But then my ears pop with a sudden change in the wind, a slow rumbling from the skies above. I gasp and search the clouds, squinting and praying it’s the familiar shape of August’s ship.
And there it is, speeding downward into the atmosphere of Frith.
The dark shape descends from the sky rapidly, trying to land in the valley over. I fold to the next rock formation, standing on top and waiting for the ship to settle in the high grass.
I jump up and down and flail my arms shamelessly, cheering as he comes down.
The moment the ramp cracks open, August appears, climbing down it before it has even touched Frithian soil and sprinting across the field.
I scream his name on a sob, one matched by him, and fold the rest of the distance. I crash into his solid form, my body fully letting go as I weep in his arms.
He swings me around, his voice cracking with emotion mixed with laughter. “By the three worlds, Callia, don’t ever do that to me again!”
I never intend to let him go. It took me far too long to bring down my walls. I thought they protected me, but they only kept the ones I love further away. I had not realized that in the process, I had also built a wall around myself, keeping out myinner knowing. I heard a dark voice calling out to me in the forest of Frith, loud and seductive. I had forgotten that longer ago, the sacred mountain had instilled in me that the only voice that matters is my own. The one deep within me who knows exactly who I am and has since the beginning.
