should complete your bath before Kurrum begins pounding on the door again. And don’t forget the robe. He’s sure to ask whether you put it on before bathing.” He smiled at me. “If you need anything, we will all be waiting for you out in the hall.”
The rest of the group deferred to Kaizyn’s wise advice—I think no one wanted to see a truly angry Kurrum—and followed him out into the hall.
As soon as the door closed again, I hurried to the changing room and donned the soft robe. I shed it a few steps later when I reached the tub—whatever the point of even wearing it was, I’d never understand—and sank down into the wonderfully hot water.
“Until it gets cold,” I muttered to myself, though I suspected Kurrum would be calling an end to my bath in a few minutes, whether my water was cold or not. Right now, though, it was steaming hot… and exactly what my tense, battle-sore muscles had needed. Perhaps there was something to this “cleansing” ritual, after all… especially since Teionyr’s kings were known for working hard and going into battle alongside their people.
I reclined against the sloped back of the tub and tried to relax… which was a lot easier than it might have been twenty minutes earlier.
I would be crowned king of a Fae kingdom in a few hours. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around that. But at least now I had people here to support me, people I knew and trusted. And Ayla… even though she wasn’t here… was here in spirit, and only a stone’s call away.
This would be okay. I would be okay. Somehow, I would figure out how to be king. And what I didn’t know, I would learn. I would become the king my people needed.
The king they deserved.
With that thought on my mind, and a full garden’s worth of soothing, herbal vapors in my nose, I lay my head back against the tub’s edge and let myself drift into a shallow slumber.
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