“What? It’s not like it’s a big deal.” He turns to stare at me.
I unsuccessfully attempt to suppress a groan and dig my palms into my eyes. “It’s not a big deal normally. But you’re the heir to the Autumn Realm, and I’m…I’m me.” I look to the side, finding his golden gaze. “I don’t want to ruin you, Fare.”
He gives a sad smile. “It’s not like I’m some delicate flower.”
That’s just it, though.He is like a precious rose, blooming toward the sun. And I’m the typhoon that will come in and uproot it.
With a sigh, I gather him in my arms.
“Maybe you need to jump,” Farron murmurs.
“What?”
“To find the treasure on the isle. You’ve got to jump in the water feet first.”
I pull him closer against me. “That’s harder than it sounds, Little Leaf.”
He smiles up at me, and there’s something so earnest and genuine in that smile, it makes my heart ache. “I can be the push you need, if you want me to.”
I don’t reply; I just hold him. We lie there until the sun sets low on the horizon and the shadows of the palm trees on the isle lengthen across the water.
Farron doesn’t understand. If I jump, it’s not me who will get hurt.
It’s him.
8
Farron
I’ve returned to my favorite spot in the ballroom of Soltide Keep with the usual company: the marble busts. Poor Aeneas has been repaired, his shards held together with gold filament. Not to defend my clumsiness, but I can’t help thinking it makes him even more beautiful.
The Farewell Gala is in full swing, lively music filtering through the ballroom, rich food served on platters, and my family getting in their last bits of mingling before we depart. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be on the road to Coppershire. The weeks spent in Summer, filled with late-night rendezvous, sights I’d only read about, and kisses that sent my mind spiraling, will become nothing but a memory. A memory that will fade, as the bright green leaves of summer fade to withered husks in autumn.
I feel a tug at my tunic and spin, but there’s no one there. There’s a pull on my other side and a little giggle. I look over my other shoulder, but again, there’s no one, though I spot a patch of reddish-brown hair poking out from behind Aeneas’s bust. Not in the mood to play, I lunge forward, snatching my brothers, Dom and Billy, from their hiding place.
“Go find someone else to bother,” I growl.
“Aw, you’re no fun tonight.” Dom shoves his hands in his pockets. The twins would be identical if not for the differences in the spattering of freckles dusted across their faces.
Billy kicks the base of Aeneas’s bust, sending him wobbling again. “Yeah, you’re all mopey.”
I steady the statue and glare at them. “Sorry, I don’t feel like being the target for your pranks.”
Dom nudges his twin. “I found a crab down on the beach. Let’s go sneak it into the big one’s pocket.” They skuttle off across the ballroom toward Damocles.
I sigh, digging my hands in my pockets, not caring how much of a child I must look. My brothers are right. Iamgrumpy.
I don’t know how to fake a smile when my heart feels as if it’s breaking.
It’s not only that we’re leaving tomorrow, my moments with Dayton falling away like leaves upon the wind. It’s that I’m leaving likethis.
Dayton’s leaning against a wall toward the back of the ballroom, the full moon’s light shining through and basking his face in its milky glow. I’ve known his exact location since the ball started, known what he’s had to drink and eat, what songs he’s danced to, and who he’s spoken to, because I haven’t been able to take my eyes off him once.
And I know he hasn’t looked my way.
Because I don’t exist to Dayton when our families are around. He’ll roughhouse with my brothers, listen to my sister’s rambling, spar with my father, debate with my mother, but I could be a ghost to him. A story as unbelievable as Captain Katharine’s creature.
Not that Dayton’s lacking for company. Right now, a gaggle of women surround him, fluttering their eyelashes and stroking his arm at every opportunity. Dayton’s got that curved grin onhis face that I can’t stand. The charming, roguish, oh-so-fake smile.
