Hey Guys!

Sorry I have been away for a while, Christmas, New Years and the first week of Summer School were busier than expected, but now I am all moved into my new flat I have a time to settle back into the story :) Sorry that it was not finished for the New Year, but we are nearing the end now hopefully!! 

I would like to dedicate this chapter to Jenna Streety, winner of the creative writing comp I held on Facebook - a chance for fans to write a small narrative from a point of view of one of the characters in APK :) Her prize was designing a character based on herself to fit into the series and after months of typing in order to get up to the appropriate time I am finally able to bring her character into the story! So thanks for your inspiration Jenna! 

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! 
Lots of Love,
Daisy

The days flew by quickly and after my run in, I did not venture anywhere near Darius Greyson again, choosing instead to bide my time in hope that once we reached land, contact with Obsidian might be possible.

We were growing closer to our destination and Anthemin and I channeled all of our energy in training, forcing other thoughts from our minds as we threw ourselves into the mock battles with a heightened sense of ferocity.

Eventually the time came where I woke up in the morning to hear a call from the crow’s nest, confirming the sighting of land. As I stood at the stern of the ship, breathing in the crisp morning air, this call brought mixed feelings.

My time aboard the ship this time had been short and I was only just getting the hang of my sea legs again. I had felt more at home aboard this ship than I had in a long time, tucked up safely in my little room with miles upon miles of ocean stretching out around me, I wasn’t ready to leave yet.

But there was excitement there too and I stretched my arms out to the side, catching the sea spray and closing my eyes briefly. I was about to explore land with fresh new eyes, eyes that now knew exactly what roamed across the Earth’s surface, eyes that had seen the Other. I was chomping at the bit, eager to dock and start exploring.

Land was still a little ways off though, just a black strip settling across the horizon as the sun rose from behind it. At the speed we were travelling, it wouldn’t be long now though and I was impatient. Calling for Anthemin in my mind I waited, eager for him to appear. He rose up out of the water gracefully, like a whale leaping from the ocean, and he flew upwards as though he was still swimming through the water, his body flexing and twisting. He had grown immensely, the sea air and intense training making him flourish and he was now roughly three quarters of the size of Unabonan as opposed to just under half the size of the old Dragon, which he had been upon entering the Water Kingdom.

I saw Hobbson watching me closely as I lept over the side of the ship, settling into the groove in Anthemin’s neck. I gave him a reassuring smile as we took off, breathing out a sigh of relief as soon as we were high enough in the air.

I needed to get away.

I understand Vanima.

I was tired of being patronized. After the incident with Darius, both Hobbson and Cobalt had been keeping a close watch on me. I suspected that Zalas as well had heard of what had happened for our training sessions were long and unavoidable, taking up most of the day and leaving us too exhausted afterwards to do anything but go to sleep.

I felt myself relaxing as we few towards land. I knew that the ships would probably arrive in the evening, and although it might be dangerous, I wanted to go exploring. Land was so close and the temptation of all that it held was being dangled right in front of my nose. I was confident that with Anthemin me we could deal with any issues that might arise before the ships made port.

Anthemin and I passed the flying time with games, drilling each other with questions on the history of the Kingdoms and what we knew about the Earth Kingdom that we had learned from Hobbson. Around mid-day we were finally drawing closer to land and I could make out rich green vegetation that blanketed the earth like a thick green carpet.

Unsure of where we would be landing we soared along the coastline, dropping down a little lower. It appeared that the ships would be headed for a small inlet, a lone harbor stretched out into the ocean, offering a safe haven with the high cliff surrounding the inlet and sheltering it from the rougher ocean waves.

Upon flying lower, we both noticed something strange however and our guard was up instantly. As we swooped lower through the cloud it became more apparent that something was definitely off. The harbor seemed to be in a reasonable condition, but sand covered most the wood that lead to the beach and for a harbor of this size, it would have been normal for there to be some sort of small town built around it, but there was nothing, nothing but the wind whistling eerily through the trees.

We landed silently on the sand and I immediately dismounted from Anthemin, my position on his back making me an easy target. There was a part of me saying that we should leave right now and just wait until the ships pulled in later this evening, but there was another part of me that was curious and Anthemin could not hide his own curiosity, thus deciding for us.

Shouldn’t there be more activity? I asked, voicing my earlier thoughts.

Yes, but remember Circe, the Earth people have not had cause to go out to sea in a long time. They wouldn’t have been this harbor, the town, if there was one, would have been abandoned or overrun by the forest.

I nodded. Well shall we take a look then?

He grinned a toothy grin. Yes, Lets.

The beach itself was beautiful; there were thousands upon thousands of teeny shells nestled into the soft white sand. We headed further up the beach, the green of the forest calling to us. Stepping into the shade of the massive trees, we were immediately surrounded by the sounds of the wildlife that lived within.

Now that we were in the shade, it was easy to see that there had indeed once been some kind of town running through here. Ruins of cottages were littered throughout the forest, crumbling to the ground, overrun by vines and large branches. It was actually quite beautiful and as we followed what vaguely looked to be the main street there were no words to speak. Sadness fell about this place, blanketing it and I wondered what it had looked like when people had lived here, when children had run through the streets and business from the steady stream of ships had kept the town busy with activity.

Walking through a crumbling door way and into one of the houses, I paced around the inside, imagining which rooms were which, where the kitchen was, where the bathroom had been. The thatched roof had long since rotted away and Anthemin poked his head over the top of the house, stretching down to have a look around the inside.

I kicked my feet through the fallen leaves, searching for any treasures, but nothing had been left behind. I was slightly disappointed and looked out of the doorway, freezing in place.

Anthemin,

It was times like these that I was grateful for our mind link.

Do you see that? I felt him move to turn around but I stopped him. Wait, don’t move, you might scare it.

Standing about twenty meters away from us, in a small clearing made by a crossroads stood what I believed to be, to the best of my knowledge, a unicorn.

*

(Zalas’s P.O.V)

“Where has she gone?” I snarled, glaring at the old man.

“She left before I could stop her,” He said his voice trouble. “And watch your tone of voice with me,” He warned. “You are not my Prince. With the training you have given to her, I doubt she is going to walk into trouble, she isn’t that stupid.”

I gritted my teeth. “Yes but we still don’t know how we are meeting with the Elves. All the information that Darius has given us is that they will meet us along the way. I don’t like Elves, they are sneaky and untrustworthy.”

Hobbson scoffed at me. “Elves are careful and reserved, but I wouldn’t call them untrustworthy. Just like I wouldn’t refer to Air Sprites as ‘violent’ although it is well known that they come with a bit of a temper at times,” He raised his eyebrow pointedly and I glared at him before stalking off in the opposite direction and calling Unabonan.

I would not wait around, I would go now. There was no doubt in my mind that Circe would have gotten into some kind of trouble, whether it found her or she found it. If I had known sooner, I would have left immediately. As it were, it would not take me too long to reach her, Unabonan was fast, and soon the ships would be there anyway.

For now, I could only hope that she would put her new found skills into practice if she should be so unlucky as to come face to face with the Elves on her own.

*

(Circe’s P.O.V)

I crept towards the Unicorn slowly, still unable to believe my eyes. In this world of Dragons and Mermaids, the last thing that I had ever expected to turn out to be real was a mythical beast such as this one. Yet here it was, standing in the middle of the forest as though seeing a Unicorn was a common occurrence. How lucky was I right now? How incredibly fortunate?

I paused as the beast snorted delicately and pawed the ground, tossing its head. The glorious horn shone in the dappled sunlight that fell through the trees, twisting, spiral like to a thin point. Its coat was a glimmering white, the skin around its nostrils sea shell pink. Its mane and tail were crimped, falling down to brush around its hooves, shining silver in the sun.

Ever so carefully, it moved towards me, each step seeming so calculated when paired with its earnest brown eyes. Soon we were close enough to each other that I could feel the air that gushed out from his wide nostrils. I reached out a hand, stopping my palm a few inches away from its face.

The Unicorn eyed me steadily before deliberately pushing its face into my hand.

I breathed out suddenly, not realizing that I had been holding it until now. Carefully I ran my hands over its face and neck, wondering at the glory of this creature. Slightly hesitant I reached up to grasp its horn, and when it didn’t resist I grew more confident, tracing the deep grooves carved into the horn. Beautiful. Absolutely stunningly beautiful.

I could feel Anthemin behind me, peering out from around the edge of one of the houses, eager to come and join. Curious, I reached out to the creatures mind, touching it gently. As soon as our minds met, a huge wave of calming energy washing over me and I gasped in amazement as my body suddenly felt completely rejuvenated, as though I had just woken from a long nap.

Anthemin could resist no longer and he kept his belly to the ground as he crept forward, not wanting to frighten it away. I laughed in delight as the Unicorn stepped past me to study Anthemin carefully, before it lowered its graceful neck to touch the Dragons snout with its nose, its horn coming to balance on the tip of the tallest spine on Anthemin’s head.

Anthemin hummed loudly in pleasure, his eyes flickering with lights, his mind full of energy and I couldn’t help but wonder at the incredible situation we had found ourselves in.

So completely distracted we were, that we didn’t realize that we were surrounded until a clear voice rung out through the air, demanding to know who we were.

*

I looked up slowly, my hands up in the air, my expression blank. I linked with Anthemin, commanding him to stay calm.

We do not want to appear aggressive to these people,I soothed him, I feel that that would only worsen the situation.

He agreed grudgingly with me and stayed in his position close to the ground, although he could not help a small snarl from escaping his lips.
The Unicorn however, seemed completely unconcerned about the situation. In fact, it was so relaxed that it made its way over to stand behind me and began to nibble on a strand of my hair. Its rubbery lips, coupled with the snorting made it very hard for me not to start laughing.

We were surrounded in a circle, by what I guessed to be Elves. They were very, very beautiful, tall and slim, muscular bodies clothed in forest green velvet. Their ears were tapered, longer than any of the other sprites and their eyes slanted ever so slightly, giving them a cat like appearance.
All of the Elven warriors held a slim but deadly looking bow in their hands, the wood they were crafted from ranging from light ash to a deep, rich brown. Their feet appeared to be wrapped in soft leather, hence their quiet approach.

The one who had spoken however, was smaller, her blonde hair bleached white by sunlight, taking on a silvery sheen. She had small, delicate features and at the moment they were smooth and collected, her bright green eyes focused on us.

“Who are you?” She repeated, stepping into the circle, her eyes flicking curiously to the Unicorn and back to me.

We judged her carefully; Anthemin suspected that because of her attire and her approach that she was the leader of this small troop at the very least, although the tone of her voice made me think that she was really someone far more important.

“We are scouts,” I began carefully. “Sent ahead of the ships to make sure that our docking point is as it should be and that there are no hostiles in the area.” The lie rolled off my tongue smoothly and I straightened my stance to appear nonchalant, trying to ignore the Unicorn behind me.

The young elf’s eyes narrowed and she glanced at Anthemin for a moment before her eyes slid back to me.

“Now see, that could be believable, apart from the fact that if you were just a scout, Erihza here,” She gestured towards the Unicorn that had now dropped its head and had begun nibbling at the green shoots poking up out of the forest floor. “Well he wouldn’t have shown himself to you.” She grinned, showing her slightly pointed teeth. “He is picky you see, he doesn’t turn up for just anyone. So how about, we stop with the lies and you tell me the truth.” Her words hardened towards the end and her warriors tightened their grips on their bows.

I glared at her. “Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?” I asked carefully.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t think so, I am in charge here, and unless you want to be skewered, I suggest you tell me who you are right now!”

So she was in charge. Theses Elves were far too well dressed to be rouges and now that I looked closer, I could see that reach at a small patch sewn onto their shirts, showing the same crest. Anthemin and I looked at each other and decided to take a tactical chance.

“I am Princess Circe Deuaich, sole heir to the Water Kingdom Queen, Evangeline Deuaich and this is my sole bound Dragon, Anthemin. We have been travelling with the fleet tasked with the delivery of Obsidian Bones to the Elven King. We flew ahead to scout out the area, and that, is the truth.”

The Elf stared at me for a long time before, with a twitch of her head, she signaled the Elves around her to lower their weapons.

“You should have not come alone. There are others out here that might have shot you dead on sight.” She paused, looking me up and down dismissively. “You are very foolish.”

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “I-“

“Fortunately for you,” She interrupted coolly, “we happen to be the party assignment to meet you at the old harbor. My scouts tell me that your fleet is not far away now so I suggest you follow me to the shore.”

She walked past me, her soldiers following behind her, not one sparing a glance in my direction. Anthemin and I shared a loaded look. The Elves had not given a good first impression.

Sighing despondently, I turned to head back in the direction we had come from, pausing for a moment to Erihza. He looked at me quietly with soulful brown eyes, warm air pushing out of his nostrils and into my hands. His rubbery lips nibbled at my fingers for a moment longer, before he snorted suddenly and turned to canter off into the forest, quickly disappearing into the deep green foliage.

“Bye then,” I whispered quietly, feeling a strange sense of loss. I had thought he would stay.

A sudden cry of alarm however, pushed this aside momentarily and I lept instinctively onto Anthemin’s back, steading myself as he ran with a loping gate towards the edge of the trees.

Bursting through we could see the Elves, huddled together in a circle, their arrows pointed upwards, the Elven woman standing in the center, her own bow trained expertly on the target above as she yelled orders.

“Wait!” I waved my arms over my head, trying to grab their attention. “Don’t shoot!”

Anthemin reared up on his hind legs, his wings spread wide and roared, blasting the Elves who cringed at the ferocity, but did not lower their weapons. Anthemin snaked his head towards them, snapping his teeth as his internal voice bellowed out.

Lower your weapons, or face my fire!

This caught the Elven woman’s attention and with one harsh word, the weapons were lowered and Unabonan was able to land a safe distance away, his great head turning to eye up the Elves with a predatory stare. I could see that the Prince of the Dragons did not appreciate having arrows pointed at him.

From Anthemin’s back, I cleared my throat, capturing the Elves attention. They were trapped, Anthemin and I stood between them and the forest, the cliffs faced them on one side, the sea on the other and Unabonan had just blocked off their last escape route. Taking this opportunity, I spoke up, making sure to address the Elf in charge.

“I would like to introduce you to the Prince Unabonan and Prince Zalas, they come to represent the Dragon and Air Kingdoms. Perhaps you should do a little more research into who you are meeting before you begin with your random assumptions, in case you have forgotten, we have come in peace. I can understand that the Earth Kingdom has been separated from the other Kingdoms for a long time due to the banishment, but that banishment was brought down upon the Earth Kingdom, by the treaty and the treaty alone. Had any of the other Kingdoms violated the treaty, the consequences would have been the same. Please remember this. We do not come to punish or to harm; we come to heal bonds with our kin that were broken due to horrible circumstances. You need to accept this.”

 I finished my small speech gently but firmly. Now that I was Princess, I was representing a race; I would not be talked down to or belittled. I would have them know that I was someone to be respected and they would respect me.

I could feel Zalas looking at me out of the corner of my eye but I kept my gaze firmly locked on the Elven leader. She had not broken eye contact with me and I could see her weighing up my words. Only Unabonan’s soft hum of approval in the back of my mind reassured me that I had not over stepped a boundary.

Finally, so slowly that it was almost painful, the small troop lowered their weapons. She stared grudgingly at me, but I could see the beginning of what I thought to be respect, flickering behind her eyes.

“Very well Princess.” She said stonily, her face hard. “We will take your words into account.” Turning towards Zalas and Unabonan, she gave a small jerky bow. “My apologies, I acted hastily and out of instinct. It was a dire mistake.”

To my surprise, Zalas did not gloat, he merely tilted his head in her direction, his face expressionless, words smooth as they slipped from between his lips like silk.

“Your apology is accepted, but I would advise you to watch yourself and heed the Princess’s advice. She is right after all; we are all on the same side here.” He finished this with a slight tilt of the head that suggested that his words might not be wholly sincere.

I sighed. “Okay, time to move on. You still haven’t introduced yourself by the way,” I hinted suggestively. “I would like to know your name before we continue on this journey together.”

The petite elf turned to me, flicking her hair out of her forest green eyes. “My name is Jenna, Jenna Havick. I am Captain of this fleet, we have been assigned with the task of escorting the half breed Obsidian Bones to the Elven King, once he reaches shore.”

“I thought that the Lycan King would be escorting him all of the way?” I inserted quickly, ignoring Zalas’s hard stare.

“There was a change of plans, King Greyson has other matters to attend to and the Elven King has taken over. I am sure that King Greyson would have satisfied most of his curiosity about the half breed on the trip over, his part in this is now finished. Our King will handle it from here.”

“I see,” I said musingly, noting that Anthemin was also interested by this change in events. These Elves, although formidable, were going to be a little easier to work around than King Greyson himself. With him out of the way, we might actually have a chance to find out some desperately needed information.

Looking out towards the ocean, I could see that the ships were close enough now that the anchors had been lowered and the boats were being let down over the sides and into the water below for boarding. I assumed that they would have rather stayed out in the ocean than take their chances with the crumbling harbor and I didn’t blame them.

Squinting, it appeared that people were boarding the boats slowly, shouts echoing out over the water as there was a slight confusion as to who should go and who should stay. In front of them and drawing closer with each passing moment I could see Aranel on Nelonimi, swimming powerfully through the water like a serpent, with Zarska close behind.

The two Dragons rose from the shallows like glistening deities, the soft rays of sun shining off their body armor. To my side I knew that my words were spinning around Jenna’s head as it was all she could do to stop from raising her weapon and releasing an arrow in their direction.

“So I see you’re alive,” Aranel spat scathingly in my direction, completely ignoring the small Elven party in front of her. Nelonimi, as usual, seemed completely in-different, her heavy head swinging around to touch Unabonan’s snout gently.

“Yes.” I replied simply, unwilling to begin an argument.

The Princess sniffed, raking her eyes up and down my face as though she was wishing she could rake my skin with her claws instead. Leaping gracefully off her Dragon, she whispered something in Nelonmi’s ear and the great she-Dragon pushed against the earth with her powerful hind legs, lifting into the air and wheeling away over the trees.

Aranel paused to glance at the Elves before she stuck up her pointy little rat nose and stalked off into the green of the trees.

Jenna looked as though she wanted to shout out a warning after her, but finally deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort, she stayed silent.

I sighed. I did not know how far away the heart of the Elven Kingdom as, but I could already tell that this journey was going to be a long one.

*

It was a long hour, waiting for everyone to come ashore. Zalas had disappeared in the first ten minutes, off into the green of the forest to look for his sister. Unabonan had stayed behind, stretching out in the sand, apparently nonchalant, but I caught his white eyes occasionally glancing casually around the shore line, looking out for danger, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

Anthemin had taken to the skies with Zarska; he was hungry and needed to hunt. The Elves had given their permission, but had carefully specified the animals that they were to avoid killing. Ever respectful, Anthemin had memorized the small list carefully, not wanting to cause any unwanted animosity in the frail alliance.

Now everyone was ashore including Cobalt, Amaryllis and Hobbson. Humans were not welcome anywhere near the Elven Palace so Nathaniel, Lacy and Leo were forced to stay behind with the ships. Convincing myself that they would be safe with Obsidian's crew, I was now waiting nervously for the last member of our party to be brought ashore.

King Greysons boat was the last to arrive and when it finally did, it was packed with burly men that were surrounding the man that I needed to see the most. My heart was leaping out of my chest as I tried to keep my face passive, when inside I was screaming in agony, my stomach full of something bigger and more horrible than butterflies.

I tried to resist from craning my head as they pulled him from the boat and yanked him onto the sand. I caught glimpses of gaunt, tight skin, soft black hair that had grown longer, covering his face and keeping me from fully seeing him.

Darius Greyson did not mean to storm up the beach I was sure, but his face always seemed angry, his posture tense, his shoulders hunched. My gaze flickered back and forth between him and the small group trekking up to us in his wake.

He passed me without a glance, heading straight for the Elves. My attention was focused on them as Greyson reached Jenna and she stood to attention, her Elves following suit. They bowed deeply to him, an action that confused me, for he was not their King. Their respect for him must be great.

I watched as he nodded curtly before he began urgently talking with Jenna, leading her off to the side so that they could talk in private. His back faced me, but around him I could see Jenna’s eyes flicking to me every now and then in response to something that he had said. Was he talking about me?

My eyes flickered back towards his men and for a moment I was simply frozen in place. They were close enough now that I could see him, he was out in the open for a moment, in-between two of Greyson’s men as he stumbled in the deep sand, his chained hands jerked out instinctively to catch himself, but before he could hit the ground he was jerked upwards by one of his captors and pushed forward to keep him walking.

Realizing that my hands had also involuntarily extended outwards as though to catch him, I forced them back to my sides where my fingers jerked and twitched without my consent as though they itched to wrap themselves tightly around someone’s throat.

A lump welled up in my throat and stuck there, a lump of pain, forcing me to choke back tears of anger. As my fists clenched a hand found its way into mine and without explanation I knew that it was Cobalt. Looking around I saw that the others who knew Obsidian had also paused in what they were doing, although the Water and Air Kingdom soldiers continued on with organizing their supplies as though nothing out of the normal was occurring.

I was glad for their indifference, I already felt as though every eye was upon me as it were, I would crack under the scrutiny of my future subjects, if they were judging my every move, I wouldn’t have been able to lean into Cobalt’s side for support and silently fall apart inside as I took him in.

He was thin. Very thin, too thin, painfully thin. There was a million ways to describe it. A million horrible ways. They were almost at Greyson now and I could see that every step he took was painful for him, as though he was walking on broken legs, or as though there was a knife in his thigh that he couldn’t remove. He had not been changed out the clothes that they had obviously tortured him in and I could visualize every, single, painful event that he had endured simply from the gruesome marks that laced his clothing.

Judging by the redness on his back, I assumed that that was where the most damage had been inflicted, although his face was a close second.

I felt a hate filled tear slip down my cheek and burst against the cloth of Cobalt’s shirt. “What have they been doing to him?”

“I don’t know,” His voice was shaking and it took me a moment to realize that it was anger that I was hearing in his voice. Anger bloated with pain.

Hobbson joined us while Amaryllis stood silently behind, her eyes horrified.

“There is nothing we can do for him,” he said gravely. “Although we might be able to find small ways to help, the Elves are marginally easier to get around than Greyson, but Circe,” He looked at me, his wrinkled face deadly serious. “You must accept his fate. You must not do anything that could jeopardize this delicate alliance between the Kingdoms.”

I knew that he was right but I could, would not, at this moment, accept the truth that Obsidian had hidden from me. It had not yet been spoke outright, although everything had added up long ago, I had simply been unwilling to acknowledge it.

“I will do nothing to jeopardize the alliance, but I refuse to believe that there is nothing that I can do for him.” I stated stubbornly.

“Circe …” Liss began gently, reaching outwards me, her eyes full of pity.

“No!” I held up a hand, blocking her words. “You don’t know anything about this Liss. You weren’t there. I don’t care what he has done to me, I don’t care what he says,” I tore my eyes away from the ruined shell of the man that I loved, to look defiantly up into Cobalt’s eyes. “I refused to believe that Obsidian Bones would just give up like that, would just let them do that to him! He would fight back,” my voice was desperate and I spoke quietly, trying not to attract attention. “There must be something we can do!”

Hobbson’s  gaze was filled with sadness as he rested a hand on my shoulder and forced me to meet his gaze.

“Circe, if Greyson saying what I think he is saying then there is nothing more we can do for him. We can continue to investigate and we will, but the Elven Palace is only a few days walk from here, we just don’t have enough time, we don’t have enough evidence of anything to prove to the Elven King that Obsidian is an innocent man. And that is only concerning the Dragon egg, you are forgetting that Obsidian is the son of a man who caused the Earth Kingdoms banishment in the first place.”

“Yes but so am I,” Cobalt said. “Do you think I should even be coming?”

“Probably not,” Hobbson said grimly. “But are you honestly telling me that you would willingly stay behind when your Brothers fate lies in the hands of the most powerful Elf ever put on this Earth? The Elven King is formidable, even when his people haven’t suffered hundreds of years of banishment. He makes the Lycan King look tame; it is no wonder Greyson has the highest respect for him. He would not be alive if the Elven King did not want him to be.”

“Again,” Cobalt said his voice bleak, “Do you think I should even be coming?”

Hobbson looked towards Greyson, who was still talking to Jenna at the edge of the forest. “You are with me, you’ll be fine. And unfortunately you don’t have a choice.”

Their words were merely voices in the background of my mind, for when I looked back over to him, his position had shifted and he was now facing me, his eyes locking onto mine, his intense stare burning up the distance between us until I felt as though he was right in front of me and my lips parted involuntarily, my heart thumping in my chest so violently I could feel it beating in my throat.

His gaze did not waver from mine and I accepted him hungrily, wanting nothing more than to rip myself away from Cobalt and close the gap, even if it meant I would join him in chains. Because for the first time since those agonizing, destructive, hate filled words had fallen from his lips and burned like acid through my broken heart, his face was not consumed by rage when he looked at me and I clutched that small, delicate blossoming flower of hope to my chest desperately, wishing, wishing that I could be presented with an opportunity, however small, to speak with him before he left me forever.

*