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Caelyn closed his eyes and lifted his hands to lean his weight against the stone rail. He gripped it so hard, needing to feel something solid in his palms and fingers lest his knees buckle beneath him.

“She will come looking for you eventually,” Agatha murmured before turning to leave through the adjoining corridor. “Try not to hide from her. It’ll do neither of you any good.”

Then she disappeared back into the observatory halls, leaving him alone with the storm and his thoughts.

Unfortunately, Agatha knew him far too well because Caelyn had avoided Elowynn for nearly three suns after that.

He didn't want to, but he didn't think he could keep himself composed enough yet to face the reality of her leaving.

It was cowardly. Pathetic.

Each time he looked at her, he felt the future pulling her farther away from the abbey and from him. When she smiled at him, no matter how small those smiles were, something would squeeze inside his chest hard enough to make his breathing difficult.

Elowynn seemed unaware of the damage she caused simply by being near him, and he was grateful for that. He didn't want her to witness his pain and agony of her leaving. He wanted her to feel supported, to know he cared about her future. To know that even with her departure, he would always be there for her as he remained back, cheering her on from a distance.

She didn't need to have her newly found dreams of becoming one of the greatest celestial scholars in Aetheris ruined just because a man—a friend—wanted her to stay in a humble abbey with him.

Caelyn had even considered going with her, but he knew that was impossible. He was a Null, and he was safe here. If anyone in Veylspire found out, he would be executed on the spot.

Besides, he couldn't afford such things.

Elowynn had been fortunate that her parents had begun setting her up for financial security the moment she was born. She already had accounts in the vaults of Veylspire with her name on them, a wealth of gold in their coffers just waiting for her to begin her new life.

His life was here, in the abbey.

Caelyn heard her footsteps before he saw her. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and uncertainty slammed into his stomach like rocks being dumped into a well.

“Caelyn?” Her voice carried like a soothing melody through the corridor behind him.

He kept his gaze fixed on the storm below, not yet able to meet her eyes. But he did turn his body a fraction, indicating he had heard her.

“I have not been able to find you lately,” she said as she came closer.

“I've been busy with repairs around the abbey,” he replied in a low voice, grateful it had remained steady.

“No,” she argued. “I do not think so. You were hiding.”

He huffed a quiet breath, not wanting to admit she was right.

Soft fabric whispered against stone as Elowynn stepped beneath the archway beside him. Her familiar scent of ink and fresh parchment, accompanied by the herbal undertones, clung to her; he couldn't stop himself from inhaling that fragrance into his lungs, masking it as though he were just taking a deep breath.

Then Caelyn made the mistake of looking at her, and that same breath whooshed out from him.

Elowynn was eighteen turnings now; she no longer resembled that scared child who had stumbled through a starway with her mother and into Lumenshire as her world shattered into ruin behind her. Time, grief, and her studies had shaped her into something extraordinary.

The silver-blue robes she wore draped gracefully around her frame, embroidered with delicate, celestial patterns near the sleeves. The softness of childhood had long faded from her features, replaced by elegant lines and luminous beauty. Sapphire eyes, glowing bright with endless curiosity and longing for knowledge, stood vivid against the pale gold framing her face, while the graceful points of her ears made her Astrari lineage unmistakable.

Beautiful didn't feel like a large enough word for her anymore. Because it was more than the way she looked.

Her mind and soul were just as stunning.

“You have been avoiding me,” she said, the melodic tone of her voice breaking the spell Caelyn had fallen into.

He tore his gaze away from her, looking back toward the sea. “You already used that accusation last span, El.”

“Yes, and apparently it remains applicable.”

Caelyn could almost feel her scowl, and in response, a smile threatened to surface.