Chapter 28 Jane
Nightfall descended faster than expected, and soon we begrudgingly left the museum behind, making our way back to the beautiful cliffs of Cylvaris.
By the time Glade, Mir, and I reached the mountain plateau high above the clouds, the three distinct Ornathian moons had already risen, casting their cool, silvery glow over the hushed wooden village below.
Golden lampposts flickered along the streets, illuminating the path for any travellers still roaming through the night.
Glade and I strolled side by side, the tense silence between us uncomfortable as ever as we climbed the hillside toward our cabins. Both of us needed time to process what we had learned today.
On one hand, the revelation that I was the daughter of a king and queen felt like an enormous burden that made my bones feel jittery.
Though it meant little in the grand scheme of the war, the thought of having once upon a time been royalty made me feel even more detached from the discovery of who I truly was.
Yet there was also a bittersweet relief in learning more about my past. Each new piece of my identity brought clarity, even hope, that the more I understood about myself, the closer I would come to mastering the Light that had evaded me for over a week now.
Glade escorted me to my cabin door, ensuring I was safe and settled for the night. Though, I wasn’t quite yet ready to go inside, back to the empty loneliness of my little cottage. So, we awkwardly lingered in the doorway, standing face to face, only a few feet apart.
He kept his hands tucked away snuggly into his coat pockets, his breath visible in small clouds of frost against the chilly night air.
I hugged my arms around myself, shivering in the evening breeze, yet neither of us made a move toward the refuge and sanctity of our cabins.
It was as if something held us in place, something neither of us wanted to part with just yet.
Finally finding the courage to speak, I said, “Um, before you go, I just… I just wanted to thank you again. I know I must sound like a broken record by now, but you really have no idea what today meant to me… What this past week has meant to me. You’ve treated me with such patience, such kindness…
No one’s ever been so nice to me before.
” The words spilled from a fragile and unfiltered place deep within me, the honesty shocking even myself.
Glade dipped his head, an attempt at hiding his bashfulness. He kicked at a pebble in the dirt before lifting his gaze to meet mine. His eyes softened, and a small, authentic toothless smile graced his lips.
“You deserve it, Jane.” The prince’s voice was low and placid as he admitted his truth. Then the smile faded from his face as if he could see straight into my heart, leaving only an intensity in his gaze.
The rush of emotions I felt erupt from my soul was overwhelming. The length of my spine felt the shock of a mighty surge that made me want to run and hide, to escape the growing vulnerability within me.
Without saying a word, I nodded, intending to turn toward my door and slip away from the ever-expanding pressure building between us. But just as I reached for the handle, Glade’s desperate voice stopped me.
“Wait,” he blurted, stepping forward with a hand lifted before him, as if reaching out to hold me in place just a moment longer.
Turning towards him, I felt confused as one of his hands disappeared into his jacket. A moment later, it re-emerged, cradling a little glimmering object in his palm.
“Before you go…” He exhaled. “I wanted to give you this.”
There in his palm lay a delicate crystal sphere—a miniature replica of Domus, intricately detailed down to the smallest curve of its continents and the sparkle of its oceans. Each feature had been crafted with painstaking care, capturing the unparalleled beauty of the lost world.
“Glade…” I breathlessly whispered, bewitched by the exquisiteness of the tiny Domus resting in my grip. It was unlike anything I had ever received. A gift so thoughtful, it felt as though he had given me a piece of his own soul.
The prince shrugged, his eyes drifting to his feet as if to brush off the significance of his gesture. “It’s nothing. They sell them at the museum. I just…picked it up while you were busy at one of the exhibits.”
But his casual tone couldn’t conceal the subtle and tender consideration he had poured into such a present. I clutched the tiny Domus lovingly and tightly to my chest, feeling a comfort penetrate through my ribs and pierce my heart. A feeling that I hadn’t known I was missing.
As I squeezed the replica, a perilous question stirred within me, even though I knew the answer would undoubtedly alter everything.
“Why did you buy me this, Glade?” I felt tears prickle the corners of my eyes.
Glade’s gaze eased, and for a moment, he gathered words from somewhere deep within his mind, preparing to let them finally bubble to the surface.
“Why take me to Okevaal? Why…why have you spent every moment helping me? I know the king ordered it—but you…you’ve gone far beyond what he asked of you.
Why…why have you been so warm to me? So kind?
” A faint sadness creased my brow as I searched his face, hoping he’d reveal what hid in the spaces between his ever-present stares and gestures, even if I already knew the answer.
A long pause arose as he searched for the unreachable words. Finally, he looked at me again as he revealed the truth he’d kept guarded.
“I care about you, Jane. I really care about you. A little too much, to be honest.” he conceded under his breath.
My heart thudded at the words, each beat more robust than the last. An unbearable heat spread through my core, one I had not let myself permit until now.
I glanced down at the small crystal globe still nestled in my hands.
I care about you, too, I thought, the words screaming repeatedly in my mind, desperate to escape into the ether.
However, when I peered back up at Glade, I found myself struggling to say those fragile words aloud, knowing life would never be the same once I had.
“I…” I stammered, my fingers fidgeting around the miniature Domus in my hands.
Glade raised a palm, cutting off my attempt to explain. “No, no… It’s alright. You don’t need to say anything, Jane. You probably shouldn’t.”
The memory of my betrothal to Jion lingered between us like a black cloud, a noiseless reminder of the duty that bound me, even as everything in me was dragged toward Glade.
He took a deep breath in, exhaling loudly as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “It’s getting late. You should get some rest. Back to training tomorrow,” he said, nodding in farewell. “Goodnight, Princess.”
I offered a mumbled goodnight in return, and slipped inside my cottage as fast as I could.
Though, instead of continuing into the cozy studio before me, bathed in the golden flickers of the quaint fireplace in the corner, I stumbled back against the door, clasping the globe to my chest, my eyes squeezed shut.
This was wrong. It was so very wrong.
I was falling for Glade.
I didn’t want to, not in the slightest, but the more I fought it, the more the truth seemed to blossom and become impossible to ignore.
It wasn’t just the way he had treated me with such patience and tenderness, though that alone would have been enough.
It was the way he made me feel confident in who I was, who I was meant to be, even when I wasn’t sure myself.
Every minute spent with Glade felt like a solace I hadn’t known I craved, I needed, until it was already entirely consuming me.
I had no control.
Glade was a person who had gradually, without me even realizing, become someone I needed in my life.
It wasn’t just the way he could calm me in my most anxious moments or how his gaze reassured me when I questioned everything about myself.
It was the way he made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this world—this universe, anymore.
And that terrified me more than anything.
I hovered near the door frame before advancing into my cabin. I set the globe on the wooden desk across the room, but my eyes lingered on it for a while. It was as if the tiny planet contained all the confusion and turmoil I could not make sense of within myself.
Restlessly pacing the room, the truth of my feelings twisting haphazardly inside my gut felt like a tornado I couldn’t run from, couldn’t escape from, couldn’t hide from. It felt like I was battling with myself, and the more I tried to fight, the stronger my opponent became.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t want to feel this way. But it was there. And I hated it. I hated that it felt so natural even though I knew the consequences would be universally destructive.
My hands slapped against my forehead, trying to pound away the unwelcome thoughts. Glade. He wasn’t just the arrogant prince anymore. And what did that even mean? What would it mean for me to admit this?
But I knew. I knew. And there was no way to undo it.
I had to tell him.
I pivoted towards the entryway, my breath quickening, my skin flaming like millions of needles prickling the surface, and ran to the wooden door, swinging it open in one fluid motion.
To my utter shock, Glade was already standing there, just on the other side.
His eyes were wide, filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite name—surprise, turmoil, the same conflict that had been tearing at my insides.
It was as if he were a mirror, reflecting everything I had been grappling with, the very same inescapable fate.
For a second, neither of us spoke. We just stood there, mere inches apart, our breaths coming and going in hesitant, shallow gasps.
The tension between us was so potent I could almost taste it on my tongue.
Reality seemed to disappear as we stared into the other’s eyes, uncertain of what to do, unsure of how to move forward.