“Do you think you’ll come back?” Shiloh’s soft voice brought his head around.
Matthias shrugged his shoulders. “Depends on if I’m alive or not. Also depends on if Ada will let me.”
Shiloh smiled at him, but her eyes were sad. “I can guarantee she wants you to come back. Here. She wanted me to give you this.”
She handed him a long, narrow box wrapped in brown paper. A small stem of red geraniums was tucked between the twine binding. Matthias swallowed down the lump that had risen in his throat. He had never received a gift from a woman before, not one that didn’t have ulterior motives.
“Thanks,” he said as he placed it in his jacket pocket.
The milky curtain came into view and Matthias tensed. Why was he doing this again? Maybe he could just act on the desire to find a boat and live on the ocean for the rest of his supernatural life . . . which would be forever. Maybe the boat would take him to a place not yet discovered.
Doing that didn’t get him Adalia, though.
Or maybe he could just turn the horse around and head straight back into Lucius. Matthias sighed internally. That wasn’t an option though, was it? The reason he was leaving was because it was all too much. She became too real and love wasn’t on the cards for him.
Shiloh cleared her throat beside him and Matthias came back to reality. “Sorry . . . Looks like this is it,” he said as he jumped down from the dappled grey horse. They’d reached the tear in the Veil near his cabin.
“Thanks for everything. Tell Ada I left a note. Oh, and Nik . . . take care of her.” Matthias handed the reins to Shiloh and nodded towards Nikolas, who answered with a nod of his own. He called Bones to his side, who hesitated for a moment before obeying.
The Veil was inches from his face when Nikolas called out. “Hey . . . Matthias, be safe, okay? And I’m sorry about last night. You’ll always have a place in Lucius if you need it.”
Nikolas’s words surprised Matthias. How was it he still chose kindness, even though Matthias had clearly broken his sister’s heart? Not to mention the harsh words he’d thrown at Nikolas as well.
“I’m sorry too,” Matthias replied
He hesitated for only a moment before nodding towards the pair and stepping through the Veil. He’d never been good at goodbyes.
As he glanced around the stretch of woods before him, he was astounded at the difference. It was like someone had taken a sponge and let it soak up all the colour.
For a while, Matthias just stood amongst the trees. Bones waited patiently as the prince’s eyes flickered between the forest and the castle. No. He couldn’t go back yet. Only pain awaited him there. He would go to his cabin and lie low. Hopefully, no one would even know he was back in Oscuro.
The gift from Adalia was heavy in his pocket. He pulled it from his jacket and turned it over, releasing the slightly crushed geranium blossoms from the string. The paper fell away easily, revealing a beautifully carved wooden box. Vines and flowers twisted in an intricate design. The sun shone in one corner and birds filled the sky. As he looked closer, he saw that the centre carving was a palace—Lucius.
Had she made this herself? It wouldn’t surprise him if she did.
Turning it over, Matthias scanned the bottom, looking for the maker’s marking. There, carved into the base, was a small circle and within its boundaries was the letter N. Grinning, Matthias shook his head. He’d seen Nikolas carving away, but he’d never realised he was so talented.
Matthias slowly opened the lid and nestled inside, between the folds of golden silk, lay a dagger. The blade was a mixture of copper and steel, which made Matthias smile.
He’d been admiring the copper that day at the smelters, but only now did he realise that perhaps she’d only bought it for him. The two metals delicately wove together, forming a solid blade with a strong and very sharp point.
Matthias ran his finger along the edge, careful not to cut himself. Its pommel was made from bronze and the grip was bound in mother-of-pearl and gold braiding, which threw rainbow colours as it shone in the sun. Four deep-blue sapphires sat in a row, flush against the handle on one side. Matthias turned it over,admiring the oval jewels. There was a word carved onto one side of the blade.
His breath hitched as he read it and, for the first time since the age of nine, the organ caged inside his chest began to beat. The pain had him doubling over, nearly dropping the contents in his hands. It was what he’d been feeling in Adalia’s presence, but intensified tenfold.
Matthias dropped to his knees in the dirt with ragged breath. The last time he felt this was when he was just a boy. This wasn’t some weird supernatural disease that was slowly killing him . . . no.
He was living.
Looking down at the word again, his heart thudded in a solid rhythm as he murmured the word.
“Worthy.”
Carefully standing to his feet, Matthias noticed a folded note tucked inside the box. He secured the dagger to the leather belt around his waist and pulled the paper from its hiding place, putting the box back into his pocket before reading it.
Matthias,
I am truly sorry for last night. I had every intention of talking things through with you, but everything became so overwhelming. Please forgive me. I made this dagger for you, and I want you to keep it close. Use it if you must. Fight back. Show them who you are because you are worthy. Thank you for the times you have saved me and kept me from harm. I am honoured to know you. You will always be welcome here.
