With the mountain a bit sturdier, or at least with less strain on Lynton, I sent Ayla and Riona back to the castle to make preparations for the trolls now milling about in the plains just outside the castle. The sun would be harsh on their skin, and Cade was too busy to conjure any sort of shelter, so Riona would have to think of something.
"Just make sure they're comfortable," I said to Riona, who nodded.
Elodia, Rutley, and I stayed behind to scour the city for the remaining trolls. It took most of the day and was exhausting, tedious work. But finally, when the sun set behind the mountain, I found no more trolls hiding in the city.
"That's it," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "That's everyone."
"It's not," Lynton said, watching the city. "We're still missing someone."
I was about to argue until I saw the look on his face. His daughter. "Maybe she's already gone past…"
"She hasn't. I would've seen her. I…" His face went slack as Elodia came walking over the hill dragging a protesting teenager.
"Let me go!" the troll girl said, kicking at Elodia. "I will destroy you, human!"
"I'm guessing that's—"
"Aniline!" Lynton ran forward, and immediately, the mountain trembled. He skidded to a halt, looking up as the remaining pieces of the mountain wobbled and fell inward. "Run!"
Elodia grabbed the girl and yanked her forward, and luckily, she complied. And as the mountain collapsed, the four of us, along with Cade, dashed through the portal. The sound of the mountain crumbling vanished as Cade closed the portal behind him, the only evidence of the chaos the puff of dust that had made it through.
We stared at the plain beyond us, breathing heavily. Then I became aware of activity behind us. I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but it warmed my heart to see that Ayla had gone to Gabhann and rounded up my soldiers to start feeding and providing blankets and other items to the bewildered trolls. As the memory spell wore off, some were confused, others angry, and still others were stuck under the spell and seemed content where they were.
Ayla and Riona were amongst them, seemingly helping Bronwen dispense soup from a large cauldron in the middle of the field. Ayla's hair was pulled up away from her face as she walked bowls of soup to the trolls. Riona was using her magic to make more of everything and hand them out. Every so often, they'd bump into each other and smile.
"I don't know what we do now," Lynton whispered as a purple butterfly flitted by his face. "Where do we go?"
"Tonight, you rest," I said, patting him on the back. "Tomorrow, we'll visit the Erlking and find you a permanent place. Perhaps back in the wildlands, if you want."
His mask slid. "How can you be sure he won't enslave us again?"
"He won't," Cade said, walking up beside him. "Because you'll have me to protect you. And Riona."
"And me," I said then added sheepishly, "for what that's worth."
Lynton stepped up to the group and stomped on the ground weakly. Magic flowed from his body, but much less robustly than it had before. Still, it wasn't intended to do more than get the trolls' attention.
"My…my siblings," he said, his voice hoarse. Cade tapped his staff on the ground and when he spoke again, the volume was amplified. "We have a lot to discuss. Our king… Edric is dead."
A gasp of horror rose from the crowd, but Lynton held up his hands.
"He wasn't the sovereign we hoped he'd be. He enslaved us these past thousand years, kept us in stasis while he readied his own plans for his own desires. Meanwhile, our loved ones back in our lands perished." He turned to his daughter, who gave him a soft smile. "We have a chance at a new beginning, thanks to the queen of Pennlan and her compatriots. These are our friends—we owe our continued existence to them."
I felt a swell of pride as the trolls looked at us—at Ayla, at Elodia and Rutley, Riona. Even Cade, with his staff.
"Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we venture back to our ancestral home to find… Find a new home. Any who wish to stay behind may do so. You are free to make your own choices." He paused. "Finally free to do what you wish. But I'm going home. And you are all welcome to join me."
And that was all he said to them, as he turned to us, reaching for my hand.
"Thank you," he said, squeezing it then turning to Cade. "And you, wizard. I'm sorry we treated you so—"
"Bygones," Cade said. "Now, how about we get some of that stew? It's been months since I've had Bronwen's legendary recipe."
⤖⤖⤖⤖
I had two bowls, having forgotten what a good meal tasted like in the fortnight we'd been gone. I sat down, my feet aching from running all over the troll kingdom, and savored it, watching the soldiers and taking a break for the first time in what felt like ages.
"So. This is what it'll be like when you're captain."
Platt was behind me, arms crossed over his chest. "What? Bringing magical creatures into our kingdom?" I shrugged. "I try not to make it a habit."
He snorted. "Gabhann is making a mistake. As is Her Majesty. But I suppose—"
"You know," I cut him off, "you could be off doing something useful, like making sure our guests have bedrolls and enough food and water."
He stormed away, and I couldn't help but feel like that was a harbinger of things to come. But I'd solve that problem later. I wasn't captain yet anyway.
"He seems mad."
Ayla stood in front of me now, a bowl cupped in her hands—this time with a piece of crusty bread perched on the side.
"Do you want to make him your captain?" I asked.
"Absolutely not," she said, making a face. "He's too much of a butt kisser. I need someone who'll call me out when I deserve it." She cleared her throat. "Are you still hungry?"
I waved her over, not super hungry, but that bread was tempting. "Can't believe Bronwen was able to whip all this up so quickly."
"Riona helped," Ayla said, sitting down beside me. "And Cade, when he returned." She looked at me. "You got everyone out?"
I nodded. "Now how we'll get them to the fae realm, I haven't a clue."
"They could stay here," Ayla said. "I wouldn't mind having an army of trolls just outside my doorstep… You know, just in case."
"They don't belong here," I said softly. "They deserve to go home."
"I know. Just…wishful thinking," she replied with a sigh. "They're handling it well, I suppose. The last thing most of them remember was the battle of the aos sí. Just unimaginable horror and bloodshed, only to wake up a thousand years in the future. Everything they knew is gone."
"They'll figure it out," I said. "They're alive, aren't they?"
"Thanks to you."
"Thanks to you," I added, nudging her. "So you've figured out that stone, huh?"
"Somewhat." She looked at it curiously. "It seems to work better when Riona's around."
Her gaze moved out into the trolls until it landed on Riona, who was talking with Lynton's daughter and offering her another bowl of soup.
"How is it going with your sister?" I made sure to emphasize the last word.
"We haven't had a chance to really talk," Ayla said. "I owe her a few thousand more apologies."
"Probably not necessary," I said, watching her as she handed a bowl of stew to Lynton with a smile. "She's got quite the forgiving heart."
"Too forgiving," Ayla said. "More than I deserve." She turned her stone over a few times. "I've been thinking a lot about what I said. And why…" She glanced at me from beneath her lashes. "Not that there's any excuse, but—"
"Go on."
She dropped the stone. "To accept that Riona is my half-sister is to accept everything that Eoghan did. To believe that the man I thought had raised me, had loved me like his own, was really…" Her voice cracked. "But it's more than that, too. Because if Eoghan really wasn't who I thought he was, that means he's really…gone. And I'm all alone on this big throne I'm not prepared to…." She swallowed. "If I make a mistake, if I make the wrong call…there's no one who'll save me." A tear leaked down her cheek. "None of which is Riona's fault, of course."
I watched her play with a blade of grass, her vulnerable words echoing in the silence between us. "I get it. You've been through a lot. But there's one thing you're wrong about: you aren't alone. You have Captain Gabhann, Cade—"
She snorted. "Not sure about him anymore."
"He'll come around," I said. "Riona, too. And…" I glanced at her hand sitting next to me and gently covered it with mine. "And you have me."
"Does that mean you're staying?" Ayla asked.
I watched her, a little smile teasing the corners of my mouth as I squeezed her hand. "I suppose I could stay behind. After all, we…" All the levity left my body. "We have to find the other two stones before Eoghan does."
She deflated. "I can't believe Edric just gave his away. Now we're even. One to one. Unless…" She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it."
"We'll send someone to the south as soon as we get these trolls settled," I said.
"You?" She met my gaze with a frown.
It should've been me. But I shook my head. "I have to stay and protect my sovereign. You know, in case he comes back. And we have to kick some sense into these other kingdoms, too, so they'll start trading with us again."
She groaned. "Why'd you have to remind me? I'm sure… The merchants are going to be furious with me when they find out I went on an adventure instead of solving their problem."
"To be fair, you were trying to solve their problem. Just in a roundabout way."
She stared off into the distance, defeated.
"You know," I began, clearing my throat, "if you start firing off beams of light from that stone, they might not be so eager to mess with you. And since you and Riona are on speaking terms now, you might just have the opportunity to show off some real power. Cow them into opening the borders."
"I don't know if I have it in me to…" She swallowed hard. "In about three days, I'll realize that I ended Edric's life and have a complete breakdown about it."
I sat back on my haunches. "Edric had a hundred lifetimes to do the right thing. He wasn't the hero."
"But he could've been saved. I could have saved him." She rubbed her hands together. "I only… I didn't want to risk making another mistake."
I looked out at the trolls, watching their tired smiles and nervous conversations. "You saved them, Ayla. They're free to live however they choose. All thanks to you."
She didn't look convinced as she rose slowly, removing her hand from under mine. "I'm going to do another sweep and make sure everyone's taken care of. Get some rest."
But I took her hand again, pulling her back down to sit next to me. "You need your rest, too."
She smiled, glancing at our joined hands, and settled back down.