Ruaala,
I dream of Stellara this night.
I dream of our quiet place, where the world falls away, a secret realm of our own making.
I dream of your whispered, sweet words pressed to my lips, promises we know will be broken.
All I wish to see are your starry eyes reflecting mine.
All I wish is for your hands to entwine with mine because it means we are together once more.
I wait for that day.
I dream of that day.
I will wait a thousand lifetimes.
Even as I wish that this lifetime was only ours.
Joss
* * *
I readthe letter twice more before I carefully folded it into its original creases. I hadn’t even needed to read it—I had every last word memorized.
My father had told me of Ruaala all my life. He’d never kept her a secret. He’d believed love was a sacred thing. A beautiful, cherished thing. But it was only later in my life that I’d begun to cry after he’d told me stories of her. Because it was only later that I’d realized how unfair and tragic their love had truly been.
Thiswas my father’s last wish.
Her.
Ruaala of House Loria.
Only…we’d found no trace of her within Erzos. The House was long gone or had moved to a different province of the Kaalium.
I hoped—and prayed—that a hint of her whereabouts might be hidden in theirquiet place, which was so often referenced within these letters. A cottage made of wood and stone nestled deep in Stellara.
Did I even know if it was still there?
No.
But I had made a promise to my father, on our last Halo Com call with one another before he’d died.
With that thought, though my eyes were heavy, though my legs ached from flitting around RaanaDyaanall day and night, I climbed from bed and stored the letter. I raked back my hair, tying it up. I pushed my feet into my thinning boots. I pulled on thick trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, tying a scarf around my neck.
I will find her,I thought as I slipped down the stairs, thinking of another path of Stellara I hadn’t taken yet. One that led south.
I must find her.
CHAPTER6
KYTHEL
“Aletter for you,” Vadyn announced, sweeping into my dim office. I hissed out a small breath when he threw back the curtains, which had kept the bright morning sun at bay. “From RaanaDyaan.”
Ire forgotten, I took the letter from his grip. Smooth, thick parchment with a shining red seal.
Quickly, I scanned its contents, my lips pressing together at the flourish of Lesana’s signature, inked in her blood, at the very bottom.
