Casting a backward glance at the group of men saying their goodbyes, he set off toward the lake, wondering if India was still there.
###
Ridge walked slowly, like someone much older than his thirty years. Someone with the weight of a lifetime on his shoulders.
Each step took him farther from the city, a city he could never return to, and farther from India.
The dark tunnel he and his father walked down seemed apropos to his vision of his future. Dark and lonely.
“We’re almost to the doorway,” his father called back to him.
Ridge closed his eyes. As if he needed reminding.
A few seconds later he stepped out of the passageway into the cavern that housed the doorway.
“Arcane said to merely lay our hand on the doorway and it would open, just as it did when we used Gabriel’s Bracelet on the other side,” the earl said as he stood in front of the great stone barrier.
“Be happy,” Ridge whispered.
He prayed India’s demons would finally find rest within the city, that she could let go of her pain. His was only just beginning.
Ridge turned for one last look at what he was leaving behind. Somehow, he hoped to see India there, running after him, her mind changed. But she wasn’t there. He closed his eyes and felt dampness on his cheeks.
He turned again to his father who was stretching his hand out to open the doorway. Then as the door opened, he followed behind the earl.
As the door slowly closed behind them, so too did the door close on his dreams.
Chapter Thirty-Six
India sat frozen, staring over the water, her heart and mind numb to her surroundings. If she had made the right decision, why did it feel sowrong? Why wasn’t she happy? Shouldn’t she be relieved that she could now look forward to settling in one place?
Because it wasn’t the right decision. You made the safe decision.
“You look troubled, girl,” her father said behind her.
She didn’t turn, instead waiting for him to walk around and sit beside her.
He slid onto the bench next to her and stared out over the water. Neither said anything for a long while.
Finally, her father turned his head to stare at her. “I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth.”
She still didn’t look at him.
“That boy is obviously in love with you. Are you in love with him?
She whipped her head around at that. “That boy’s name is Ridge. And...yes. I love him,” she said softly.
“Hell fire then, woman, why aren’t you going back with him?”
She blinked in surprise. “Because you’re here.” She looked down at her hands, wondering how much more she should say.
“Spill it, girl. Don’t worry about sparing my feelings.”
She sucked in a deep breath and returned her gaze to him. “I no longer want to gallivant all over the world. I want a home, a family, a place to call my own. Some place I can put down roots.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I can no longer live the life I’ve led for the past fifteen years.”
Sorrow and guilt filled her father’s wrinkle-lined eyes. “It was never a life for you. It wasn’t any kind of life for a girl your age. I knew that, but I couldn’t bear to leave you behind, and I was too selfish to give up my own pursuits to do the right thing by you.”
She reached out a hand to his arm. “No! No, Papa, I wanted to go with you. Truly, I did. I’ve never regretted spending those years with you. It’s just that after what happened in India, I am afraid. I just want to be safe, some place I feel safe.”
