Chapter 23
Rowan
I watch as the shadows swallow them — the quick, panicked flash of Elodie’s face and the efficient movement of Bryn.
Only when I was certain they were deep enough into the forest did I allow the mask to click back into place.
My spine straightens, shoulders square. I step out of the treeline and into the centre of the commotion, my boots striking the earth with deliberate weight.
“Stand down!” I roar, the chaos coming to an immediate halt.
One guard, who is holding Mara by the arms, releases her in a quick panic.
He looks up, the colour completely draining from his face.
I have taught them never to handle a woman like that.
I can feel their panic. Their desperation. No one knows who is next to go.
“Warden,” he stammers, his hand flying to a stiff salute.
“We…we were told you turned against the crown.” I move into the centre, my presence pushing them back like a physical force. I let my gaze linger on each of them.
“Turned against the king? For some girl?” I huff out a laugh. “You think I have gone soft?” I shout, moving into one guard. “Do you, Stirling?” I seethe.
“No, sir,” he says, looking down at the ground.
“The king is in the throes of his affliction. It would drive any man to madness,” I say.
“He is desperate, and for that I am sorry. None of you deserve to die. But because of his desperation, I have spent the last day tracking that girl through forests, gardens, and hideaways. Following a trail that has led me here.” I turn, pacing the perimeter of the guards, my hand resting heavily on the hilt of my sword.
“I am the one who sits at his bedside whilst he screams in pain. The one who watches as his veins turn black. Do you really think I would just turn on my oath-bound honour?”
“No, sir,” the guards shout in unison. I cast a glance towards Mara, who looks panicked.
“I saw her heading towards the watchtower on the western wall. See that the area is scouted. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Warden, we’ll head there now,” Stirling says, nodding to the others as they scramble away, obviously eager to be clear of my wrath. I watch them go, waiting until the last orb fades into the distance.
“Rowan, where are—” Mara rushes out, but I clamp a finger over my lips, motioning for her not to speak. I nod my head towards the cottage as she follows me in. I meet her gaze, trying to make her understand as she looks at me with a confused expression.
“Now, I know we’re family. But if you know where the girl is, you need to tell me.” She shakes her head at me, her brows coming together in pure panic. I widen my eyes at her, willing her to just answer me and understand what I’m doing.
“Um. No, I swear, I’ve no idea where she is. I don’t know her,” she says.
I head down into her cellar, looking back to make sure she’s following. Once we’re both inside, I slam the door shut and let out a long, heavy breath.
“Sorry, it’s too risky to talk in case someone hears. The cellar is rune-bound, no one can hear in here.”
“What. My cellar is runed?” she asks, her voice laced with anger.
“Bryn did it when we were kids. So we could get away with staying up late without you knowing.” She tuts at me, shaking her head in shock.
“What was the display out there in the garden?” she asks me.
“I need the king to think I’m still on his side. That Elodie has just gone missing.”
“Where are the girls?”
“At the meadow just north of the old ruin. Bryn needed open space to carry out the incantation.”
“I have to be there, Rowan. I will not let her do this without me there.” Her eyes fill with tears, her voice shaking.
“I know, it’s okay. I told them I would meet them there when I knew you were safe.
We can go there together. Just a little longer.
I need to make sure we don’t get followed.
” Mara sinks into one of the wooden stools, her hands trembling at her sides.
The cellar is damp and empty, barely used since my childhood.
“You’re a terrifyingly talented actor, Rowan,” she whispers. “For a moment there, even I believed you’d been looking to capture her.”
“I have to be. If the king gets her, I can’t protect her. I won’t let that happen.”
I can’t lose anyone else.
Mara looks up at me, her sharp eyes softening. She’s known me since I was a baby, and then a boy with skinned knees. Long before I was a man with blood on his hands, the High Warden of Greyhollow.
“I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’ve only had that look once before,” she says, giving me a knowing glance.
“What look?”
“The look you got when you first picked up a sword, and now for this girl.” I don’t respond.
I don’t know how.
She’s right.
I know she is.
I can’t lie to myself, let alone Mara.
Elodie has well and truly sunk beneath the cracks in my armour.
“She’s different... Mara. So small and fragile, yet underneath she has this spark, this passion for life that is infectious. She is strength covered in years of polite survival. I don’t think she’s even seen it herself yet. But she will.”
“She’s a lovely girl, Rowan. Truly,” her voice drops into a gentle, motherly caution. “She has a heart that could mend the cracks in this kingdom. But you need to remember something.” I turn to face her, bracing myself for what I know she’s about to say.
“She isn’t from here,” she says softly. “Her home is somewhere else entirely. And I can tell by the way she speaks that place is certainly different to ours. If this works, the unbinding, Widowsbloom. If that gate opens back to her world, she won’t stay, Rowan.
Why would she stay in a place that tried to put her in chains?
Even if those chains were made of glass.
” I feel a dull ache in my chest, more painful than I expected.
“I know that.”
“Do you?” She stands up now, stepping closer and taking my hand.
“You are a man of duty, Rowan. Your life is tied to this soil, to your oath. Don’t go losing your heart to a girl who is only passing through.
It will break you when she leaves.” I look away, thinking of Elodie’s freckled face, the way her eyes light up when she smiles, the way she teases me with my title.
“I think…” My voice sounds thick and unfamiliar to my own ears. I meet Mara’s gaze. “I think it’s too late for that, Mara. My heart was hers the second she beat me at our first round of chess.” Mara sighs, a sad, knowing smile.
“Then, Rowan. I will be here for you when this is all over. You may not be mine by blood, but you sure as hell are in my heart.” I give her a nod, my tongue finding the side of my cheek, my focus slipping.
“I think we can probably head out now,” I say. Mara nods at me,
“Let’s go make sure my daughter doesn’t make the same mistake her father did.”