Rafe spins the ring around in his palm. “Partially, I guess.” Another stone is tossed in the stream. He sighs. “Adrienne never fully recovered from that explosion. She’s had a hard life. And whether or not Cal knew who was on the ship, he still caused that ship to sink. She deserved to face him, and I had to jump on the opportunity.”
I can sense there is more, and I patiently wait as we alternate throwing rock after rock into the water.
“But also, I think a part of me wanted to spend as much time as I could with him. See if I made a mistake.”
“And did you? Make a mistake, I mean?”
There is a long enough pause that I wonder if Rafe had heard me, but then he speaks.
“If I could do it all over again, I would still have left, for Adrienne. I had to leave to save her life.”
“But?” I’m beginning to predict Rafe’s thought process.
“But,” he casts a knowing look my way. “I should have communicated better with Cal. I don’t know why I didn’t at least write him a letter, but I was so angry and frustrated at everything, I didn’t think it would help. I missed Ginna and Hanson a lot, too. I only wrote that one letter to Ginna, but I should have kept in touch with both of them more. Then again, I wanted a clear cut from Ashven, though - no ties to anyone or anything.”
“I can understand that.”
Silence again. More tossing of stones.
Rafe fiddles with the ring. “I’m not sure if this relic has any magic left in it. I sure was never lucky with it.”
I hum, not wanting to say one way or the other. If that’s true, this journey would have all been for nothing, another failed lead on the hunt for the Stone.
Rafe squeezes his eyes shut. “I stopped wearing this before I left Ashven - the whole cutting ties thing, you know? I could never bring myself to get rid of it, though. Must have tried to throw it off the ship a dozen times on the way here.”
“I’m glad you kept it.”
“So Cal can find whatever relic he’s looking for?”
I shake my head. “Because keeping it shows Callum that you loved him. That what you had was real and meant something to you.”
Rafe doesn’t respond, watching as his fingers trace the ring’s pattern. He sits up straighter, suddenly, eyes wide as if an idea is slowly taking shape in his mind.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Stay here in Sevrin.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean it. You said you don’t want to go back to Ashven, so stay here.”
My brain is slowly connecting the dots. “You want me to stay in Sevrin with you, and what? Become a pirate?”
“Not with me, with me. Of course, you’re welcome to stay at our cottage as long as you’d like. Adrienne would probably love a woman’s company. And not everyone here is a pirate. We’re not. You could do whatever you want.”
Whatever I want. I’m not sure I know what that is anymore. The longer I stayed trapped in the camps, the easier it was to forget my dreams I once had. Even when Callum rescued me, I was only focused on helping him findthe Stone. Could this be an opportunity to remember those long lost dreams? Resurrect my buried plans for the future? The more and more I imagine it, though, the better the fantasy becomes. I can start my own business like I’d always wanted – have a store in town or maybe become a traveling merchant.
I can’t remember the last time I focused solely on myself, on my needs and aspirations, and not just the wants of others. Isn’t it time to put myself first?
But staying here would be giving up on Callum. A life in Ashven with him, Ginna, and Hanson. Hadn’t I felt like I belonged there? Or was I only clinging to the first people I met outside of the camp?
“Do you think Callum can change?” I want to know Rafe’s thoughts before I abandon any future I had planned with Callum.
“Can he? I hope so. Will he?” Rafe shrugs. “I don’t know. The King has Cal wrapped around his fingers tightly.”
“And you’re okay with that? What if we never see Callum again?” I don’t hide the crack in my voice.
Rafe passes me the ring and I’m able to see and appreciate all the details I hadn’t before.
