Page 121 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“I thought you’d like this one,” Rhiannon says from the doorway, her voice soft. “There is food downstairs whenever you’re ready.”

She closes the door, and we drop our bags and clean up from travel before we head to the main floor to find the others.

Mael and Etienne leave immediately to check out the castle while Lor explains her plan to Willow and Tristan.

“If you want,” Lor says. “If you’re not ready, you can stay here.”

She clasps her hands, and I can tell she’s trying not to appear too hopeful. She desperately wants them to see it.

“Of course I’m coming,” Tristan says, and Lor smiles before turning to her sister.

“Willow?”

I watch the older sister of Heart look out the window. From the first floor, we catch glimpses of the walls surrounding the city visible through the trees.

“I don’t know,” she says.

Lor drops to her knee and rests her arms on Willow’s thighs.

“What’s making you hesitate?”

“I’m scared of how it will feel.”

Amya reaches over and clasps Willow’s shoulder, and Willow folds her hand over hers.

“It’s overwhelming,” Lor says. “I won’t lie. But I had Nadir with me, and he made it feel a little less scary. A lot less scary, actually, and you’ll have me and Tris.”

My heart seizes at those words, and I resist the urge to clutch my chest. Did she really feel that way? We were so at odds then. It felt like a bridge we’d never be able to cross.

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Tristan says. “And if it’s too much, we can always leave.”

“Nadir and I will wait outside,” Amya says, laying a gentle hand on the back of Willow’s neck. She looks up at her, and I sense the trust that passes between them. There hasn’t been much time to discuss what’s been going on with them, but it’s easy to see they’ve grown closer. “You say the word, and I’ll fly you out of there.”

That elicits a nod from Willow. “Okay. I can do that.”

Lor breaks into a grin and wraps her arms around her sister. “I can’t wait to show it to you,” she whispers.

Willow presses her cheek to the top of Lor’s head, and they hold on to one another for a long time before they finally break apart.

After that, we fill up our stomachs and wait for Mael and Etienne to return. When they give us the all clear, we prepare to leave.

It doesn’t take long to push through the forest before we arrive at the border of the desolate plain that Lor and I crossed many weeks ago.

“This is where it happened,” Lor says.

“It’s . . .” Willow says, her voice trailing off as she stares at the wreckage.

“I know. But we’re going to fix this,” Lor says, and I hope she believes it. I believe it. Somehow, we will fix this.

“Come on.”

We continue over the rough terrain until we reach the crumbling wall surrounding the city. The roses continue to bloom, each flower so bright and precise that it’s hard to believe they’re real.

“Nadir said they started growing when Atlas took me from Nostraza. Coral told me they are blooming for me,” she says, her voice thick with emotion.

She picks a rose and buries her nose in its center. I see her in a flash, somewhere in a distant future. Standing with a crown on her head, wearing a long red dress, the sun gilding her dark hair with a golden halo. She looks over her people, happy and content. And I’m there with her because I will always be with her.

Cloris said one of us had to give up our role as Primary, but the choice was easy for me. This is where she belongs.