Chapter 21
Elowyn
Iwas standing at the river’s edge, staring into the rushing water, when a noise from my left made me flinch. Abram? My heart leapt, but it wasn’t him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I said hi, but you seemed lost in thought.” Philip smiled at me.
I took in his fine clothing, the glint of the fabric catching the sunlight. His blue eyes were arresting, and his dark hair… It reminded me of Abram in ways I didn’t want to admit. His smile widened when he noticed me staring.
“Sorry, I was lost in my mind.” I nodded, trying to focus on the water again. “Are you stalking me?”
The river whispered beneath me. I wondered, just for a moment, what would happen if I stepped closer. If I let myself fall, would the water take me somewhere lighter, somewhere better?
“I’ve never seen someone else out here before.” He stopped a few feet from me, his gaze drifting over the rippling river. “It’s beautiful here. I come here all the time, like I’m always waiting for something. Maybe it’s fate leading me to you, so I can take you on that date.”
I turned toward him, unsure how to respond.
“You don’t even know me. I could be everything you hate.” I tried to push the idea away, tried to resist the pull he seemed to have over me.
“Or…” he looked at me, really looked at me, as if he could see straight through all my walls. “We are perfect for one another.”
I stared at him, words lodged in my throat.
“You are very confident.” I chuckled softly, bitterly.
“Only when I see something I want.” He glanced back at the river, his voice lowering. “I can see you are still sad about the ex-husband, but maybe going out with me will help you move on.”
I thought of Abram, and the guilt pricked at me like cold knives. Even considering this felt like a betrayal.
“I should go.”
I turned, desperate to escape the magnetic pull of his gaze, but he stepped closer and stopped me.
“Stay.” His friendly smile tugged at something in my chest. “This is a pleasant surprise to see you in my favorite spot.”
I shook my head and stepped away from the water, but he reached out and grabbed my hand.
His eyes drifted over my face as he held my hand just a second too long. I smiled, more out of politeness than anything, and that seemed to snap him out of it. He dropped my hand and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Sorry,” he said, a little sheepish. “You just... feel like someone important.”
My smile thinned. “I’m not.”
He tilted his head like he didn’t quite believe that. “Well, not yet, maybe.”
I rolled my eyes and stepped past him. “How many times have you done this whole show you’re putting on right now?”
He fell into step beside me, undeterred. “This is the first time. Is it working for you?”
“I’m not interested.”
He laughed, and it was unfairly warm. “Noted.”
I glanced sideways at him. He was studying me like he already knew something I didn’t. Like I was familiar.
“Why are you staring?” I asked.
“Just... curious.” He smiled again, slower this time. “You feel like a storm waiting to happen.”
I didn’t answer. Thomas’ words swarmed inside my mind. He had said there was a storm inside of me. But surely he didn’t mean this man.
“Don’t follow me,” I said, before he could try again.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” he lied. “But maybe I will see you out here again?”
I didn’t answer him, just kept walking. My silence should’ve been enough.
He stayed beside me a few steps longer before finally falling back with a quiet, almost amused sigh.
“Be careful, Elowyn,” he called after me.
I paused. Not enough to give him the satisfaction of turning around, but just enough to let him know I’d heard.
“You say that like you know something I don’t,” I said over my shoulder.
“Maybe I do.” His voice was lighter now, teasing, but underneath it, there was something heavier. Certain.
I faced forward again, ignoring the goosebumps crawling up my arms. The wind shifted. Something in the air thickened around me.
“Fate is like a storm. It comes when you least expect it and sweeps you off your feet,” he said as I continued walking.
I looked back at him, wondering if he somehow knew Thomas said something similar to me. His gaze didn’t leave mine.
I turned again and kept walking.
And I didn’t look back. But gods help me. I could still feel him watching. The weight of it pressed between my shoulder blades like a brand. It wasn’t lust. It wasn’t even curiosity, not really. It was recognition.
Like he knew me.
Not the way strangers try to guess your favorite color or food. No, this felt older. Deeper. As if some part of me had already knew him, long before we’d met.
Which was ridiculous. My feet slowed down, and I looked back at him. He was still watching me, curiously, maybe even hopeful.
“Fine. You get one date, and if it’s terrible, I’m leaving, and you’ll stop stalking me.”
His eyes twinkled with delight.
“It will be unforgettable.” He stepped toward me. “Shall we get to it?”
“Now?”
“I don’t want to waste any time with you, Elowyn.” He glanced around at the sky darkening. “Besides, where I’m taking you only happens once a year.”
“All right.”
There were hundreds of people gathered at the lakeside. Philip and I stood off in the dark of the trees, away from the large crowd. But I didn’t know what was going on. Everyone seemed to be watching the lake, and I could feel myself getting excited.
Philip smiled at me.
“You look excited, Elowyn.”
“I am.” I glanced around before looking at him. “What are we waiting for?”
He looked at the sky before looking at me.
“You’ll see in just a minute.”
He stepped closer to me, but my gaze was flickering all around us as others started talking, their voices getting excited.
I stood up taller, hoping to see what they were.
Then I saw the first one. A lantern floating out over the lake.
Then a dozen more. My mouth fell open as the lanterns filled the dark sky, illuminating it like the heavens themselves were shining on us.
Each lantern reflected in the calm surface of the lake, making it look surreal. I stepped closer. Philip followed, but he was staring at me and not watching the lanterns.
“What do you think?” he whispered.
“It’s beautiful.” I looked at him. “What is it for?”
He glanced at the lanterns before looking at me with a softness in his gaze.
“Falgon does it once a year. I’m not sure where the tradition started but rumor has it that you can make a wish as you light a lantern and release it for the heavens and the gods.
The heavens will hear each of our prayers, but it will grant only three of us our wishes.
So everyone comes out every year hoping they are one of the three that the heavens will listen to. ”
Gods, that sounded beautiful.
“I got each of us a lantern. Would you like to try?”
I nodded and he set down two lanterns before handing us each a stick, which we lit with the torch he held. We knelt down, but Philip watched me with a frown.
“What?” I asked.
“I just hope you aren’t using your wish for your ex-husband.”
I didn’t say anything because that was exactly what I wanted. Even now as I was on this wonderful date, I wondered if I could get the heavens to hear me. I stared at the symbol on the lantern, a small moon and stars. Philips had something similar, but with mountains under the stars.
I wish Abram a life of happiness, and if there is enough happiness to go around, I hope it finds me too.
The words tasted like surrender.
I lit the lantern and released it. Philip closed his eyes as if he were wishing then lit his lantern too. His pretty blue eyes met mine as he let go of it, and we watched them begin to rise.
“What did you wish for?” I asked.
“Love.” He didn’t hesitate. “What did you wish for?”
“Happiness.”
He grinned and looked up at our lanterns. They began to float over the lake, but all of a sudden, mine began drifting in the opposite direction. I watched it float back over us and start moving toward the city.
“That’s odd.” Philip watched the lantern. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”
“Maybe that is a good sign.”
He looked at me and grabbed my hand. “Yeah, maybe.”