Page 97 of The Fox Heir

“You and me both.”

The corners of his lips hint at the ghost of a smile. “She always forgives me though, eventually.” He tilts his head as he watches my reaction. “She hasn’t had it easy.”

“So she mentioned.”

He turns to face the rising dawn. “Nalina is a lot like your Golden Boy, you know.”

I scoff. “Those two couldn’t be more different.”

He gives me a challenging look. “They’re both unendingly loyal. They’ll always do whatever they think is right, no matter the personal cost. And they will always choose the ones they love over themselves.”

Above us, the sky has broken into a blue morning. I watch, captivated, as the last remnants of the blazing dawn evaporate before our eyes. All around us, animals begin to wake. Birds chirp and mice scamper through the tall grasses surrounding the ruins of old Gwyllion.

I pause, thinking. “Is that why Nalina’s such a miserable bore around me? She’s protective of you?”

He barks out a laugh. “Maybe. Nalina’s methods can be … unconventional. But she believes in them.”

“She doesn’t believe I can help Gwyllion.”

“Oh, she does, in spite of herself.” He huffs a laugh. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought you to the village, even if Elisandra asked her to.”

I flick a pebble off the stone we’re sitting on. It bounces off another fallen column. “If she believes in me, it’s only on account of you telling her she should.”

“Maybe so.” He shrugs. “But I’ve made no secret of my faith in you, Red. Eventually, other people will believe in you too.”

As if in response, my power flutters inside of me. My voice is edged with relief. “I thought my power was gone forever.”

His voice is softer now, filled with something like earnestness. “I knew it was still there. We just had to figure out how to reach it.”

I turn to face him. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?” A slight breeze blows a lock of his dark hair across his forehead. I want to reach out and smooth it back with my fingertips. To feel the warmth of his face. To release the pain locked behind his eyes.

“How do you always have so much faith in me? Even when no one else does, not even me?”

He shrugs, tilting his head up to the rising sun. He closes his eyes, savoring the warmth. “Because you are worth believing in.”

My throat tightens, threatening to smother me beneath the weight of emotion. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s as if I can finally breathe. As if I can be myself, without reservations or hiding. It’s empowering, and yet it leaves me distraught for all the lost time. All those years when I doubted myself. All the loneliness and anger that I’ve carried for so, so long.

“Hey, Red. It’s okay.” Tristan leans forward, reaching his hand to cup my jaw. He wipes away a stray tear that I didn’t know I’d shed. His gray eyes are worried, his eyebrows pinched together with concern. “Whatever it is, we’ll find a way through. You’ve found your power again. You’re unstoppable now.”

I laugh lightly. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

It takes me a while to find the words, but Tristan waits patiently. He scoots closer to me and puts an arm protectively around my waist. It’s so simple, so beautiful a gesture that I hate what I must tell him next.

“I know what happened to you. At least, I think I do.”

Around me, I feel his arm stiffen. “What happened to me?”

“I met someone last night. Or rather, they finally told me who they are.”

His expression is wary. “Who?”

I study his eyes, watching for any hint of emotion. “Isadora.”

He blinks rapidly several times before shaking his head. “That’s not possible.”