Rawn brought her to sit on a fallen log and sat with her beneath the rain as she silently cried. “I lament for your pain, my lady. And for the loss of who you used to be.”
“He ruined me…”
“No,” he said softly. “You are hurting, and rightfully so.”
They looked out at the forest, listening to the drizzle patter on the leaves.
“I am stumbling in the dark…” she admitted. “It makes me feel so lost.”
“To be lost does not mean one is lost forever. It merely means we need to find our way back. The most worthwhile path is seldom the easiest, but I have faith you will find your way again. For after darkness falls, the dawn will arise.” As if the fates had to agree with him, the clouds parted at that moment, spilling the first rays of morning light through the trees, and he smiled. “If you need help with that, I will be right here to guide you.”
He was kind to her and always a warm guide to turn to, but Dyna couldn’t take any comfort right now. It only made her feel worse. Maybe she had forgotten how to be a good person.
Dyna wiped her cheek. “Thank you, Lord Norrlen.”
“Of course, my lady.” Rawn took out a handkerchief from beneath his cloak and handed it to her. “Now, shall we discuss the other matter at hand?”
She sighed. “Regarding Tarn, I take it. You don’t agree.”
“I have given you an oath that wherever you go on this quest, I will guard your steps and shield your life, to the end of the world and back. I am doing so now.”
“You’re saying I should be careful.”
“I am saying we must be wise,” Rawn clarified. “I fear the true reason you are doing this is rooted in your pain.”
Dyna looked away. Pain was merely a sign of weakness. She would move on without Cassiel and prove she didn’t need him anymore. “This has nothing to do with him, if that’s what you think. It’s a solid plan. It makes sense.”
Or was she fighting too hard to convince herself of that?
“You have learned to defend yourself and how to wield weapons. Now you must learn strategy for when to attack and when to retreat. Regardless of how perfect a plan may be, they never go as planned, for they are carried out by imperfect people.”
She made a face. Clearly, she wasn’t perfect.
“I do not question your prudence. I merely worry about the state of your heart, for I know the pain you feel.”
She looked back at Rawn in surprise, not expecting that.
“A dear one I loved also left me behind, and I too became lost. Anger wrought me into something I never wish to be again.” Rawn looked down at his sword. The crest of a blooming dynalya adorned the pommel. “My actions had grievous consequences I could not amend, forever marring my name.”
Dyna searched his kind face, finding it hard to believe he could ever harm another out of anger. But his eyes were sad and remorseful.
She inhaled the crispness of the fresh air as they continued to sit in silence, simply watching the light make the forest glitter.
Cassiel was her True Bonded. The other half of her soul.
His absence left her with a wound she may never heal, and she hated that. She hated thehelplessnessof it. Hated that she couldn’t forget what he did. He had planted a seed of fury in her so deep it may never fade, and if so, there was no hope of ever finding her way back.
Perhaps she should thank him.
Rawn’s advice had always helped her in the past, but she would never win against bloodthirsty demons, scheming fae, and men like Tarn by being the girl she once was. It was time to find a new path.
“Who left you behind?” Dyna asked, needing to take her mind off herself. “If you care to share…”
Rawn’s teal eyes lowered to the signet ring on his forefinger. It bore his family’s crest: a rearing horse in a shield, framed by laurel. There were other symbols she couldn’t quite distinguish.
Lord Norrlen opened his mouth to answer, but Fair trotted through the trees. He nickered at them, giving Dyna’s cheek a nuzzle.
“He sensed we needed comfort,” Rawn said.
