I hug her again, squeezing tighter than the first time, knowing this may be our last hug. “I’m ordering you to leave, and as your queen, defying me is betraying your kingdom.” The words sound familiar and sour, leaving my mouth.
She huffs, “And where do you suggest we go?”
I glance out of the large bay window, the castle staring back as a reminder of what’s to come. Heavy clouds sit above my home, my kingdom, and the treetops near the forest swirl in chaos—a jarring reminder of what’s unfinished.
“I worked everything out with Oak’s father before the fourth trial. You and Lang will be leaving first thing in the morning for Brinkym. He is also making sure Lang is aware, and they are both packing any additional belongings you may need. Horses will come for you at the first light of dawn.”
She narrows her eyes, “Your mother would have done the same thing. She would be so proud of you. Barely in the role for a few hours, and you are a more caring queen than these lands have had in a long time. I know you will protect these people and rebuild Daramveer to be a safe, prosperous kingdom once more. I’ll see you again one day, my shadow.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and one falls down her cheek.
I take one long look at my mother’s sister. I wish I had known the truth sooner, but the moments we have now are all that matter. Staying in the past too long will only make a ghost of your memories, haunted by what could have been. We have this moment right now, and I won’t waste a second of it by being upset about the past. I drop her hand and she watches me leave—just like she watched my coming and going for years in the kitchen. Always around but never genuinely present—never aware of the truth she so desperately wanted to tell me, her shadow.
Moving back through the stairwell, my heart feels lighter knowing Rose and Lang will be safe now. I’ll do whatever I can to keep them safe, to protect the ones I love.
Maines continues to work silently on Silas’s chest, a black light flowing into his body as he hisses. “Oh hush, you baby. I do this to children without a peep coming out of them.”
He bares his teeth as she continues. “Hopefully, children aren’t stabbed with poison arrows often around here. That sounds more like Andorwood’s style.”
She lets up on the flow of magic, sitting up. “Tell me about Andorwood.”
“What’s there to know? The rumors you’ve heard are probably true. I was born there—and unfortunately—it is home. Andorwood raises strong people. It’s not a place to travel if you are weak.”
“Says the man hissing through a healing ritual.”
“Very funny,” he snaps, then continues, “When I was a child, if I did something out of line, I was punished.” He winces against Maines’s healing once more. “My father preferred the fight-it-out method to discipline—people mixed with various components, settings, temperatures, you name it. I got this scar from a fight.”
He glances in my direction, knowing I’ve already heard this story, but continues for Maines to hear. “I was young, fighting a much older man. I almost died that day, but something came over me—something dark—and I don’t know if it was fear that I was going to die or the want to live that made me win that fight. I killed the man that did this to me years later.” Silas coughs, lying back in the bed like the conversation alone drained his tired body.
Oak sits up in his chair, listening intently.
“Andorwood may be full of horrible people but the mountains there make up for the brutality. When the sun hitsthem just right, they glow.” Silas sighs, a deep breath leaving his lungs.
I sit beside him on the bed, grasping his rough hand. “Why do you stay then? If it’s so horrible, why continue to live your life only to be miserable?”
He thinks momentarily before answering, his eyes remaining shut. “It’s my kingdom, and one day I will rule. There are people there that are important to me. I hope you can meet them one day. I had nowhere to go, and no one was waiting for me elsewhere, until you. We have many things in common, Briar. More than you know.”
He squeezes my hand back, and Maine's hands glow with darkness flowing into Silas. A heavy groan leaves his mouth as his eyes close. “Stay with me, Briar, " he mumbles as he fades into sleep.
The final part of the healing ritual is complete and typically drains the healer and the patient. The final piece of the puzzle is being put back into place. He relaxes on the bed, no longer gripping my hand or bedsheets in pain.
“He’ll be okay. He needs to sleep for a while, but his wounds should be closer to healing when he wakes.” Maines barely manages to whisper.
In an instant, Oak is beside her, lifting her off the bed. Her exhaustion finally hits her. He takes her to the chair, gently placing her down as she falls asleep.
Oak brushes a strand of hair from her face, studying her for a few moments. “I’ve traveled across many kingdoms, but never have I gazed directly into the face of someone as beautiful as she is.” He plops down below her, resting his head against her sleeping body. “She is everything good in this dark kingdom, and I would travel across every kingdom a hundred more times if that meant I could look upon her for a second longer.”
My heart swells for Maines. After so much loss and pain in her life, she deserves this happiness—she deserves a long life of safety and protection with Oak. “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”
He stares at her face one more, “If I hurt her, Briar, I would graciously accept death as I would never be able to live with that pain anyways.” He tips his head back, nestling into the warmth of her body. His breathing slows as he falls asleep beside the woman he loves more than himself.
I stand, reaching the door's threshold, and glance one last time at Maines, Oak, and Silas peacefully sleeping.
Gods protect them.
I leave the House of Hedro with my axes holstered to my back, the weapons a part of me now. My heart stays behind in the tall tower with the people I love as I head toward the castle, my home, to make sure the final pieces of this nightmare are put to an end. I know what to do—I just hope my friends forgive me when I’m done.
Chapter 37
