“Of course. I’m glad for you. It’s wonderful that you have your father back. He’ll be more helpful than I ever could be. And tell him thank you again. We will always be indebted to him.” She nodded.
“He told me about the cure he gave you. How are you feeling?”
“Well enough.” Lost, confused, hollow, but what right did I really have to confide in her? I was the idiot who put my every choice into question when I cast that ridiculous enchantment over a year ago. And now I was left wondering what was real, which had no doubt been her predicament all along. I looked into her eyes; the desperation was gone. The sensation of staving had left me. The frantic need to be as close to her as I could physically manage had dissipated.
That need had never been a healthy one, not from the first day I sang to her, but now I was left to wonder what remained of my feelings for her. Now that she was leaving, I wouldn’t have much time to figure it out.
Her gray eyes watching me carefully. I could not imagine what she saw. She no doubt felt confident that my feelings were gone along with the enchantment. Two enchantments cleared away with one little flower, and all my feeling for her with it. The truth was more complicated. I really didn’t know what I felt.
Cora nodded. “Alright.” She leaned in to hug me and I gladly wrapped my arms around her, glad for the contact. “Be safe.” She turned to go, and I wondered if I should stop her. If I should say something, but I had no idea what I would say. As her lithe form swept out of the room, likely to never return, I felt the firm conviction that while I may not know if any of my feelings for her had ever been real, I wanted them to be.
I wanted something real and sincere and not based on some trick, and I hoped that she would have the same.
Cora
It was strange looking into Oran’s eyes now. I was glad that my father had removed the enchantment, Oran’s need had been unhealthy. I hoped that he would get to a better place with my absence. I had never been sure that I could trust his feelings for me, but even before I had known that my father had lifted the enchantment, I had decided that to pursue Oran would be harmful.
I slung my bag across my shoulder, closing the door to my room behind me and heading out to the docks. I was going with my father to his home, the place he had been all this time that I thought he was dead. I was going to spend some time with him there, not more than a month if everything went according to plan, and then I was going to head home. I was eager to spend time with my father, but even more eager to go home and move forward with my life.
Dylan had already gone home with Fayre, with plans to visit dad later. I had spent enough time waiting for someone to save me or make the hard decisions for me, and now it was time that I move forward and made my decisions for myself.
Dad had made it clear that while his faked death had helped to avoid some problems, there were others on the horizon that were inevitable. I was glad that he had opted to keep us in the loop, instead of leaving us out in the dark like before. Even with the understanding that hard times were ahead, I had made plans for the future. I refused to be frozen by fear, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I would move forward, making decisions for myself with hope for the future.
At the end of the dock, I caught sight of Fynn, his brown hair a mess in the blowing wind. His black eyes found mine and he smiled brightly. He held out his hand to me, and I took it, letting him help me down into the boat. He was coming with me; he had told me that he would stay with me as long as I wanted him. And I couldn’t help but smile at the thought. I imagined that I would want him around for an exceptionally long time.
Then We Fly Page 33