Page 110 of Quiver

“Thank you.” Kylie clasped a hand on her shoulder. “For everything.”

She paused and looked at them both more pointedly. “I’m not sure I did much in the end, but I am happy I got to be a little part of whatever happened here. Maybe a part of me needed to see it, too, whatever that’s worth.”

She headed out, but as Kylie’s hand fell from Ava’s shoulder, Fletcher caught her wrist.

Kylie’s breath caught at the contact and the straining hope this might be the moment one of them said something, anything, to make it make sense.

Instead, Fletcher turned over her arm and pushed up the sleeve of her jacket. “You’re not wearing a guard.”

All the air left her lungs in a rush of disappointment. “I, um, mine was too bulky under the blazer. I can borrow one from the tack room when it’s my time to ride.”

Fletcher shook her head. “Those are plain and … impersonal.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“You’re a star, Kye. You deserve the best.” Lifting her own arm up beside Kylie’s, she revealed her own guard, the one bearing her signature brand, the compass shot through with an archer’s arrow, pressed into supple leather. “Take mine.”

“Fletcher, that’s … I can’t. It’s so very … you.”

“Good. Carry me with you out there. Let it remind you … I don’t know. I’m not good at speeches, but maybe when you look at it, you’ll know it’s different this time. You have my blessing, not that you need it, but because I’m ready to give it.”

Kylie caught her face in her hands and kissed her. Fletcher let it happen, but not nearly long enough before she broke away and stripped off her own armor and extended it to Kylie.

Kylie shrugged out of her jacket and watched skilled and scarred hands fasten the leather around her forearm, then Fletcher held out her own so they could see the image on the guard next to the same tattoo carved on her own skin.

“I want you to wow them all,” Fletcher said, her voice thick. “You were born to do it, Kye.”

“I might not. Or it might not be enough. Don’t say goodbye yet. Please, don’t say it a minute before we have to. This whole thing could still fall apart.”

“But it’s not going to,” Fletcher whispered. “We’ve worked too hard, and not only in the arena. We can’t let that be for nothing. We can’t let the choices we made be for nothing. All those years … it has to have meant something.”

“What if it’s something else now?”

“No. We’re different with each other, but we’re still the same at our cores. You have to get the part. It’s not in you to fail, and I don’t want you to change that for me. I love your passion and commitment and drive. I should’ve said so last time, because it’s always been true. I never wanted to hold you back.”

“And I never wanted to pin you down or box you in.” Kylie’s voice broke. “You’d be miserable following me around, and I want better for you. You’re every bit the star I am.”

“Then let’s be that together one more time. Let’s go out there and share the stage for one glorious show.” Fletcher opened Winston’s stall and collected his reins, then led him out to her. “Take this handsome guy, and I’ll be right behind you. Hit all the targets and charm the pants off everyone watching. You’re going to get this role and rise even higher than your former glory, and for the next hour, I get to be part of that with you.”

“You’ll always be a part of that, a part of me, but you’re also so much more,” Kylie said, almost desperate to make her feel the gravity of her words and all the emotions behind them. “You’re whole and vibrant and fucking beautiful. People see it. They’re about to see it here, and you’ll keep making them see it at every competition, class, and workshop.”

“You don’t have to say that. I know—”

“I know,” she cut in. “I know it in my soul. You’re not done growing, either. You’re too magnificent not to change your corner of the world the same way you’ve captivated me. You’ll rocket mounted archery to higher heights and popularity than even your parents’ respective sports. It’s the only way to redeem either of us.”

Fletcher smiled sadly. “Sure.”

“Sure?”

“It’s a tall order, but who am I to argue with the great Kye Manchester? We’ve seen how well that works out for me.” She gestured to the open door of the arena where half the town waited. “You always get your way. I can’t see why this should be any exception.”

“I want you to get your way, too. I want you to have the whole world,” Kylie said resolutely. “So no matter what happens this time, I won’t ask you to wait for me.”

Fletcher lifted her hand and kissed the palm before replacing her lips with Winston’s reins. “And I won’t ask you to stay.”

With a deep, shuddering breath, she stepped away and patted the horse on his neck before steeling herself, squaring her shoulders, and high kicking her way into the saddle.

She stared down at Fletcher, taking in all the honor and pride in her eyes. The words pushed up in her throat, the ones she’d fought and swallowed and choked back and clutched tightly in her own chest. She parted her lips, ready and willing, but they still didn’t come.