The High Mountain Court (Five Crowns of Okrith #1)

by A.K. Mulford

“Let this be a warning to you,” Hale said, his voice deadly as he looked down on them. “I may tolerate your disrespect, but my red witch will not.”

“What, you mean you can’t jump off a horse mid-stride while pulling out a dagger?” Remy asked with a mischievous grin. Hale’s laugh echoed through her. “Well played. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were part fae.”

The memories of pleasure from the night before had long left her body, surrendered to the steep climb. She knew they would have to talk about it eventually . . . if they survived. Perhaps it would be better to die on these slopes than to lie to him again . . . perhaps it would be better to die than to tell him the truth.

But she knew it already, knew it deep in her bones, that she couldn’t leave him behind even if she wanted to, even if it would save her life.

“Gods, Remy, you stupid, brave fool,” Hale said, slinging her arm around his neck. He wrapped his hand around her waist, half carrying her across the bridge. “That’s the thanks I get for saving your life.” She gritted her teeth. “You should have let me die,” Hale snarled. “Never,”

She would not make it. But Morganna needed to know of her passing either way. The High Priestess needed to let go of all the hopes that had rested on Remy’s shoulders. She feared for the chain of events her death would set off, yet she still regretted nothing. She would have jumped into that lake every single time. She was glad she had saved him.

“You have a choice before you now. Go forward: claim back your body, claim your rightful place in this world, or go, leave all the pain and destruction, yes, but leave any future too.” “How do I know my future will be worth the suffering?” She doubted it could be. If she lived, it would lead to war. “How does anyone?

“It is the burden of those who pass: to watch, to bear witness to all that comes from the lives they led, to watch the ripples of all that they have done.

“Surely most do not get to choose between staying or going.” “Because someone still tethers you to this world.” Baba Morganna’s voice warmed. “Who?” Remy heard the smile in the old witch’s voice. “You know who. You know what he is to you.”

Remy knew then that she never had a choice. She would hold on to life just to wipe his tears away. That was how much she loved him.

She felt those thumbs stroking her wet cheeks. She heard the soft tremble of his cries. The sound anchored her to this world. Turning toward her destiny, she decided to make as many damn ripples as she could before time took her again.

The witches who died for her to live would be so deeply disappointed in her now, trusting their enemy. Each breath felt like a punch to her chest. She had fallen in love with a man who wanted to kill her.

“It was not witch magic,” Hale said, his gray eyes darkening as he took a few slow steps forward. She thought she still might be able to outrun him if she summoned all of her powers. “I know who you are, Remy . . . or should I say, Your Majesty?”

I will never hurt you.” “You liar.” Remy laughed coldly at him, even as more tears welled. “Why not?” “Because you are my Fated mate.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Remy bit her lip between her teeth to keep it from wobbling. “Because I thought you would either run or shoot an arrow through me . . .” Hale looked up at the arrow lodged mere inches from his head. “I suppose I was right. Your name is Remini, isn’t it? Remini Dammacus, third child of the King and Queen of the High Mountain Court?”

“But there is only one reason I know for certain that you are my Fated.” “What?” Remy could barely breathe. “I am so desperately in love with you,” Hale said as tears welled in his eyes.

Remy wrapped her arms around Hale’s back, pulling him in tighter until every part of them touched. She needed this, needed him for so long. He was the other half of her soul. Their love had existed before they were even born.

“I had to jump into that lake. I had to,” she said into his chest, the tears heavy again. “I couldn’t watch another person I love die.” Hale’s arms tightened around her in silent acknowledgment. She heard his voice through the rumbling in his chest. “I love you too.”

She knew they were Fated mates, but to hear him say it, the last little barrier surrounding her heart crumbled. She loved him. She loved him, and it was terrifying.

“It takes time to face it,” Hale said, as if reading her mind. “Permit yourself that kindness.” He idly stroked her back again. “And when you are ready, I will be there.”

“You are not alone, Remy. I’m here,” he whispered. “I can take it.” She could pour out every ounce of pain, and he would take it. She knew it wasn’t a burden to him, that he welcomed it all, her Fated mate. This was what he did for her, what she did for him. They held all the things together that were impossible to hold alone.

“Let me show you who you are,” he breathed, his voice edged with pleading, as his mouth hovered over hers. “Let me show you all the ways I can worship you.”

Did it feel the same for him? Like a door unlocking to another world. They held each other’s stare in awe and wonder for a moment at how right it felt to be united in this way.

“You are the most beautiful, stunning, incredible being I have ever laid eyes upon.” He traced idle fingers across Remy’s cheek, nose, the lobe of her pointed ear. “See for yourself,” he said.

They were mated forever and inextricably tied. A part of his soul existed in her and she in him. In their joining, she had revealed her true self to him. She could only ever be her whole real self for her Fated mate. And it made her feel raw and vulnerable, beautiful and worthy all at once.

She would never get to hug her brothers again. She would never again get to follow them around like an annoying puppy, peppering them with questions that they were loath to answer. She would never again see their smiles or hear their laughs or know their love.

As Bri had promised, her instincts took over and in one smooth motion she spun, stabbing directly into the soldier’s neck. She didn’t wait to see him fall. She yanked back her blade, his blood spraying into the air as she ran.

“If you wanted to talk to me so badly, Hennen, you should have just asked.” Raffiel Dammacus, Crown Prince to the High Mountain Court, stood before the Northern King.

Rua cried out, staggering into Renwick. Remy watched wide-eyed, trapped by the fighting all around her, as Renwick grabbed Rua and moved her behind him, pinning her to the table of antiquities, as he turned his sword on the guard. His own guard.

“Soon it will be Queen Remini, Vostemur,” she promised. She knew it the moment she saw Raffiel fall. Her entire life had led her to this point. She could not hide away any longer from who she was. “I will take back everything you have stolen from my family. But you won’t live long enough to see it.”

“Impossible.” His voice was barely audible over the gurgling of blood from his mouth. Remy turned, and her heart seized. Ruadora, Princess of the High Mountain Court, held the Immortal Blade.

As the tears fell from her eyes into her hair, all she said was, “I love you.”

Remy opened her eyes to see Heather hovering over her. Heather wore servants’ garb like Fenrin. Tear tracks stained her cheeks, but she smiled down at Remy. And Remy, despite everything, smiled back at her. To see her mother one last time. Because that’s what she was and always had been, her mother. It did not matter if they shared the same blood. They were family.

“I loved you from the moment I first saw you, my Remy,” Heather said. So many tears poured down her cheeks as she smiled at her daughter. “I meant it when I said I would give my life for yours.” Remy scrambled to speak, but Heather placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Help lead this world into a better future, Remy. Be brave and kind and strong and clever, as you’ve always been.” Heather’s lips quirked up. “Be all the things I tried to teach you to be, but most of all, my Remy, be loved.”

“Promise me I will never have to watch you die again.” He said it as if he meant it to be a joke, but there was too much pain in his voice to pull it off. “You know I can’t promise that.” Remy stroked her hand down his forearm. “Lie to me, then,” he rasped.

“Were you his general? Raffiel’s?” Remy wondered, looking at Bern. The male’s face caved again at the sound of her brother’s name. “No,” Bern said. “I was his Fated mate.”

“You should not have put this ring on me, Remy.” His voice filled with lament. “It belongs to you and your family, and now I cannot take it off.” “You are my family, Hale,” Remy whispered.

A wave of regret hit her once more. She wished she had been kinder to Heather. Remy wished she hadn’t directed her anger at her guardian all the time. She wished she had called her “mother” because that was who she truly was.

“Remini Maescia Dammacus, Queen of the High Mountain Court . . . will you marry me?” Hale’s smile made Remy want to buckle at the knees. It was a rare smile, so bright and hopeful. Remy’s chest felt like it might burst open. “Yes.” She wasn’t sure if it was a laugh or a cry.

She had wanted Hale for a long time as well. But to know he had wanted to marry her for so long . . . “I have wanted to marry you from the moment you almost crushed me with that pine tree way back in Harbruck,”

The world would not make her, she would make the world.

Rua looked back to Renwick with a snarl. Good. At least there was something there, then.

“I will be in touch through fae fires. Regularly. It won’t be long until Winter Solstice, which I hope you come home for, you . . . and Renwick,” Remy added with a drip of disgust that made her sister smile. At least they could agree to hate him, then. Maybe they could bond over that.