“Uh, you guys?” Adrian calls out, breaking the spell that Graylen somehow always finds a way to put me under. “Is your horse broken or something?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and face forward, any amusement fading. We were so close—sousfor just a moment. A lump forms in my throat as I look away from Graylen. I wonder if we’ll get back to who we were if I lose my magic and we don’t find Nightfall.
The thought sends a streak of lightning straight to my chest, striking the tender parts of my soul.
“We’re going through Lyland,” I call out to Adrian, shaking myself out of my spiraling thoughts. With a short whistle and a squeeze of the reins, Misty trots forward, headed to the left side of the forked road.
“Lyland?” Adrian questions, the corners of his mouth turning down. “The coast of Saltain is much nicer for travel.”
Even as he protests, he follows us, turning his horse to cross through the grass and join us on the path.
“Will it cost us time to go through Lyland instead?” I toss over my shoulder.
Adrian mutters something too low for me to hear. “No, but I’ve heard Saltain is muchnicer and?—”
“Then we go to Lyland.” I gesture to the path before us.
Even if we can’t stay for more than a night, I still need to see it. Need to know if it really has an abundance of citrus trees like the one in his yard.
For Linnick, we go to Lyland.
Forty-Three
Turcicus
My nose is assaultedby the tangy, rich scent of lemons, limes, tangerines, and more fruits I’ve never seen or smelled before. The moment the fresh aroma wraps around me, I think of Linnick.
I see his smile in the wrinkled faces we pass—his laugh carrying on the gentle wind that breezes through the town. It’s impossible not to think of him—not to think of how he and I planned to run away back before I lost him. Before everything changed.
But instead of feeling sad here, in the place Linnick planned to bring me, I feel…warm. Content.
Citrus trees grow inabundancehere. Half of the businesses boast some sort of lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit theme. The inn we choose is even namedThe Lemon Seed. Yet another thing to bring my mind back to Linnick.
Everything here is cozy and inviting. Shops have their doorspropped open, and laughter spills from the inside of bars along with upbeat music. It doesn’t feel like the Crea I was born in. It feels…free.
We sit around a small fire that evening, Graylen and I on one side while Adrian sits across from us. Someone strums a stringed instrument lazily a few paces away. Frost clings to the trees around us, the cloudless night sky bringing a deep chill with each passing hour.
The Lemon Seedinn tucked away from the town’s center. We found boarding for the horses less than a few hundred paces away, the barn beside a massive lemon tree.
Linnick was right.
Lyland feels different.
A little girl runs past me, long ribbons tied in her hair streaming in the wind as she runs. Two middle-aged women run behind her, laughing as they ask her to slow down and wait for them.
At this moment, I know I can’t let these people down. It isn’t just Penyth I’m fighting for; it’s Crea, too.
It makes me see why Linnick loved this town so much.
It isn’t the kind of place that’s breathtaking the moment you lay eyes on it. It’s the type of beauty that sneaks up on you—one that’s right beneath your nose and you don’t realize you’re in love with it until it’s time to leave it behind.
Reminds me of someone else I know.
A smile tugs at my lips, and I glance at Graylen, his gaze distantly lost in the fire.
While he was trapped in the Vale, I could picture his face so clearly each time I closed my eyes. Butnothingcompares to seeing him before me. His sharp jawline, the near-constant lazy smirk on his lips that I don’t think he’s even aware of, the thick column of his throat…
My mouth runs dry, heat stirring in my chest. Even without trying, he’s the most breathtaking creature I’ve ever seen.
