She should have been elated. Vindicated. Proud. Instead, she just felt empty.
When it was finally over, she escaped back to her chambers, with Nyx trotting along behind her. The cat had become her shadow these past few days, following her everywhere with unusual devotion.
Leona sank into the chair by the window, and Nyx immediately jumped into her lap.
“Well, Nyx,” she said softly, stroking the cat’s fur. “We did it. We’re home. Everythin' is exactly as it should be.”
Nyx looked up at her with those knowing yellow eyes and meowed, a long, plaintive sound that seemed to say,Is it, though?
“I’m being ridiculous,” Leona continued, knowing she was talking to a cat but unable to stop herself. Skye had done this all the time, and somehow it had made sense. “I have everythin' I need. Me home, me family, safety. What more could I want?”
Nyx meowed again, more insistently this time.
“Ye’re right,” Leona said, even though she had no idea what the cat was trying to communicate. “I’m miserable. And talkin' to ye like ye’re Skye isnae helpin'.”
But she kept doing it anyway. Because talking to Nyx, pretending the cat understood, was easier than admitting the truth to herself.
That she’d made a terrible mistake.
That she’d left her heart behind in Ainsley.
That no amount of duty or obligation or practical reasoning could fill the void where Murdock and Skye should be.
A soft knock at the door made her look up. “Come in.”
Her mother entered, carrying a tray with tea and food that Leona had no appetite for. Isla set it on the small table and settled into the chair across from her.
“Ye ken,” she said conversationally, “when I met yer faither, I thought I had me whole life planned out. I’d marry whoever me parents chose, run me household efficiently, produce heirs, and live a perfectly respectable, perfectly borin' life.”
“What changed?”
“Yer faither.” Isla smiled. “He was so… alive. So full of passion and joy and reckless certainty. He made me want things I’d never let meself want before. Made me believe that choosin' love over duty wasnae weakness, but courage. The thought of livin' without him was worse than the fear of bein' hurt.” Isla reached across to squeeze Leona’s hand. “Me darlin'' girl, I see ye sittin here in the home ye fought so hard to reclaim, and ye look more lost than ye did when ye were fleein' for yer life. That tells me everythin' I need to ken about where ye truly belong.”
“But what if…”
“What if he doesnae love ye?” Isla finished gently. “What if he does, but he’s too afraid to say it? What if ye’re both too scared to take the leap?” She paused. “What if ye spend the rest of yer life wonderin' what might have been if ye’d been brave enough to try?”
Leona looked down at Nyx, who was purring in her lap, then back at her mother. “Ye think I should go back.”
“I think ye should do whatever will let ye sleep at night without cryin'.” Isla’s voice was soft but firm. “And right now, that isnae here.”
Before Leona could respond, Rufus burst through the door, his face flushed with excitement. “Leona, we have visitors!”
Leona’s heart sank. “If it’s the council again?—”
“Nay.” A familiar voice, deep and rough and achingly missed, came from the hallway beyond. “Nay, indeed.”
Everything stopped. The world, her breath, her heart.
Then a younger voice, bright with joy: “Kitty!”
Nyx’s head snapped up, her ears pricked forward. Then she launched herself from Leona’s lap with a yowl of pure feline enthusiasm, bolting for the door.
“And Leona!” Skye’s voice called, closer now, filled with the same excitement. “Is Leona here, too?”
Leona couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything but stare at the doorway.
Murdock appeared.
