Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
My fingers ache as I unclench my hands from behind Weston’s back. The hum of the magic surrounding us dissipates moments after my boots hit the firm ground, and a deep sigh escapes my chest.
Cold.
It’s the first thing I notice before I see the cloud of my breath in the air.
A full-body shudder overcomes me, my skin already begging to be engulfed by the warmth of Dawnlin once more.
Weston’s arms cinch tighter, pulling me in so I can soak up his heat, and giving me a moment to let the truth of our reality settle.
We are back in Blackwood.
We made it.
The thought feels surreal, but also expected.
After everything we fought through, all the doubt, the hope, the despair, the betrayal, the acceptance of our stolen future, it feels like this moment is a dream, and that I’ll open my eyes and be back in the captain’s quarters, ready to search for the dust on another day.
But it’s real. The cold confirms it.
“Do you want my cloak?” Weston murmurs, and I shake my head.
“No, I’ll be fine.” I clench my jaw as it starts to chatter. “I guess it’s just been a while. I’m not used to the cold anymore.”
My arms fall to my sides as he steps back, bursting our bubble and shattering my grip on hoping for more time with only the two of us. He reaches up and grabs my hood, pulling it over my head, before pulling the cloak tight around me and deftly clasping the front all the way to my waist.
“We’ll be inside soon.” His eyes stay focused on his task.
“We don’t have to hurry.” I let out a reluctant breath. “I don’t want this to be over yet.”
His eyes meet mine, and he smiles softly. “You’re nervous.”
“What was your first clue?” I say sarcastically.
He brushes off my jab, and instead intently focuses on my face.
“This right here.” His thumb hooks my lower lip, pulling it out from where it is clenched between my teeth. “Then this.” He runs the pad of his finger between my eyes and across one eyebrow, forcing me to release the tension I’m holding there. “And you keep shifting your weight back and forth.”
I tilt my head, being the one to assess him now. “Do you really notice all that about me?”
“I notice everything about you.” His eyes darken as he leans forward and gives me a soft kiss. “But you don’t have to be nervous. Nothing is over. It’s just…going to be different.”
I huff a laugh. “It will be my turn to say I’m always right when you get a nice glimpse of what my life is like here.”
“And we’ll change it. You’ll change it. I have no doubt.”
My shoulders sag slightly, and my lip juts out in a small pout. “Can we at least take the long way?”
He smirks, then nods. “Yes, we can take the long way.”
Looking to the side, he takes in our surroundings, a look of understanding adjusting his features.
I hadn’t considered that we’d be back in the same alleyway that started this entire journey, the same one he was in when he came to Dawnlin.
Where Dane hid in the shadows, waiting to brutally attack him from behind, and where I stood as Dane looked around for anyone that might try to cheat the magic the same way he did.
“That’s different.” I follow his gaze to the dirty and still fountain beside us.
“What do you mean? It looks the same.”
He shakes his head. “It wasn’t like this when I left. It was…clean…and beautiful. The water flowed and trickled. It was inspiring. This is…disheartening.”
I look at it, taking in all the places I had rubbed the dirt away only to find that it has already been replaced with a new layer of grime. “This is how it looked when I left. It hasn’t changed at all.”
“Interesting.” He steps away and walks around it, taking in the fountain from top to bottom.
“It was one thing I wondered when I found it. I wondered if the magic in Dawnlin was gone, because the fountain didn’t look the way it did in the story.”
“But it wasn’t. You still got through.”
“Yeah, it still called the Guardian.”
We stand in silence, both of us looking at the fountain that started it all and brought us to the land that deemed us unworthy of helping who we loved back home. It’s only a few moments when I hear myself speak, my thoughts too important to hold them in.
“I wonder what happens if someone calls him now? He’s somewhere without the dust. What would happen then?”
“We may never know.”
He takes my hand and rests the other on the pommel of his sword. Tension roils through his shoulders as he assesses the alley, determining it is safe enough for us to proceed through.
Light still brightens the thick grey clouds that blanket the sky, but I can tell night is coming.
We step out onto a main road, and the walkways are bustling with people, who are no doubt heading home to prepare for their evening meal.
Weston’s hand stays tightly wrapped around mine as we walk in pace with the crowd, my body firmly tucked to his side.
Despite how conspicuous I feel walking through the streets among my people, no one spares me a glance.
They are probably used to seeing staff from the castle walking home or to a tavern in the evening, but it still feels foreign to me, especially after being gone.
Unsurprisingly, Weston draws the eyes of people passing by.
If it weren’t for his towering frame and clenched jaw, his gaze darting everywhere, assessing everything, he might not look out of place compared to the casual calm of everyone around us.
“It all looks the same. It feels like I never left,” Weston murmurs as his eyes scan the road before we turn onto it and continue our winding walk through the city.
The buildings and roads are familiar from back when I took some time to wander and try to see more of the city on my own. The square where I spent most of my time is ahead, and a small part of me wishes I could go inside the library, even if it is only for a few minutes.
“The first time I ever saw it was only a few weeks before I came to Dawnlin. I barely know my own city, let alone my kingdom.”
“You will,” he says, glancing down at me briefly before continuing his watch of our surroundings. “In the meantime, I can tell you stories.”
I make a face. “I much prefer Jorn’s stories.
I am not particularly interested in hearing about your nights out in the city and all the women vying for your attention.
” I catch the smirk on his lips as my eyes trail up and down his body, my mind still trying to get used to this First Guard version of Weston.
I’ve never had reason to take a second glance at the guard uniforms before, but now that I see him in one, I can imagine how he feels about ballgowns, and why he had so many women seeking his attention.
The way the fabric molds across his shoulders and strains over chest is enough to make clear the strength of the man beneath.
It would intimidate any man, and entice any woman, and my mind flashes with images of what it would be like to take it off him.
Now is not the time for that. We have bigger issues to confront first.
He chuckles softly. “Those were not the stories that came to mind, but jealously looks good on you.” I scowl up at him as we round a corner, but he ignores it, his smirk unrelenting. We halt, stepping to the side off the walkway so others can continue to pass by.
“See that archway over there?” he says, pointing across the street.
“Yes?” I’ve passed that archway before, but noticed nothing particularly interesting about it. It’s just a stone structure marking the entrance to a different part of the city.
“Your mother was walking through that archway when your father first saw her. He couldn’t get across the square fast enough.
” His body turns until he’s pointing to the side of it.
“I stood just over there while they talked. When she left, he wanted to follow her, but he was afraid of scaring her off.”
My throat constricts. I’d been so absorbed in my lack of experience in my own kingdom that I never considered a truth that Weston just made so obviously apparent.
My mother lived here. Pieces of her are all over this city, and Weston knows many of them.
More than that, he didn’t hesitate to tell me the story, unlike everyone else who hid all knowledge and memory of her from me until the moment Edmond handed me her diary.
I gulp down the large lump in my throat, my voice hoarse when I speak again. “What else?”
“Over there—”
“Excuse me, Addy?”
A familiar voice interrupts Weston, and my head swivels toward it in the same moment that he shifts, his body angling in front of me as he assesses this stranger who has stopped in front of us.
Though she’s not a stranger. Not to me.
“Estelle,” I say with a breath of relief, but despite my familiarity, Weston doesn’t relax at all.
I’m surprised to see her, especially since I’ve never interacted with her outside of the library.
I was not expecting to see anyone I knew beyond the castle grounds, and, surprisingly, even with my hood drawn low over my face, she still recognized me.
Her gaze slides to Weston beside me, taking in his uniform and his protective stance, and no doubt realizing he isn’t Dane, before she turns her attention to me once more.
“Is your apprenticeship going well?” she asks kindly.
My brows furrow, trying to think back to whether I had ever lied directly to her about working on the castle grounds. “Apprenticeship?”
Confusion taints her expression. “It had been so long. I thought you must be working as a healer now, or at least in the middle of your training.”
“Oh,” I stammer. “Yes, I mean, no. I’m not in an apprenticeship yet. Maybe someday soon.”