From the girl who wilted under a hard stare to the woman who walks into a room with her chin lifted, a steadying force beside her mate.
Even having lived it, the transformation is hard to believe.
But this…
This is different.
This change feels older. Truer. A power long dormant now waking—aware, restless, unwilling to stay hidden any longer. My chest tightens as a question rises, unbidden?—
Which of us is guiding the other? Me… or this thing stirring awake inside me? I’m so lost in thought that I barely notice my right thumb moving over the rich leather of my glove, rubbing the place on my left hand where I felt the piercing cut.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Vale’s voice startles me despite its low, steady calm. “We can stop if we need to. Take a look at it, or just?—”
“No.”
The single word comes out too sharp, too fast. I immediately soften my grip, settling both hands around the reins. I look ahead at the winding path, then back to him.
Reassurances rise to my lips, but they feel hollow before they can form. In my heart, I know I cannot truthfully say it was nothing. Questions scrape through my mind—rough, restless, demanding. I bury them instead, anchoring myself in the sweep of the mountains, in thequiet care of the man riding beside me, in the fragile peace of this small family we’ve formed.
So I shift. I deflect. Not to avoid him—but to protect this moment.
“Tell me,” I ask softly, “what are you most looking forward to on this trip?”
We both know this journey is layered with purpose. Still, I refuse to let it be consumed by looming shadows. This is our honeymoon. And I feel the thrill of stepping into the place I’ve heard so much about.
Vale leans back in his saddle, settling into memory. “Honestly? The sound. I would call it the quiet, but that wouldn’t do it justice. There, without the court, without the echo of stone, you can hear everything. The way the mountain breathes.”
He smiles faintly, gaze distant. “My mother called it Caerhollan’s song. The wind through the trees. The birds without interruption. Even the grass has its own melody.”
I close my eyes as we ride. “It all feels so alive,” I murmur, sunlight warm on my face, my smile answering it.
“I saw that in you,” he says. “Back in the cottage. The way you moved. The way you listened.” His eyes find mine, full of quiet reverence. “You already knew the song by heart.”
He reaches for me, and I meet his hand. Our fingers brush—only for a breath before the distance between our horses pulls us apart—but the connection remains taut and living between us.
The half day’s ride unfurls without haste. Ace strums softly as we pass through a wide meadow. Soria remains quiet, yet I watch the tension ease from her frame with every mile. Duty seems to slip from her shoulders grain by grain, and the sight fills me with a quiet joy.
By late afternoon, the trail narrows and our pace tightens as jagged stone rises around us. My gaze lifts to the high ridge above, where I catch the faintest glimmer of reflected light—only the briefest sign of a hidden guard.
The Jewel is protected. One way in. One way out. We will be safe here. At least from men.
Unease coils beneath my ribs.
We’ve prepared for attack—but not for this thing stirring inside me.I flex my fingers, breathing in the scent of dust and cold stone, summer dimmed beneath mountain shadow.
You’ve felt it. It’s there. Whatever it is. But you also feel the truth—it’s not wrong. It may be dangerous, but it’s not wrong.
There’s something about breaking a thought down to its most fundamental truth. Whatever it is, I know I cannot call it safe. Not yet. Butit isn’t wrong. I think the words and feel their certainty settle in my bones.
Is that enough to take comfort in?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The dimly lit entrance to the manor carries a subtle strength. Supple brown wood surrounds us, warm and welcoming, as we settle inside. Vale glances at my hands as I peel away my gloves. I reach for him and give a squeeze—just enough for his concern to ease and for him to shift into a childlike wonder, excited to show me around.
When the manor first came into view—nestled deep in the heart of the Jewel, the valley cut off from all the world, surrounded by pine forests and mountain peaks—Vale carried a deep, quiet pride. Even before the estate appeared, I could feel his anticipation building as light broke behind the narrow pass.
My jaw fell slack the moment I saw it.
