My heart filled with history as I left the past and returned to Nila. “Kes will be happy here.”
Nila nodded, her eyes glassing a little.
More horse hooves thudded over the hill as Tex and Vaughn finally caught up. They’d handled the trek well, allowing their horses to follow us.
Twisting in my saddle, I opened the bag and collected the urn that held my brother’s ashes.
Jasmine moved closer, her lips twisting against the urge to cry. I smiled, reminding her to be happy and not dwell on what we’d lost. “Do you want to say it?”
“No. You. I think you should be the one.”
Taking a deep breath, I unscrewed the lid of the copper urn and held it aloft. “To our brother. Every wind that rustles, we’ll remember you. Every leaf that falls, we’ll think of you. Every sunrise, we’ll recall the times we shared. And every sunset, we’ll value all that we’ve been given. This is not goodbye; this is a ‘see you soon.’”
My hands shook as my chest compressed with sadness. Nila wiped away a tear and Jasmine swallowed a sob. Their emotions swelled with mine, threatening to avalanche with despair.
Needing to say a private goodbye, I kicked Wings forward and shot into a gallop. The ridgeline spread before me as I let my horse fly.
I let him gallop as fast as he could.
I let him carry me away.
And, as the thunder of his hooves blotted out the black hole of grief, I tipped the urn and sprinkled Kes’s last remains.
The grey dust clouded behind me, whirling in the breeze, spiralling in the wind.
Goodbye, brother.
The wind picked up, encouraging the grey cloud to plume and soar down the valley, becoming one with the countryside.
My family had owned this estate for almost six-hundred years. It held many souls. Had seen many events. And witnessed many evolutions. My brother would remain its watcher and warrior—guarding Nila and my new family forever.
As Wings slowed, I looked at the sun and smiled.
The urn was empty.
Kestrel was gone.
From bone to ash.
From blood to dust.
His body had vanished, but I knew he still lived.
And we would meet again.
We would laugh again.
We would be brothers again.
Chapter Forty-One
Nila
“WHY DID WE come here?”
Jethro grabbed my hand, leading me from the Ferrari and through the car park at Diamond Alley. “You’ll see.”
Four weeks had gone by.
