Page 37 of Fallen Nocturne

Panic surges through me. “Then we’ll keep training. We’ll do more exercises, build the muscles, strengthen—”

“It’s not about strength.” Landon crouches down, his hand gentle on Coral’s wing. “Some things can’t be trained into existence.”

I want to argue and insist that he’s wrong. We just need more time and effort. But I look at Coral, my beautiful, earthbound girl. I see the truth in her exhausted eyes.

She’ll never touch the sky.

The realization steals the air from my lungs. My knees feel weak. Landon’s hand finds my shoulder, the mate bond pulsing with shared sorrow.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

The words break something inside me. If Landon can’t help her, no one can. My mate is the best healer in Avalon. He’s mended broken wings, torn membranes and saved wyverns from injuries that should have killed them. But this isn’t an injury. This is how Coral was made. Even my mate can’t change that.

There’s no hope for her.

I press my face against Coral’s neck. She smells like sand, sunshine and crushed flowers. My wyvern makes a soft questioning sound, asking why I’m sad.

“It’s all right.” I stroke her scales. “You’re perfect just as you are.”

Coral presses her head against my chest, nearly knocking me backward with the weight of it. I wrap both arms around her snout and hold her until the trembling in her body eases.

By the time we leave the training grounds, the sun has climbed above the rooftops of Völundr. Coral follows between Landon and me with her head hanging low, her claws scraping against the stones. Every so often she glances toward the sky when a wyvern passes overhead, but she no longer chirps after them.

The silence hurts.

Landon walks beside me without speaking. He stays close enough that our shoulders nearly touch, though he makes no attempt to fill the quiet with empty comfort. I am grateful for that. There is nothing he can say that will give Coral wings.

We pass through the western market on our way toward my house. Merchants call from beneath striped awnings, offering polished metalwork, dried herbs and bright lengths of mountain wool. Coral usually stops to investigate every stall, but today she trudges obediently at my side.

I glance at Landon. “You and your warriors are still staying at the garrison?”

“For now.”

“There are empty rooms both at the Wiolant residence and in the palace.” I try to make the offer sound casual. “An entire wing, in fact. Your squadron would have more space there, and our courtyards are large enough for the wyverns.”

His gaze shifts to me, curious. “You would welcome a company of fae warriors into your home?”

“You are already welcome in my kingdom.” I hesitate, then add, “All of you are.”

I want him closer. Close enough that perhaps the distance between us will finally begin to disappear. I hope he might remember the ruined palace, the mask and the way he touched me there. The hope is foolish, especially after this morning, but I cannot force it from my heart.

Landon smiles, and the warmth of it catches painfully beneath my ribs. “I appreciate the offer. Truly. Let me speak with the others, and I will think about it.”

“Of course.”

We turn onto the broad avenue leading toward the palace district. Aelfric stands outside an armorer’s shop ahead, speaking quietly with Garrett. Both wear the colors of my royal guard, and both notice Landon at once.

Aelfric’s shoulders stiffen. Garrett’s expression remains courteous, but his hand settles near the pommel of his sword.

Landon sees it too. The ease leaves his posture, replaced by the watchful stillness of a commander among soldiers who do not trust him.

The discomfort runs both ways. My knights see a fae commander who once served the enemy king. Landon sees armed elves tracking his every movement through the city. None of them have forgotten the war simply because I have accepted him.

“I should return to my warriors,” Landon says.

The words come sooner than I want, but I understand. “You need not escort me and Coral the rest of the way. Aelfric and Garrett will shadow us from here.”

His gaze moves from them to me. “Are you certain?”