Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
CASSIAN
Aweek after Sterling sent the report, he still hadn’t received a letter. I didn’t mind his idle presence, except that the inn was losing money every day. Not even the donation box convinced passersby to stop for the night anymore, and I didn’t know what to do. My only option was to wait.
“Cassian…” Sterling said to me one night as we snuggled together in bed.
I nuzzled against his chest. “Yes?”
“I visited Willorunia today. She’s clearing her schedule to help you find the rune stones,” he said.
I leaned back to look him in the eyes. “Really? How did you talk her into that?”
Sterling laughed, rubbing my back to pull me against him again. “It definitely wasn’t me. I suspect it’s out of spite for Ezzila.”
“Hm, yeah. Willo doesn’t seem to like her much,” I said. “What are you going to do about the writ? Shouldn’t they have responded by now?”
“Yes. I’ll give it one more day, but if I receive nothing tomorrow, I’ll need to return to Ladiall to hand it over myself.”
My heart sank. I’d been trying not to think about him leaving, but the time came sooner than expected. “Will you be back?” I asked.
He kissed the top of my head. “As soon as possible. I’d like to look at your grandfather’s will while I’m in town too. Would you like to come with me so the legalers let me view it?”
A smile took my face. “You want me to come with you?” I asked, looking up at him.
He leaned down to kiss me gently. “Yes.”
“I thought you didn’t want me involved in the investigation anymore,” I said.
“We don’t have to talk about the investigation. We can pretend we’re going on a trip together,” he said, brushing my hair out of my eyes.
I liked the idea of going on a trip with Sterling, but I wasn’t sure. “How long does it take to get to Ladiall?”
“Half a day.”
I had forgotten the trip there was so long.
My words caught in my throat when I realized what this meant.
A long-distance relationship with Sterling would be nearly impossible if it took almost an entire day to reach each other.
How often would I even see him? Maybe twice a year?
Surely he was busy as a Force officer, and I was always busy as the owner of this inn.
Jasmine could cover for me if I visited him, but it took both of us to run the place as it was. I couldn’t ask her to do that often.
I didn’t want to lose Sterling, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t work out when he returned to the city.
“I don’t know. The curse got worse the last time I left. I better stay here,” I said.
“Oh… Sure, Cass.”
In the morning, Willorunia arrived with Griffin while Sterling sipped his morning coffee beside me at the front counter. The inn was as empty as it got. Olive hadn’t arrived yet, and Jasmine was still asleep.
“Cassian!” Willorunia said. “Walk with me, darling. Stay here, Thorndrop.”
Sterling and I exchanged a confused look, but he gave me a short nod, so I followed Willo outside. “Hey, Willo, what’s the matter?” I asked, crunching through the snow one pace behind her.
“I want you to watch the river with me,” she said, marching toward the river and over the wooden bridge that crossed the lake. She stood on the bridge, peering into the water. “Come here.”
I stood beside her and peered into the slushy water. The cateyes lining the riverbed gave the water a deep blue tint. “What are we doing?” I asked.
“Cassian, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest,” she said.
“Okay…?”
She didn’t look away from the river. “You’re falling in love with Sterling, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t keep watching the water under the weight of that question. My head snapped up to watch her. “What? Why?”
“Just answer the question,” she said, finally looking at me with a serious frown.
“I’ve only known him for a few weeks,” I said.
“That’s longer than you’ve known your past loves.”
I frowned at the rushing blue water as I considered it.
I did have strong feelings for him, but it felt too soon to say I loved him.
There was a part of me I was holding back, and I sensed the same in him.
I suspected the investigation kept our guards up.
“I don’t want to be. He’s leaving soon,” I said.
“But are you?” she asked.
“Why do you ask?”
Willo peered into the cold water again. “I’ve known you for almost your entire life, Cassian. I know the type of person you usually go after, and Sterling is not it.”
“So what?” I asked.
“So, you finally got it right.”
My eyebrows jumped up. “What? But I thought—”
“He’s not a typical Force officer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he quits the Force before he turns thirty. He’s too kind and too smart, and he hasn’t discovered what he wants yet, even though he thinks he has. Just like you. I suspect you’ll make that discovery together.”
I never thought I’d see the day Willorunia praised a Force officer, but I was glad to know she liked Sterling. “I know what I want.”
She arched an eyebrow. “What do you want, then?”
I peered into the water as if I would find my answer there, and I realized I knew more about what I didn’t want than about what I did want. I didn’t want to be an innkeeper. I didn’t want constant change. I didn’t want people I cared about to leave.
“I want to be happy.”
“What makes you happy?” she asked.
“My friends and family. Meeting new people. Helping others. A warm fire on a snowy day. Spotting animals in the woods. A well-brewed cup of tea.” She probably didn’t mean everyday things, but it was the only answer I had.
“Interesting. Fibbersnap Inn has all of those things,” she said.
I rapped my fingers along the bridge’s wooden railing. “I know what I want,” I said again.
“Sounds like it.”
I crossed the center of the bridge to watch the water from the other side, irritated at the conversation for reasons I didn’t understand. The water flowed beneath me, rushing over blue patches of cateyes.
My eyes caught on something, and I gasped.
“Willo! It’s the rune stone!” I said.
She was at my side in an instant. “Where?” she asked. I pointed at it, but she shook her head. “The stones won’t appear when one is looking, but if they appear, it means they want to be found. I believe this curse wants you to break it. This is no coincidence. Go get it.”
After casting the warming spell on myself, I waded into the cold river and plunged my hand into the water, snagging the stone off the riverbed. I returned to Willo on the bridge.
Willo took the stone, turning it around in her hands. “This is definitely a cursed stone, darling.” She handed it back to me, pressing my other hand over it. “Don’t let anyone know you have it.”
“Why not? Shouldn’t I show Sterling?”
“Don’t tell anyone. Tonight, I want you to place this near the front gate.
The five stones cursing your inn create a perimeter, and everything within is affected.
If you move this stone from the back to the front, part of your inn will no longer be affected, because the perimeter has changed. You may receive customers again.”
“You’re saying all I need to do is find the stones and I can move the curse away from my inn?” I asked. Knowing the fix was so simple took a huge weight off me.
“Yes. Unfortunately, it won’t be so easy. They won’t be found if you’re looking. The good news is that I believe the rune stones want to be found.” Willorunia squeezed my shoulder. “Whoever placed this Faian curse probably intends to change the landscape, and the forest knows you’ll protect it.”
“I will!” I said.
“I know you will, darling.”
I swallowed thickly. “Why can’t I tell Sterling?”
Willorunia shook her head. “Sterling doesn’t understand magic. He’ll want to search the forest, which will only hide the curse deeper.”
I was conflicted. Sterling would want to search the woods, but he would listen to me regarding magic. I had also promised to be honest about the investigation, and this was important.
“Willorunia… You…?” I looked into her eyes, trying to understand. It was strange she didn’t want me to tell Sterling when it seemed so inconsequential. For all I knew, moving the stone would exacerbate the curse. What if I couldn’t find the stone again? Based on what she said, I might not.
“Cassian, don’t be ridiculous. I would never curse Fibbersnap Inn,” she said.
“How did you know I was going to ask that?”
“Because you look frightened. When have I ever done anything to hurt you?” she asked.
“Nobody here has ever done anything to hurt me, but it was one of us. Faian magic can’t be done from a distance, so whoever placed this curse was here the day Sterling and I went to Dreckle.
That means it was Griffin, Olive, Jasmine, or a customer, but Sterling already checked the logs, and I just can’t imagine Olive or Jasmine doing this to me.
But you’re talented enough at magic to do Faian magic from a distance, and you have Griffin here to help you. ”
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to place the stone in your hand and have you move it knowing it would go badly for you?” she asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m sorry, Willo. Knowing that it could be someone close to me is messing with my head. I feel like I can’t trust anyone.”
“You can’t. That’s why I told you not to trust anyone.”
“But Sterling? He’s the only person I do trust,” I said.
“You never needed him. You should have come to me first,” Willorunia said.
“I couldn’t come to you. Griffin hated me,” I reminded her.
“Griffin never hated you. He simply missed you. We both did,” Willo said.
I sighed and watched the icy water, clutching the cool stone in my fist. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit. It keeps me up at night how I avoided this place. I wish Grandpa had given the inn to someone who deserved it.”
“He did, darling.” She rubbed my back, watching the water with me as my view of it became blurry and hot. “Your grandfather loved you. You know he didn’t hold it against you that you didn’t visit, right? All he wanted was your happiness.”