“Thank you,” the man stammered and squinted around himself. “I... this is a bit... uh, I thought I was dead.”
“You'll be okay.” I laid a hand on his shoulder. “I know what you're going through. Everything seems really bright and loud and scary right now. Your body doesn't feel like your own. Even walking is weird. But you'll adjust soon and then you'll see that it's fucking fantastic.”
The man offered me a shy grin. “It's a hell of a lot better than the alternative.”
“No shit.” I laughed.
Someone dropped a weapon and it made a loud clatter. The new Valorian flinched, terror filling his eyes briefly. Then he flushed with embarrassment and stared at the ground.
“This is Luca,” the Lynx Lord said as if nothing had happened. “Luca, this Dalsharan, the Hawk Lord. Ravyn is his consort.”
“It's an honor to meet you, Luca.” Dal extended his hand.
Luca blinked from Dal to me and back before shaking the Hawk Lord's hand. “Lovely to meet you,” he murmured.
“I tried to save you,” I said to Luca. “But he got in my way.” I elbowed Dal affectionately. ”And then the Goddess told me to let you go. Now, I understand why.”
“The Goddess,” Luca whispered, his eyes drifting off. “I heard voices. Was one of them her?”
“No, those were probably the Beasts,” I said. “I didn't hear the Goddess—or feel her response, rather—until I started speaking to her. Just say hello. Introduce yourself. She's with you.”
“With me,” Luca murmured, a twitch of pain crossing his stunning face. He looked around at all the bustling activity and then at the Lynx Lord. “Thorne, I can't... it's so loud. I can't do this.”
“Okay, Luca,” the Lynx Lord said gently. He gave us a heavy look. “We'll just be a few minutes. He needs some time to adjust.”
“Of course,” Dal said. “Thank you, Luca. For what you did for us. That was one of the bravest things I've ever witnessed.”
“Fucking inspiring, man,” I said. “If I'd been in Sidhe form, I would have gotten goosebumps.”
Luca whispered, “I just wanted to go home. And if I couldn't do that, I wanted to die knowing that home still existed.”
The Lynx Lord's jaws clenched and his arm went around Luca's shoulders. “Stalana and all her inhabitants continue to exist because of you, Luca. Come on, we'll get you something to drink.”
And then the deadly Lynx Lord with his wicked tattoos led his Valorian away, glaring at anyone who got too close. They passed General Neela, who stared after them forlornly.
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked Dal.
“Luca was likely tortured,” Dal said as he watched the Lynx Lord grab a bottle, then take Luca to the top of a small hill. “But he's fae now; the magic will heal him. He just needs some time.”
“I hope so.” I watched the men settle on the hill, and then the Lynx Lord tucked Luca in protectively against his side. My eyes widened when he kissed Luca's forehead and stroked his hair tenderly. “Do you think... Isn't the Lynx Lord into women?”
“He was,” Dalsharan said with a somber look Neela's way. “But the bond between a faerie and their Valorian is a strong one.” He turned to look at me and smiled. “We see into your souls when we give you ours. And if it's a good soul—which it must be to become Valorian—we can't help but fall a little in love.”
“That's really sweet, babe, and I love you too, but... fuck,” I shook my head as I stared at the two men on the hill. “That shit's gonna be fucked up.”
“It could be,” Dal agreed and took my hand. “But that is for them to decide. We have made our choices, and we're happy with them. I'm sure the Goddess will lead Thorne and Luca toward happiness too.”
I grinned. “Maybe you should give the Lynx Lord some pointers. If Luca is straight too, they're really gonna need some help.”
Dalsharan laughed and put an arm around me. “Love will lead them, Ravyn.”
I laughed right back at him. “If you think that love will magically teach two straight guys how to be gay, you're more of a romantic fool than I thought you were.”
Dalsharan frowned at me. “I'm not romantic. I'm the Hawk Lord.”
“Yeah, yeah, says the man who calls me sweetheart.”
“Why are you so hung up on that endearment?”
We walked off arguing about love, sex, and the best names to call each other, as we grinned like idiots. Dal was right, Thorne and Luca weren't my problem. I'd leave their hearts in the Goddess' hands. She, at least, knew what she was doing.
Chapter Forty-Seven
A party raged through the tent city of fae and human armies, but inside the Hawk Lord's tent, things were more subdued. For now, at least.
Dalsharan kissed his way up my body, then grabbed my face to hold me still for his plundering tongue. We writhed together on his bed, bodies tingling as our cocks slid and ground together. He pushed his knee between my legs, and I pulled him closer.
“What would you say to leaving the war?” Dal whispered in my ear.
“I told you, I go where you go.”
Dalsharan pulled back and looked at me. “But what do you want to do, Ravyn? I don't want to make this decision alone. It will affect both of us.”
I frowned and thought about it. Something tickled in my chest. “I think we're needed here.”
Dalsharan's face tightened with disappointment.
“Not forever,” I said quickly. “But... I just have this feeling that Luca isn't the last of us. That the first Valorian was needed in the war but left. That his leaving stopped something from moving forward.”
Dalsharan went still. “You think there will be more Valorians?”
“Many more,” I whispered. “I think the key to ending this war isn't uniting the Farungal with the Fae, it's combining human hearts with fae souls.”
Dalsharan grinned.
“I know, how fucking poetic.” I rolled my eyes. “But I'm serious, Dal. I think I'll be needed here. I think Luca and every other Valorian who is made will be needed. And that once we all stand together, the Farungal will fall.”
“That sounded a little like a prophecy, Ravyn,” Dalsharan murmured.
I smirked. “I'm no prophet. But I do have faith in our goddess.”