Chapter 56
AURORA
As I walk through the castle gardens, I think of Thalric. He saved me. He awakened the entire kingdom. He gave us all our lives back… and it cost him his own.
“It’s been a week since he freed us all from Malvara’s curse, and every day without him feels endless.”
“Aurora,” my father calls out. I turn back to find him and my mother approaching. “I thought we might find you here.”
My mother steps forward, her expression solemn and grief-stricken. “Oh, my darling, I know you’re sad, but it’s not good for you to spend so much time out here.”
I swallow against the lump in my throat as I nod.
Deep down, I know she’s right. I should move on, but I can’t.
They have no idea of my loss. I grew up with Thalric.
He was my first friend and my greatest love, and I still find myself half expecting him to appear seemingly out of nowhere…
like he always would. It didn’t matter what I was doing, he’d always seem to find me.
“We’re worried about you,” my father adds. “I know it’s hard, but—”
“I know. It’s just… I need some time.”
Mother pulls me into an embrace. “Alright, my darling,” she whispers in my ear. “We’re here if you need us.”
Eldrin approaches next. “Aurora,” he begins, voice tight with carefully restrained emotion. “My son chose you. His heart chose you, long before either of you understood the depth of what it meant.”
Swallowing hard, I blink back tears.
“He cherished you,” Eldrin says, the edges of his stoic facade cracking for a moment. “You were his world. He would want you to live, Aurora. To embrace the life his sacrifice made possible for you.”
I nod shakily, unable to speak past the tight knot in my throat.
Fiora walks up behind him, followed by Lyria and Maribel.
“We will not stop searching,” she says. “We’ll search every book, every scroll, every ancient magic until we find a way to bring Thalric back to you. But you must understand that we may find there is nothing to be done.”
“We will do all we can,” Lyria adds.
Maribel’s violet eyes shimmer as she cups my cheek. “Hold onto your love for him, and we shall hold onto hope. But in the meantime, you must live as well. Do you understand?”
I nod.
After they leave, I turn deeper into the gardens, to the place where they moved Thalric’s statue—a place of honor beneath the sprawling branches of an ancient oak.
I’m surprised to see Ryllen standing beside him, his eyes shining with sadness. “Excuse me. I was just saying goodbye to my friend. I leave tomorrow morning.”
“I know,” I reply. A faint smile crests my lips. Ryllen is a good person, and I’ll miss his company. Of everyone around me, it’s strange that he seems to be the one who understands what I’m going through. “I’ll be sad to see you go.”
“I could still stay,” he offers. “It would be no hardship for me, Aurora.”
He vowed to Thalric he’d watch over me after he was gone.
But I don’t want this. Ryllen is a good man, and I won’t allow him to give up his future for me.
He’s already done enough, and I’m strong.
I will be fine on my own. “I know, but we’ve already discussed this.
I want you to be free to live your life. ”
He nods. “You’re welcome to visit anytime you wish.” He offers me a slight grin that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “With no expectations beyond friendship.”
He glances at Thalric’s statue. “He was a good person. They’re already composing songs about his sacrifice and bravery in the taverns.” He sighs heavily. “I’ve sent a raven to our best scholars in my kingdom. We will keep looking for a way to bring him back. He deserves happiness, and so do you.”
His words touch me. Deeply. “Thank you, Ryllen.”
“Of course,” he replies. He turns back to the castle. “I’ll see you at dinner later.”
When he leaves, I turn back to Thalric. His stone form stands proud, wings partially flared, his hand outstretched, frozen in the gesture of cupping my cheek as he turned to stone.
My heart clenches painfully as I step closer. And even though I know he’s stone, I can’t stop myself from leaning my face into his outstretched palm.
I miss his touch so much, I can hardly bear it. My gaze travels over his face, frozen in a mask of devotion.
“I dreamed of that night at the fall harvest in Oakvale,” I smile. “I snuck out because I knew you’d come. You always found me. You always knew exactly where I’d be.”
A tear escapes my lashes as I close my eyes, remembering that beautiful evening. “We danced under the lanterns. You held me, and we laughed. I remember the way you looked when you tried the candied apple… the way you scowled like it was poison, and I laughed so hard my sides ached.”
I rest my hand over his, on my cheek, curling my fingers around the cold stone, aching for the warmth of his skin.
“Before everything changed”—my voice catches—“I used to dream of our future in Oakvale. We’d go to the harvest festival every year, perhaps even with our own children someday.
I’m not even sure humans and Gargoyles can have children, but it was my dream.
It was so lovely. You were my future, Thalric. ”
Emotions lodge in my throat, but I somehow manage to speak around them. “Please wake up. I love you, Thalric. I will always love you. Come back to me.”
Another tear slips down my cheek, dropping onto the stone of his palm.
My heart stops as a faint crackling sound breaks the silence.
Slowly, I pull back. My lips part in shock as tiny fissures spread across the stone. Brilliant golden light begins to seep through, illuminating the growing cracks.
Hope surges, fierce and bright, burning away despair as I breathe out the words:
“Come back to me, Thalric.”