Her lips purse, her eyes still narrowed, but she says nothing else. I wait another few minutes in excruciating silence before I sigh and turn for the stairs.
“Roman.” Caught off guard by such a casual title, I spin to look at her. “Sorin is smart, maybe not in the way that Galen is, but smart nonetheless. He’ll never make it easy for you to find him. Or the Stones, if he has them.” She bites her bottom lip, showing the only sign of worry since I arrived.
Nodding, I turn to leave again?—
“The man that brought me in,” she says, grabbing my attention. “Is he still alive?”
I pause on the steps to think for a moment, trying to remember who it was that eventually brought her to me. Then it hits me.
Cade. My guard long before he was an officer. His allegiance I’ve been meaning to thank, come to think of it.
I glance at her over my shoulder. “Yes.”
She smiles, her hands sliding from the bars. “Good.”
Elwyn
The merrimentof the castle is infectious as the preparations begin for the Autumn Moon.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t house a certain excitement in my step as well. The Autumn Moon is the only celebration in Valebridge where outsiders attend, which means tonight, I’ll see him. We’ve kept our encounters brief the last few years. Keeping to our usual hallways and hidden corners of the castle. But this year is different. I feel it in my heart.
In the five years since Elora was born, I’ve questioned my decision to stay in Valebridge almost every day. But never once has a premonition told me it wasn’t safe here, and so here is where we’ve stayed.
And in all honesty, it’s brought me so much joy watching Elora learn and grow alongside others just like her. Albeit, the lessons of which she’s learning have been altered for her safety, she’s learning all the same.
Lining up the tapered candles along the long dining tables, my heart pinches at the thought of Elora never knowing about her Dyrsjel lineage. Never knowing that it’s the wolves outside the Valebridge walls calling to her every night, putting her to sleep. I’ve done my best to keep her magick hidden from KingSilas, and I’ll continue to, if that means keeping her alive for whatever the Fates have planned for her.
As I put the last of the candles in place, I glance around the room. Navy and ivory ribbons hang from the grand chandeliers. The flickering light of the candles cast shadows along the marble walls. Smiling, I head toward the exit, and as I do, a handmaid rushes in with a dozen black roses.
You know where to find me.
My skin prickles thinking of him. Maybe I should have left with him all those years ago, but I had just birthed Elora. Had just Seen the vision of my fate. Had learned who our daughter was. I was terrified. Frozen in place. But it’s been five years and nothing unusual has happened. Nothing grim. So tonight, I will tell my love the words he’s wished to hear.
We’re coming with you.
Eagerness and anticipation lead my steps. Tonight, the moon will be full and so will my heart.
“I want to go with you!”Elora shouts, her lip snarling up on one side.
Little wolf, indeed.Chuckling, I finish braiding her hair.
“It isn’t a party for children, Elora. You’ll stay here with Margerie. Come morning, I’ll tell you all about it in so much detail it’ll be as if you were there yourself.”
She frowns again before reluctantly climbing into our shared bed. “Will you tell me my favorite story before you go?” Her golden eyes are wide, her bottom lip stuck out.
Laughing, I pull the covers up to her chin. “Only once this time,susi.” I point my finger at her and she nods with a sleepygrin. I know my daughter though, and it’ll be at least three times before I’m able to slip down to the party.
Once she has settled onto her pillow, her breathing slowing, I begin the story she admires so much. “It always begins the same. A storm, a crown, and a bargain made–”
“But how does it end, mama?” She yawns before rubbing her eyes.
“Thatsusi, is a story yet to be told.” I stroke her hair as she settles deeper into her pillow. “Now, once upon a time, there was an Enchantress who loved a little girl very much…”
With Elora snug in our bed, I slip out of the room and check the hallway mirror once more. I smile at my reflection. My silver eyes match the moon’s full light. My beaded, navy gown swishes as I make my way to the grand hall, and my matching mask sits snugly across my nose and around my eyes.
The music fills the foyer and as the hall doors open, I’m hit with a symphony of sounds. Beautiful strings and high voices fill my ears. Dozens and dozens of people dance and sway under the firelit chandeliers.
My senses are immediately overwhelmed, but nothing could deter me from finding him. There, in the back corner, he stands alone. Donned all in black, including his satin mask. His hair, a familiar shade of gold, matches the hair lining his upper lip and over his chin.
