The Ice Queen "Old Faces" - Ch. 24 (Patreon)

Neytiri

“It’s so good to see you like this.”

Caius pulls me in for a warm embrace as he speaks. It dawns on me that he hasn’t seen me since the humans attacked us. I pull away from him, giving him the best smile I can as I study him for wounds.

“You as well, I’m happy I didn’t… you know,” I trail off afraid to say it out loud but Caius doesn’t seem concerned in the least. He quickly brushes off my concern as he gestures for us to begin our walk to the house.

“How was your visit to the village?” he asks.

An involuntary smile forms on my lips as I think of my trip today. It was more than anything I could have ever asked for. My gaze shifts to the cliffside of Caius’s home. Even now I can see some of the homes emitting smoke as night begins to fall over the land.

“It was amazing. It gave me hope I didn’t know I needed. I was so afraid that everything about us was lost in the suffocating direction of the modern world, but I see my people have remained as they once were, and grown in size. It was beautiful to witness,” I say with a smile. My gaze shifts to Caius.

“Thank you for taking care of them. I know you had a hand in this as well.”

Caius shakes his head as a smile graces his lips.

“The moment I swore my blood oath to you, your people became my own. There’s no need to thank me.”

I study Caius wanting to say more but we’ve already reached the front door of his home. I tense as the feeling of several presences makes itself known. My gaze shifts as we step inside. The foyer is empty, but the lights are on around the corner. Caius for some reason doesn’t seem concerned about the bodies I sense coming from the living room, so I follow him around the corner and into the living room.

My vision blurs as tears form, streaming down my cheeks. Joy fills my heart as I take in the familiar faces of the first men to turn on their king for me. Merek, Torren, and Saban all stand with large smiles on their faces, dressed in modern clothing. They all look vaguely different and yet the same after all these years, their bright blue eyes filled with excitement as they take me in. It now makes sense why Cassian was reluctant to come inside.

“I-” I trail off, not knowing what to say.

Caius steps forward, placing his hand on the small of my back, leading me into the room.

“Welcome home,” he says softly as each man steps forward with smiles on their lips. I gently hold my hand out, as per the customs as they each greet me.

“Welcome back, my Queen.”

I greet each of them, my brain still lacking in coming forth with the proper response, until I hear the thundering footsteps of a heavy beast running through the house. My eyes widen as Tikaani sprints around the corner with his tongue lolling in excitement. He crashes into me, knocking me off my feet. My joy is overwhelming as we both crash to the ground and his wines fill the room as he laps my face.

“Tikaani?” I sob, clutching his fur.

All this time I just assumed he had passed, but it seems anyone connected to me has lived as long as I have. Tikaani is a part of my past I had made peace with losing, but now that I see he’s here, it makes everything I’ve seen today that much more important to protect. No one speaks as my sobs fill the air, my happiness audible as I sit in the center of the living room.

* * * * *

“Would you like some company?”

I look up as Caius steps out onto the balcony with a small plate in his hand. There’s a piece of cake on it as he sits next to me and Tikaani. The view here is impressive. The village lights twinkle in the distance, proof that my people are alive. I feel very content at this moment. The “party” Caius planned for me was a perfect ending to this day. Seeing everyone’s faces and hearing of how their lives have progressed up to this point has brought me deep joy. Merek recently started a family, Torren trains up-and-coming Ikniri in combat, and Saban recently started seeing someone.

It seems the only people who continue to suffer in all of this are Cassian and Caius.

I take a deep breath, pulling my knees up to rest my chin atop them.

“I will never grow tired of this,” I say softly.

Caius takes a bite of his cake, eyeing the village.

“It’s come a long way. You should have seen how difficult it was to move everyone here. It took them a while to adjust and realize this was for the best.”

I smile at that. I understand the hesitation to leave everything you know behind.

“We can’t let them go through that ever again. They shouldn’t have to suffer and leave everything they know. I won’t let it happen.”

I feel Caius’s gaze on me.

“I won’t let my people be uprooted again for the sake of humanity’s greed.”

Caius doesn’t respond but he doesn’t have to. We both know this lingering happiness is only temporary, especially since both of us were caught fighting for our lives against humans who were planning to take me away. They won’t take the killing of their people lightly.

“Do you think they would come here?” Caius asks.

I hold my hand in front of me, taking in the symbols on my arms. My gaze shifts to Tikaani’s massive form next to me, and I come to rest on Caius’s face. His bright blue eyes that now glow with my power look back at me for an answer. He’s been a part of this world and grown with it. But I see the direction things are heading.

“We are everything they fear. We are powerful, mysterious, and different. Of course, they will come here. Especially now that they know of my existence. It’s only a matter of when.”

Caius releases a breath leaning back on his hands.

“We’ll be ready for them.”

My gaze shifts to the window. Merek, Saban, and Torren all stand in the center of the room, speaking to one another. They look at peace, much more so than when I last saw them. I look at Caius. His gaze is focused on the village.

“Are you happy with your life here?” I ask.

He looks back over the village, a small smile on his lips.

“I am.”

“Why’d you decide to stay in the village? Why not at the estate with Cassian and Ulric?” I ask.

Caius frowns, looking at his hands as he speaks.

“I am no longer a part of Cassian’s guard. None of us are. We have no place next to him as our place is with you. Besides, he doesn’t trust us enough to let us stay there.”

I frown at that.

“Even now? After all you’ve been through?”

Caius shrugs.

“We had been through much worse before now. And we turned our backs on him. There’s no turning back. There’s no fixing that bond. Its gone forever.”

Caius eyes me silently before speaking again.

“Your place is with him Neytiri. You know that, right? This village can never be your home. What the two of you are doing is unheard of in the history of ancients.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Cassian’s father and my father were planning to marry us off to one another. My brothers attacked before that could happen. They were rulers for a reason. I wonder what vision they saw for our people,” I say softly.

I lean against Tikaani as I let my fears be known.

“I hope I’m not making a mistake. Cassian seems different but I think he’s holding back. I think he’s afraid to be himself and is being punished. What if he changes and I’m not strong enough to face him? What if I’m still a naive Ikniri?”

Cassian would always call me naive in our past. He would speak in riddles around me knowing I didn’t understand the true meaning. He manipulated me to the very end and though we’ve begun to trust one another under the banner of doing this for our people, there are times when I see Cassian struggling with his inner self.

“You were never naive. You were taken from your people, you were raised in a forest of crazy people, and you had to hold your own not only against Cassian but all of us as well.”

Caius grabs ahold of my hand squeezing it comfortingly.

“You were alone then, but you aren’t alone anymore.”

He gestures to the window and I look inside to see Merek and Sabon chatting at the bar while Torren downs another beer. They all look at ease and happy. Strangely different but the same.

“We all swore our loyalty to you because we believe in you. We’ll be here to help you if you fall and protect you. I’ve seen the difference in Cassian. You’re changing him. Don’t question yourself,” he says smiling.

Caius tilts his head to the sky, closing his eyes.

“An evil is coming. And when it arrives, all of us will be depending on you and Cassian as a team. So don’t question where you both have made it on your own.”