Chapter 140: Crossing Thresholds

ERIS

I was ready before dawn.

Had been awake for hours actually. Lying in the alcove pretending to sleep while Soren’s arms stayed wrapped around me and my mind replayed every mortifying detail of yesterday in excruciating clarity.

The moment I felt him start to wake, I extracted myself.

Carefully. Quietly. Got dressed in clothes I’d laid out the night before. Braided my hair with efficient movements that left no room for tangles or softness or anything that might suggest I cared about appearance.

I did not look at him.

Not when I heard him sit up. Not when I felt his gaze tracking my movements around the alcove. Not when he made that amused sound that meant he knew exactly why I was avoiding eye contact.

“Good morning,” he said.

I ignored him.

Focused on lacing my boots. Very important boots. Required complete concentration. Definitely couldn’t be interrupted by acknowledging the man who’d made me come so hard yesterday I’d forgotten my own name.

“Eris.”

Still ignoring.

“Your Majesty.”

I tied the laces with more force than necessary.

“Are you planning to pretend I don’t exist for the entire journey back?”

“Yes,” I said to my boots.

He laughed.

Actual laughter. Like my avoidance was the most entertaining thing he’d witnessed in days. Like he found my mortification charming instead of the very reasonable response it was.

I finished with the boots.

Stood up. Checked that everything was packed. That Solara’s saddlebags were properly secured. That nothing had been forgotten or left behind.

Still didn’t look at him.

“You know,” Soren said from entirely too close behind me, “ignoring me won’t make yesterday disappear.”

“I’m not ignoring you.” I adjusted a strap that didn’t need adjusting. “I’m busy.”

“Busy avoiding looking at me.”

“That’s not—”

He stepped into my line of sight.

Deliberate. Forcing me to either look at him or make it obvious I was looking anywhere else. Standing close enough that peripheral vision wouldn’t work as a strategy.

I looked at his chest.

Safe middle ground. Could claim I was looking in his general direction without actually meeting his eyes.

“Eris.” His voice had gone softer. Still amused but also something else. “Look at me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re insufferable and I don’t want to.”

“Liar.”

He tilted my chin up.

Gentle but firm. Left me no choice but to meet his gaze or close my eyes like a child hiding from monsters.

I met his gaze.

He was smiling. That specific smile that meant he knew exactly how flustered I was and found it adorable instead of annoying.

“There she is,” he murmured.

I glared.

“You know how to get on my nerves.”

“I know.” He leaned closer. “It’s one of my favorite things about you.”

My face heated.

Traitorous body betraying me again. Blushing like I’d never been touched before instead of like someone who’d enthusiastically participated in extremely explicit activities less than twenty-four hours ago.

“We should go,” I said. Changed the subject before he could tease me more. “The nymphs said my core is stable. No reason to delay.”

“Agreed.” He stepped back. Finally gave me space. “Let’s say our goodbyes.”

The nymphs were waiting outside.

All of them. More than I’d seen at once. Hovering near the waterfall entrance in a cloud of frost and light that made the morning look magical instead of just cold.

They swarmed us immediately.

Chittering in their ancient language. Sad notes mixed with well-wishes. Several of them flying directly to me despite the fact that I’d threatened to make them into soup multiple times.

One landed on my shoulder.

Bold little thing. Chimed directly in my ear with sounds I understood without knowing how.

“Safe travels, fire-bearer. May your flames burn steady and your path stay clear.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Felt strange thanking them. Felt stranger that I meant it. These creatures had helped save my life. Had guarded Solara. Had warned us when leaving would’ve killed me.

More nymphs approached.

Touching my hair. My hands. My dress. Like they were memorizing texture. Like they wanted to remember what I felt like before I left and might never return.

“Come back,” one chimed. “The river welcomes you. Always welcomes those it has healed.”

Another added, “Bring the ice-child when you return. We like watching him be soft with you.”

I blinked.

Several others chimed agreement. Apparently Soren being “soft” with me was entertainment they’d been enjoying.

“We won’t speak of what we witnessed,” another promised solemnly. Then ruined it by adding, “But it was very educational.”

My face burned.

They’d been watching. During—

I was going to kill them. Going to make good on every soup threat. Going to—

Soren’s hand found mine.

Squeezed gently. Reminding me that threatening our hosts right before departure was probably bad form.

“Thank you for everything,” he said to the nymphs. Speaking in their tongue fluidly. “For healing her. For protecting us. For giving us time.”

They swarmed him too.

Clearly more comfortable with Soren than they’d ever been with me. Touching his hair and face with the familiarity of old friends. Chiming their own goodbyes and blessings and what sounded like warnings about the journey ahead.

“The winter is harsh this year,”one said. “Guard her well, ice-child.”

“The court will not welcome her easily,” another added. “Fire and ice do not mix in the eyes of those who fear change.”

“But you know this already.”

Soren nodded. “I do.”

“Then go. Return to the world. Remember that the river is always here if you need sanctuary again.”

Final goodbyes.

Final touches. Final blessings that felt more genuine than any I’d received in temples or palaces or anywhere that claimed divine connection.

Then we walked to where Solara waited.

Mounting was awkward.

Not because Solara was difficult. She stood perfectly still while I climbed into the saddle. But because Soren mounted behind me, because his chest pressed against my back and his arms came around me to take the reins, because this position was intimate in ways that made my earlier mortification return with force.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

His breath hit my ear. Deliberately. He was doing this on purpose.

“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth.

“You’re very tense.”

“I wonder why.”

He chuckled.

Adjusted his grip on the reins. The movement pressed us even closer together. Made very clear that there was no space between us, no distance I could create without falling off the horse entirely.

“Relax,” he murmured. “It’s a three-day journey. You can’t stay this rigid the entire time.”

“Watch me.”

“I intend to.”

Heat spread across my face again.

He was impossible. Absolutely impossible. And I was trapped here for three days with his arms around me and his voice in my ear and his body pressed against mine.

This was going to be torture.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Anything to start moving. Anything to have something to focus on besides his proximity and his warmth and the way his hands looked holding the reins around me.

Solara started forward.

Through the forest. Away from the cave. Away from the sacred space that had sheltered us for days and kept us safe while the rest of the world continued without us.

The landscape changed gradually.

More snow appeared. Trees went from mixed to predominantly evergreen. Temperature dropped degree by degree as we rode north into true Nevareth territory.

I watched everything.

Cataloguing details. The architecture of small villages we passed. The way people dressed in layers of fur and wool. The absence of color compared to Solmire’s vibrant markets and sun-bright streets.

Everything was blue and white and grey.

Beautiful in its harshness. Striking in its severity. Foreign in every way that mattered.

This was going to be my home.

This frozen landscape. These cold people. This kingdom that worshipped ice instead of fire and probably viewed me as an invader instead of an empress.

The thought should have been daunting.

Instead I just felt… curious. Ready. Like maybe this was exactly what I’d needed. A fresh start. A place where no one knew me as the villainess. A kingdom that might give me space to be something different.

Or might reject me completely.

Hard to tell yet.

Hours passed.

The border camp became visible on the horizon. Tents and banners and the organized chaos of a military encampment that had been waiting for its emperor to return.

Guards spotted us first.

Shouted alerts. Pointed. Scrambled into formation like they’d been drilled for exactly this scenario.

A horn sounded.

Long. Clear. Announcement that carried across the entire camp. The signal that brought everyone running. Knights. Diplomats. Servants. Everyone who’d been waiting and wondering when Soren would rejoin them.

We approached the gates.

Massive things. Wood reinforced with metal and magic. Carved with symbols I didn’t recognize but that probably meant something important to Nevarians.

They opened for us.

Slowly. Deliberately. Creating a gap wide enough for Solara to pass through with her two riders.

Official entry into Nevareth.

The moment we crossed the threshold, everything changed. The air felt different. Colder. More charged. Like the empire itself recognized its emperor had returned and was welcoming him home.

People lined the path.

Staring. Curious. Some bowing. Others just watching with expressions that ranged from welcoming to suspicious to openly hostile when their gaze landed on me.

The witch of Solmire.

The fire queen.

The woman who had no business being here.

I kept my spine straight.

Met every stare. Showed nothing but calm interest. I let them look, let them judge. I’d survived worse than hostile glances and whispered rumors.

Soren leaned close.

His lips practically brushing my ear when he spoke. Intimate despite the public setting. Possessive in ways that probably weren’t helping the hostile stares but he clearly didn’t care.

“Welcome to Nevareth, Your Majesty.”

The words were teasing. But also genuine. Recognition that this was real now. That we’d crossed into his empire. That this frozen landscape was mine too whether I’d chosen it or not.

I didn’t respond.

Just let his words settle. Let the reality sink in.

I was in Nevareth.

About to be married to its emperor.

About to face a court that would either accept me or try to destroy me.

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