26. Gwen
Gwen hit the ground hard and rolled. For a second, she thought she might roll all the way off the wall and drop into the terrifying depth of water on both sides of it. But she stopped in time, her hand somehow still clenched around the now-miniature halter.
She pushed herself slowly into a sitting position, feeling bruised all over in body, mind, and emotions. If it wasn’t for Charlotte’s intervention, untold numbers would have just died. She had wanted to escape her mother’s reach, but she hadn’t gone far enough, and now she was bringing calamity to others.
The sound of voices broke through her haze, and she looked toward Charlotte. Someone had approached her and appeared to be offering assistance. Gwen hoped that meant they weren’t going to be driven out of the town for bringing the wind in the first place.
The man straightened, Charlotte beside him, and her friend turned toward her, revealing the face of the man at her side.
Gwen’s breath caught, everything around her stilling into silence. The face wasn’t exactly the one she had been picturing for years, but it was close enough. And the hair was exactly the same, even the messiness of it, as she remembered.
“Easton,” she breathed, just as he called her name in tones of equal shock.
Her heart swelled. He was alive. And he hadn’t forgotten her.
He ran forward, sweeping her onto her feet and into his arms.
“You did it,” he murmured against her hair. “You escaped her!” He pulled back to grin down at her with the same broad smile she remembered. “You escaped by riding the wind? I can’t say that option ever occurred to me.”
She was too overwhelmed to respond with anything but a smile.
A clearing throat caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Charlotte watching them with amusement.
“How about an introduction?” Her expression suggested she already guessed who the man must be.
Easton let his arms drop and stepped away, and Gwen felt instantly bereft.
“Yes,” he said cheerfully, smiling at Charlotte. “I’m curious as well. I don’t remember you from the mountain court.”
Instant jealousy sunk its claws into Gwen. She had told herself that if only Easton was alive and still remembered her, it was all she needed to be happy. But she had now seen his true adult face and felt his arms around her, and she was already greedy for more.
He might remember her affectionately, but what if he saw her as a friend or younger sister? He might already have a sweetheart or wife. He might like Charlotte more than he liked—
She cut herself off. Charlotte was already married, and Gwen was being ridiculous. If only she could have a few minutes to gather herself after the wild ride and shock of emotion.
“I’m Easton,” he said, holding out a hand to Charlotte when it became obvious Gwen was still too overwhelmed to speak.
“I’m Charlotte.” She shook his hand. “And I’ve never been to the mountain kingdom. Gwen took a…detour on her way here.”
“I didn’t know where you were,” Gwen murmured. “I didn’t even know you were alive.”
Easton’s face—the one that still looked as if it had been made only to smile and laugh—darkened.
“This sounds like a conversation for somewhere other than a sea wall,” Charlotte said, looking hopefully at Easton.
He quickly agreed, directing them both toward a small home on the harbor. It was tucked just to one side of the sea wall, away from the action of the loading and unloading of boats, but with a breathtaking view of the ocean.
Easton saw Gwen looking at the endless stretch of water and smiled. “I like to be near the sea. It makes me feel free.” His face darkened again. “I don’t like feeling constrained.”
Her insides squeezed as she imagined what sort of restraints her mother might have placed on him and for how long.
“What happened to you?” she whispered, wondering how he could face her after what her mother had done to him.
Somehow they had made it inside the small house, although she couldn’t clearly remember stepping inside, and somewhere along the way Charlotte had disappeared.
“I got angry and confronted her,” he said matter-of-factly, not having to specify who he meant. “I should have come to you instead, but I went storming off to her and got myself banished. She made me drink some sort of potion, and when I woke up it was days later, and I was here. My parents were always warning me about what would happen if I ever lost my temper at the palace. I should have listened to them. I just hope she didn’t punish them as well.”
“As far as I know their only punishment was expulsion from the court. I believe they’re living quietly in the city.” She paused, unable to stop herself stepping closer to him. “I’m so sorry. It was all my fault.”
“What are you talking about?” he sounded genuinely surprised. “I’m well aware where the blame lies, and it’s not with you. It’s not with me either, not really. But since I was drugged and hauled over the mountains unconscious, I’ve had no idea how to get back.”
“You’ve been here in—” She stopped, realizing she had no idea where they were.
“It’s called Ranost,” he said with an amused twitch of his lips. “Rangmere’s northernmost coastal town. We fish the northeastern oceans, among other things.”
“And you’ve been here the whole time?”
He nodded. “I’ve been fortunate enough to build a life here.”
“A life?” she asked hesitantly, looking around again. There was no indication in the room that anyone lived in the house other than Easton.
“The years have been kinder to me than they might have been,” he said. “I have much to be grateful to the locals for. But it never stopped feeling like I was waiting for my real life to begin.” His smile grew warm, his eyes capturing hers. “I never stopped believing you would find a way to stand up to her.”
Gwen flushed, soaking in his attention and presence. The reality of him was so much better than her imaginings and being in his presence triggered a flood of memories from their shared childhood. He was just like the companion of those days, and yet at the same time not. She couldn’t help noticing how tall he had grown, and how broad his shoulders had become. He filled the space in the house in a way he never had before.
But at the same time, she felt his admiration as a pressure. He believed in her beyond what she deserved. She sat heavily on a nearby sofa.
“I didn’t really stand up to her,” she said miserably. “I tried to investigate, but as soon as I discovered about becoming a bear and confronted her with it, she locked me up. Honestly, it was luck as much as anything that kept me from dying in my poor escape attempt. If I hadn’t accidentally stolen a godmother object from her that turned out to allow me to ride the wind…”
“I’m sorry, becoming a bear?” Easton stared at her, and Gwen flushed darkly. She’d forgotten that the enchantment had begun after she confronted her mother over Easton’s disappearance and was locked up. He must have still been in the mountain kingdom somewhere at that point, drugged unconscious, but apparently he hadn’t been one of those the queen included in the binding enchantment.
She swallowed. “My mother cast an enchantment, after you…After we…” She sighed. “The queen and I and all her courtiers and guards turn into bears from sundown to sunrise.”
Easton rocked back, his eyes growing wide. “That is another surprise.”
Gwen watched him closely, but she could see no sign of disgust in his eyes. Catching her scrutiny, he sat beside her. Taking her hands, he smiled at her. “Clearly a lot happened in the years I missed. But what matters is that you found out the truth about her in the end, and you can even ride the wind now! That must be a helpful tool in confounding her. Have you come here for more allies?”
“A…Allies?” Gwen blinked. “I came here to find you. Or at least, that’s what I was trying to do. I wasn’t coming here specifically because I didn’t know you were here.”
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, overtaken by a quizzical expression instead. “I’m flattered, and I’ll help you, of course. I’ve been waiting for ten years to do so. But I’m not sure how much value I can bring. You’ll need more allies than just me to bring her down. Or have you already disrupted her that significantly?”
“I…” She swallowed. “I think you’ve misunderstood. As soon as I discovered I could direct the wind, I came over the mountains. I came looking for you.”
He dropped her hands, his brows drawing together. “But I’ve heard rumors about traders from the mountains and further tales about people disappearing. The locals might not have put those two things together, but it must be obvious to anyone who knows Queen Celandine. What has happened to her captives? Did you just leave them there? And what about the people in the city? Your people.”
Gwen went hot and then cold. After meeting the girl from the city, Gwen had been ashamed of herself for never thinking of the city’s inhabitants. But then she had turned around and forgotten about them all over again. Whereas Easton—who hadn’t set foot in the mountain kingdom for ten years—still thought of them immediately.
He surged to his feet, striding away from Gwen only to immediately come striding back. He ran a hand through his hair, further disrupting the messy waves.
“You just abandoned them?” he demanded. “But you’re the true heir of the mountain kingdom, Gwen! You’re the only one who can stand up to her, the only one who can bring her down. How could you just run away?”
All the joy that had filled her on finding him drained out. She leaped up, her hands covering her face. After everything he’d said, after seeing the disbelief in his eyes, she couldn’t bear for him to see her tears.
Blindly she ran from the house, fleeing down the harbor, away from the noise and movement toward the quieter section. Distantly she heard him calling after her, but she didn’t slow.
Only when the sounds of the town completely fell away did she finally stop. She had reached a bluff that gave a sweeping view across the ocean. A flat rock provided a place for her to perch, and she pulled her feet up onto it, hugging her knees as she looked out over the waves.
The tears had stopped, but the emptiness they had brought remained. At home, she had always felt lonely, the walls of the palace closing in around her. But for a brief window, she had thought herself free. And yet, here she sat in a whole new town, with friends at her side, but just as trapped by loneliness as ever.
Physically, the expanse of the sea stretched out before her while a breeze ruffled her hair. But she felt the enclosing walls just the same, this time made of guilt.
Charlotte’s presence only reminded her of the guilt of her secret. She had betrayed her friend, and her friend had paid the price. And now Easton’s presence carried the weight of another betrayal. Everything he had said was true. She was the only other royal in the mountain kingdom, the only heir. She had known others suffered under her mother’s hand. And yet, when given the chance, she had fled without a second thought, intent only on saving herself.
She could come up with a list of excuses. She could say she was powerless before her mother. But she had been telling herself that for years, and it was wearing thin. Faced with the one person who had always believed in her and supported her, she was forced to confront the truth.
She had used her powerlessness as an excuse to wallow in weakness. As long as she told herself there was nothing she could do, as long as she passively accepted her mother’s control, she didn’t have to risk her own safety.
Never once had she truly attempted to best her mother or stand up for anyone else. Even when she finally snapped, she had fought only for her own escape and freedom.
She had done everything Easton had claimed, and now he would never see her the same way again. She had ruined everything.