Then she rose. One last kiss. One last glance.
And she ran.
Her skirt billowed behind her, swallowed by the forest. She never looked back.
Collin nearly chased her—nearly screamed her name—but Connor’s hand tightened around his, pulling him the other way.
Branches clawed at them. The moonlight vanished under the canopy. The forest was alive with shadows. Still, they ran—through brush and bramble, into the deep, unknown dark.
And behind them, the torchlight dimmed.
Collin knew, without being told, that their mother had drawn the danger away. She had given them the only gift she still could.
Her silence.
Her sacrifice.
The sun scorched his face.
He tried to move, but pain clamped over every muscle. His eyelids were too heavy. The scent of salt hung thick in the air—brine, seaweed, something raw. Gulls called overhead, and waves crashed distantly like a fading memory.
His head spun. The earth tilted wildly beneath him. He reached out, grasping at nothing. Where was he? What had happened?
Before the thought could settle, the darkness surged again and dragged him under.
A shadow crossed over him.
“Captain Sol! I found the boy!” a deep voice called overhead. “He is down here!”
Pebbles skittered across stone. A thump of boots. A hand shook him roughly. “He is still alive.”
Another voice, distant and sharp, “Where is the other? There are two boys.”
“He must have fallen into the sea. No one could survive the plunge.”
“Bring the boy up. We’ll search again.”
The voices tangled in his fogged mind.Who had fallen?The words didn’t make sense. He couldn’t lift his limbs, couldn’t even speak. Rough hands hoisted him, jostling his body. New voices, more movement. The briny air of the cliffs gave way to the damp scent of earth, of trees and horses.
He drifted in and out as the world shifted around him.
Eventually, life pierced through the haze—familiar sounds: a wooden bucket dropping, the distant bleat of a goat, the soft creak of a cottage shutter.
Then—rough hands pulled him to his feet. He couldn’t stand. Two men kept him upright by the arms.
“He’s your responsibility now,” a guard grunted.
A blanket—thin but dry—was wrapped around his shoulders. Softer hands, steadier. They guided him inside, into warmth. A fire blazed in the hearth, and when he was lowered into its glow, it was like falling into sunlight. Too much. Too fast. He gasped, eyes fluttering, mind racing.
A voice broke through.
“Collin! I’m so glad you’re alright!” Aries. “Grandfather and I were so worried.”
Another voice, old and weather-worn, “We will take care of you now, my dear boy. We are your family from now on.”
Hands cupped his cheeks. Collin blinked up into a familiar face.
“Did you hear that?” Aries said with quiet intensity. “We’re brothers now.”
