Crown of Feathers (Book 2 of the Crown Trilogy)

Twenty-Five

I'm thankful I gave into Kyron's request to let the healer bring me a pain relief ointment this morning. I don't think I could survive the ache of the sutures and this meeting otherwise.

For the past fifteen minutes, Kyron, Leif, Greer, and Terro have sat around the table in Greer's office in silence. My officers have exchanged glances and motioned for the others to go first, but none of them have so much as looked at Kyron. They are no closer to putting the resentment to rest than they were the day he left.

I perch on the edge of the desk and clasp my hands in my lap. "You three were so quick to lay into Kyron last night, and now none of you have anything to say to him. This is it. When we walk out of here, I don't want to hear anymore backhanded comments or see you refusing to work together. We have bigger issues to deal with than your hurt feelings."

"I have something to say." Leif shifts in his seat and runs his hand over his jaw. "I thought I'd seen Elle at her lowest the day Abrum went missing. She was inconsolable, and I promised her a life where pain like that would never happen again. Never again would she lose someone she loved to Stigian. You made a liar of me, and I don't take kindly to that."

Kyron doesn't shy away from Leif's harsh tone or divert his gaze. He folds his hands on the tabletop and sincerely says, "I understand."

"I've never seen her so broken. Your stupidity almost ruined her!" Leif squares his shoulders and leans forward. His hazel eyes darken, he grips his chair's arm like he is fighting to remain in his seat and not lay his fist in the center of the prince's face. I don't blame him; I harbored the same urge for a long time. "She may have forgiven you, but I can't do it. You didn't see her on her knees praying for the Statera to break your bond, to harden her heart toward you. She begged not to love you, fucking begged."

I close my eyes and swallow the emotion building inside me, but it is not mine alone. I can normally avoid the draw of Kyron's gift to read emotion. It being the weakest of his three powers, its hum isn't like his flames or shadows. But between our bond and the intensity of what is happening inside him, I can't ignore it. He is drowning in an onslaught of negative emotions, and all I can do is clench the edge of the desk to stay in place.

This isn't meant to be an easy moment for any of us. We have to work through the agony to reach a place of healing. The words everyone needs to say will be raw and full of ugly truths, but I have to believe we will all walk away stronger.

"I'm not asking for your forgiveness, Leif. I can't expect as much from you when I can't do the same for myself. But I can make you a promise. If I ever come close to hurting Raelle like that again, you can take my life."

"It won't be that easy, LeFur. When I'm done with you, you will beg for death."

"I wouldn't expect any less."

Leif nods and rests back in his chair with his arms over his chest. His eyes soften and the animosity weighing him down when Kyron is around dissipates. Trust will take time, but I'm hopeful they will get there.

"I get why you did what you did, and I can move past it," Terro says from the other end of the table. "But it's fucked up that you left those who have stood by your side for years to clean up your mess. We fought not only for you on the battlefield but to break down every misconceived notion about a Stigian amongst our ranks. We endured bloody knuckles and broken noses, kicking the asses of everyone who said you were a power-sucking asshole. They claimed we were morons for having your back, that it was only a matter of time before you sucked us dry. And then you left, and they won." Terro shakes his head, and his dark braids brush his cheeks. "What the fuck, man? I'd die for you, and you couldn't so much as give me a hint about what you were doing. I would have happily endured their shit, knowing you did it for Raelle, but you left me doubting you."

Kyron runs his palm down his face. "I was scared you would stop me."

"Damn right we would have stopped you," Greer says, slamming her fist on the table. "You're a selfish prick. You had no right making me trust you if you couldn't trust me in return."

"You know I trust you."

"But not with your plan to save Abrum?"

"You just said you would have never let me go through with it, Greer!"

She jumps out of her chair, and it topples to the floor. "Fuck you, Kyron. Fuck you for making me care. Fuck you for becoming my best friend. And fuck you for leaving me. You made yourself irreplaceable in my life and then left without so much as a goodbye. I've always known you could be a heartless bastard, but what you did..." Greer wipes the back of her hand over her eyes. "You should have let me leave Basecamp the day I requested to transfer."

"No. No, I shouldn't have."

She bounds around the table and grabs the front of his jacket, yanking him forward in his chair. "You know the shit I've been through; how I lost my family and was left on my own. Why the fuck did you think I'd want to go through that again?"

"It's not the same. Ulric, Terro, Abrum—they are your family. I didn't leave you alone, Greer. I'd never have left if I thought you didn't have people here who love you."

The tears she held at bay, spill over and run down her brown cheeks. "You are the family that means the most to me, and you traded me for a kingdom you hate."

Kyron wraps his fingers around her wrists, holding her hands to his chest. "I made a sacrifice not only for Abrum and Raelle, but for you too. I don't want my best friend to die on a battlefield. You think I didn't take you into consideration, but I did. You deserve better than this life, and I'd do anything to give it to you, even become the damn prince of Stigian."

Greer's arms tremble against his chest, and her jaw flexes as she holds his stare. She yanks her hand from his grip and plants her fist below his eye with a crack.

I gasp and cover my gaping mouth. Terro and Leif both go wide-eyed. And Kyron smiles as blood trickles down his cheek.

"That's not even close to calling it even," Greer says, rolling her eyes.

"I know," he replies.

She steps around him, heading in my direction. "Get the fuck out of my office, you smug bastard, and figure out how to rescue Ulric."

Kyron stands. "Will do, General."

Greer drops into the chair behind her desk, and I push away from the edge, following the others out of the room.

"And Ky," she says before we reach the door. "Pull that shit with me again, and Leif won't be the only one plunging a blade into your chest."

"Understood."

Kyron closes the door behind us, and I ask, "What the hell just happened?"

"She forgave me," he says, wiping away the blood trickling down his cheek with his sleeve. He ran a gamut of emotions this morning and somehow ended up happy after getting punched in the face.

"But she..."

"Don't try to understand it," Terro says, throwing an arm over my shoulders. "All you need to know is Ky and Greer are good now."

I exchange a look with my best friend, and he shrugs. Leif and I won't be adopting the sucker-punch method for bestowing forgiveness but to each their own. Besides, how can I knock it when the leaders of rival armies are finally on friendly terms?