Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(110)

“A boy?” My best friend and brother were going to have a child. It was the best news… and it hurt me in ways I’d forgotten to feel.

“We are going to name him Derrick.”

There was something hot in the back of my throat; my brother pulled me in, and I pressed my face to his chest. Alex’s grip was the only thing that kept me from breaking as a horse and rider appeared through the brush.

Ian hopped out of the saddle, looking flustered and red. “It was harder to slip away than I thought.” He froze, his gaze catching on my brother’s and my embrace. “Is Darren…?”

“Alive.” Ella took over since my brother and I were still struggling to speak. “The guards didn’t notice?”

“They will, eventually, but by the time they do, I’ll have returned.”

“Someday…” My brother’s eyes were glassy as he focused on my face. “Someday you’ll be able to return, Ry. Or we’ll come to you.”

“W-what if we never c-can?”

Alex’s arms locked me in tighter like steel. “I refuse to believe in a future where we don’t.”

The final phase of our plan was complete.

I could feel it in my bones. It was time to say good-bye. Whether I was ready or not, this was it.

“Take care of our p-parents and Ella… and D-Derrick.” My voice caught on the last part of his name.

“I will.” Alex’s voice was hoarse. “And you… and Darren.”

“I-I will.” My face was covered in tears.

I held onto Alex a moment longer. And then I let my brother go.

Ella was next.

Neither of us spoke. She and I were both leaving those girls from the Academy behind; we were embarking on new parts of our lives we could never take back. My heart was breaking, just breathing her in. She was my best friend, and there was a part of her that was wholly mine. Just as a part of me was wholly hers.

She deserved all the happiness in the world.

My friend—the rebel who had every reason in the world to betray me—was the last to come forward.

Ian wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’ll…” He couldn’t say it; he just swallowed, again and again.

I gripped him tighter in return. “Me t-too.” That feeling would never fall away. Friends like him were… undeserved.

I wondered what life he would lead now that the rebels were done and the war was over. Would Ian serve the Crown’s Army and meet a beautiful girl who loved him the way he deserved? Or would he find peace in solitude? Would he grow old with that same crooked grin?

I stepped away and told myself this wasn’t the end.

All three of them helped Darren into the saddle after me. One of my arms circled around my husband’s waist as the other clutched the reins. I stared out into the distance, at the smoke-covered fields and the forest beyond—at my future, where everything would change.

And then a figure emerged from the trees. Its dress was indiscernible, peasant’s garb like our own. Ian and Ella drew their swords as Alex took a step toward me.

“Who goes there?”

The stranger raised her chin and the tattered hood fell away.

Violet eyes and spiraling curls as sleek and dark as a raven in flight.

“Priscilla?”

The queen tossed a package, and I caught it as something gold and black slipped out of its casing.

A hematite necklace. There were only two in Jerar.

“It’s one of the Crown necklaces,” she affirmed. “Take it. It will buy you passage in Langli. There is a trader who will accept you and Darren onboard, no questions asked.”

“How did you—”

“I followed Ian.” Priscilla’s lips curved up in a smirk. “You were always so predictable.”

“Why are you helping us?” My fingers trembled around the necklace; I wanted to accept her gift, but I was wary and afraid. Was this a trap? Were her guards lying in wait?

“Because I believe in a better ending than gallows and blood.”

No one spoke, and the queen continued, “I’m not as heartless as the four of you would choose to believe. My men have been feeding the guards information to pass along to Ian this entire week.”

My friend reddened. “I didn’t…”

“I couldn’t stay the execution, but I secured your passage east. There was more than one reason to make Audric the baron of my family’s estate.”

She’d been helping us all along.

“Thank you.” The words were so small in contrast to what she had done.

“I regret very little.” Priscilla met my eyes. “But I regret that first year at the Academy, Ryiah. In another life, I think we could have been friends.”

I would never doubt her again. I thrust the necklace into my saddlebags and then pulled away, blinking rapidly.

All four of them were staring up at me.

It was time. I couldn’t put the others at risk any longer. They had already risked so much.

I pressed my palm to my chest. I held their gaze for a single moment as I took one last, retching breath. A thousand words were conveyed into that gesture. I felt every single one of them beating at my lungs.

It was a good-bye to friends. To family. To Jerar and the kingdom it would become. I said it all in silence with my hand and my heart.