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“Are you not going to protest?” Pearl demanded.
Ruby shook her head. “I would. But it doesn’t change the order, and I know Saph will tell us everything.”
“Boo.”
Sapphire, who had been silent the whole time, smiled at her. There was noticeably less tension and heaviness in the woman’s features, which eased something inside Ruby, too. But she knew her sister had to get going.
“Good luck, Saph. Anyway, I have somewhere to be. Let’s all meet up later…hopefully, with Silver.”
She left before they could ask questions, but also because she didn’t want to get choked up with emotions just yet. The idea of Silver coming back made her ache so much that it was all she could think about, and now that it was happening…she inhaled deeply, willing herself to relax and let Sapphire deal with it. She hadn’t been making excuses when she said she had somewhere to be, and now she met up with the person waiting for her just outside their property.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” she said firmly.
Ruby took Maddox’s hand, which promptly made her feel better. They walked in silence, avoiding the main roads but greeting the residents they bumped into on the less-walked paths. The judgment had now been replaced with pity and friendliness, but still with some choice words from those who doubted. But there was less of that now, and she vowed to get rid of the former soon. The two kept going until they reached another cliff, smaller than the one they had fought in and directly facing the daily sunrise.
In the center of it were stones laid out in a circle with flowers planted around it. He stepped forward and laid a bouquet down, not letting go of her hand. She squeezed it.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to help you communicate with her? I have my magic back, and the black energy is gone. We can do it.”
“No. I don’t need that.”
“Okay.”
She let go of his hand first and knelt before the stones. She opened her palms, allowing herself a moment to savor the returned energy before she cajoled it out. When her fingers glowed, she placed them down and marked the permanent inscription, carefully writing out each letter.
To Hilda Hendricks. Gone but not forgotten. Precious human and brave soul.
She ended it with a heart that winked in the sunlight. Maddox wrapped the cloak tighter around him as he knelt beside her and brushed his thumb over the inscription. It glowed at the contact.
“Hilda, thank you. For being my friend and most supportive comrade in Ostrov Krov. For being a good person to everyone who deserved it on that island, including the remaining members of House Hendricks. Thank you for taking care of me when I needed it. Thank you for loving me as you did, even when I was different.”
More words came out, his speech soft and his demeanor content. She tuned out most of it, wanting to give him some privacy, but he clasped her hand again when she tried to stand. His next words perked her ears.
“Let me introduce you to the person beside me. This is Ruby Sutton. She is a friend of House Hendricks and a resident of Broom’s Isle. She is a witch and a pretty badass one at that.” His thumb grazed her palm. “She is the woman I love and the one I am going to spend my life with. I found her through circumstance, but now I believe it was fate that brought us together and took me here. I love her, Hilda. I’m so in love with her, and I just wanted to say that…and to say that I’m letting you go. This is goodbye. I hope you are at peace.”
The beauty of the confession, even when she had already heard it before, had tears streaming down her cheeks. He turned to her and wiped them away, then let her fall into his outstretched arms. They stayed like that for a while, basking in the peaceful scenario before she tugged his shirt.
“We have to go. The sun’s getting harsher.”
“I’m used to it.”
“And I’m still going to be happier if you are in the shade.”
Maddox smirked. “If it makes you happy, then.”
They left and went to the forest, where she kept tugging him when he playfully stopped at the spots where the sunlight strayed in. They looked for Moon and tried to discuss when they couldn’t find him in his usual hangout spot.
“Maybe he went to visit your sisters. I don’t think he dislikes them anymore.”
She suspected the teenage boy had a crush on one of her sisters, but she couldn’t figure out which one. “Maybe. But he wasn’t around earlier. Maybe he went with Kira.”
“Kira?”
“Abby’s friend. You know, that bakery girl who likes giving you free bread.”
He bumped her hip. “Don’t be jealous now.”
