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“Would you like to take a walk?” my mother asked suddenly. The question took me so much by surprise that I flinched, her wide, hollow eyes staring at me.
“Together?”
“Yes. Maybe to the harbor.” Her words were small, mousy.
My heart picked up its pace. “I’d love that.”
We strolled silently together through the few blocks that separated us from the waterfront. My mother was slower than she had been before, but seeing her take in deep breaths of the salty air loosened something inside of me I hadn’t realized was tense. Her pale skin had turned paler in the past few months, her fine blonde hair lacking the sheen that had matched Larka’s, but seeing her in the sun struck a tiny cord of hope within me.
We began our descent down the small hill to the waterfront. “I’m glad he stuck around,” my mother murmured. We stopped, lowering ourselves to the grass on the eastern side of the waterfront, far from the scorched grasses that had caused our worlds to spin out of control. “He does you good.”
I scoffed, my cheeks reddening. “He’s very kind.”
“And he’s very handsome,” she chided. I laughed at her, at the little flicker of her past self. He really was breathtaking, his honey-brown skin and dark, unruly hair setting his eyes on alight in a way that made my heart race.
“Yes,” I said with a smile, “he is.” We sat in silence for a few moments, the lapping waves against the seawall like a drumbeat for the city. “You and Castemont seem to be getting along.”
She turned away and nervously cleared her throat. “Evarius is also…very kind.”
“Evarius?” I raised a brow.
“He’s asked me to call him by his first name.”
I inhaled as I processed the statement. “Heisvery kind.” I thought back to what Calomyr had said. “Do you believe he has feelings for you?” The words coated my tongue with a bitter film, the thought of my father still fresh in my mind.
She turned to me, disbelief on her face. “Petra!”
“I’m just asking, Ma.”
“I… I love your father.” Her words were sharp.
“I’m not saying you don’t.”
“It’s been less than three months, Petra.” She twirled strands of grass between her fingers as she looked out over the water. “I can’t begin to think of what another man might feel for me.”
It was more than understandable, and quite honestly I preferred it that way. But the color had begun to return to her cheeks, the sight of her smile, no matter how subtle… It was a welcome sight. Lord Castemont’s kindness still made me a bit uneasy, but I could overlook it if that kindness brought some of my mother back.
“We’re going to be okay, Ma.” I laid a hand in the grass. She laid hers on top of mine, then her head on my shoulder.
And for the first time in so, so long, I believed it.
???
Three days crawled by as I waited for Cal to return, my mind running rampant at the possibility of what he was planning. Night fell and deepened, his knock sounding quietly through the house close to midnight.
“Are you ready?” he whispered in the dusty moonlight. No armor, just leathers, his sword at his side, and boyish anticipation on his face.
“I don’t know, am I?” I asked, biting my lip.
“Do you know what it does to me when you bite that lip?” His voice was low burning fire. He moved closer to me, leaning his forehead against mine and resting his hands on my waist before grabbing my hand. “Come on.”
We walked hand in hand through the districts, out of Inkwell, out of Sidus, closer to Prisma, the castle growing larger and larger as we neared it.
Realization hit me as we turned down an unfamiliar street lined with well-kept homes and flowering trees with petals that fell to blanket the cobblestones. “Don’t tell me we’re going to…”
“Surprise,” he whispered, squeezing my hand.
I paled, dread clenching at my chest as I stopped walking. “What?”
