“Are you watching me, Dad?” she said out loud, and leaned her forehead up against Suki’s, closing her eyes. “It’s been really hard without you. Trying to handle everything. Trying to…trying to let go.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“I’m so happy for Restlyn. She is in her element. Our people love her,” Ashlyn admitted, almost wishing that weren’t the case. “They never would have felt that way about me. I wouldn’t know the first thing about running a nation. Heck, I don’t even know the first thing about running my own life. Look at the mess I made out of everything with you.” She paused, and pulled away from Suki, running a hand affectionately down the horse’s muzzle. “I know I made the right decision. I hope you’re proud of me. I hope…” She shook her head. “I hope that this was what you meant, about redeeming myself. I hope that’s what this is, because otherwise it just kind of feels like I’m doing a whole lot of hurting for no reason at all.”
She waited in vain for a reply, some kind of sign. But there was only the breeze, and the unusual scent of cherry blossoms. Ashlyn smiled through her tears, feeling disappointed but knowing that she couldn’t have expected more.
“Ashlyn?”
She turned, and saw Aik at the base of the path, accompanied by two young men. One was leading a horse with several dead goats slung over its back. Ashlyn wrinkled her nose at the sight.
“Hi,” she said, desperately hoping that the wolf hadn’t heard her talking to her dead father.
“We were hunting,” Aik said, coming closer. His paws made no sound in the red dirt. “Are you just passing through?”
“I’m…um, I’m actually here for the Landslide Festival,” she said, shrugging awkwardly. “I’ve never been to one before, and I didn’t want to wait another ten years.”
“So you’re planning on staying? That’s wonderful!” Aik exclaimed. “I’m so happy to see you. May I have Kieran take your horse to the stable? He can put your things in your room at the inn.”
“Uh…sure,” Ashlyn said as one of the young men stepped forward and held out his hands for the reins. She handed them over, a bit reluctantly, and patted Suki on the shoulder as Kieran led her away.
“Slave labor?” she asked Aik wryly as the two young men began to lead the horses up the steps to Cosmea.
“Aspiring naturalists,” the wolf said grumpily. “They follow me everywhere. I’m quite relieved to be rid of them, actually. This will be the only moment of peace I have today. I thought maybe if I went out hunting, they would leave me alone, but they insisted on coming along.”
“I bet you’re super happy to be the mayor right now,” Ashlyn teased.
Aik ignored her humor and started for the stairs. “I’ve decided I’m not running for a second term.”
“What? Why?” She jogged to catch up with him. “I thought you loved being mayor.”
“I do. I…did.” Aik stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and sighed. “My term isn’t over for another six months, but during that six months I’ve got to find a way to successfully re-trap the Spirit of the Caverns. Someone may end up having to give their life to cast the spell- and that’s only if we are able to find the Stane of Nine Thousand in time.”
“That’s another reason why I’m here,” Ashlyn lied, because truthfully she had forgotten all about the Spirit of the Caverns. Again. “I’m here to help. You’re not alone.”
“No, I’m certainly not alone,” Aik muttered, sitting on the bottom step and wrapping his tail around his legs. “Jackson is here. The Spartans are here.”
“The Spartans?”
“Some of them. Ellis is the only one you’d know. Jackson has the rest out searching for the stane,” the wolf said sourly. “I cannot abide having them here. This, this leadership role isn’t for me.”
“The Spartans could make anybody crazy,” Ashlyn said, and sat next to him on the stairs. “Believe me, I know. But you’ve done such a good job up until now. I don’t think you should let this one little thing keep you from running for a second term.”
Aik turned to face her. “It’s not just that, actually. I want to look for my own kind. I could very well be the last wolf in Kresmir. There’s no way of knowing until I’ve searched everywhere.”
Ashlyn suddenly felt very glum. “Searching everywhere could take an awfully long time.”
“Yes. Much too long for me to consider juggling the responsibilities of being mayor of Cosmea in addition to searching.”
She propped her chin on the heel of one hand, eyes scanning the horizon. “Gosh, Aik. I thought you’d be mayor forever. I thought I’d always have a room at the inn for free.”
The wolf looked keenly at her. “The mayor always has a place to live in Cosmea. You’ve seen my home.”
“Yes, it’s lovely. But you won’t be mayor anymore.” Ashlyn started when she realized what he was suggesting. “What? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me, Aik.”
“What? I feel like it’s fate, Ashlyn. You’re ready to be a leader. You just need a city to lead.”
“I don’t need to be leading anyone right now, Aik, much less a city. With my mood swings, I’d probably end up leading them right off a cliff. Bad idea. Bad dog. Bad.”
Normally being called a dog would have offended Aik to the point of distraction, but this time he caught on to her ruse and chose to ignore it. “I’m not blind, Ash. I’ve seen how you changed over the past month. I know how much it hurt you to give up Toryn. But what that shows me is that you were mature enough to put the good of your kingdom before your own personal desires.”
“You don’t know anything about my personal desires,” she muttered. “I didn’t do so swell in that regard either, so shut it.”
Aik was silent for a long moment. “But you said you’re here to help with the Spirit of the Caverns?”
“Well…that and the Landslide Festival.” Although she was beginning to rethink her decision to stay.
“In that case, I’ll have plenty of time to convince you.”
Ashlyn groaned. “Seriously, Aik, you must really hate the Cosmeans if you want to inflict me on them.”
“What’s so wrong with you? I’m inclined to think you’re pretty amazing.”
“Well, thank you. I am a rather bad-ass ninja, if I do say so myself. But I’m also a total nut job. My moods are all over the place. I have impulsive ideas, and what’s worse, I usually follow through on these impulsive ideas with equally impulsive actions. Need I remind you of the three times that I ran off on my own and nearly got myself killed this past month?”
“You judge yourself so harshly,” Aik said, and grinned. “Although those certainly were not your shining moments.”
“See? Bad idea.”
“How are you doing?” he asked. “I didn’t get a chance to speak with you at the coronation.”
Ashlyn jutted out her lower jaw and blew a breath upwards, fanning her bangs. “I’m fine.”
“Really?” His tone was questioning.
“Yep. Fine.”
“Hmm.”
They sat in silence for a handful of heartbeats, and then Ashlyn said, “I just feel a little lost, you know? People treat me differently now. I feel different now. I kind of feel like…a mix-up, somehow. I feel like…like I have the heart of a princess and the face of a bastard. It just feels all wrong.”
“You’re still a princess, Ash.”
She snorted. “In what fantasy world? I’m a total joke. Raised as a lady, and yet here I am, heir to nothing. Ashlyn of no people. You know, if it wasn’t for Restlyn, I couldn’t even be acknowledged as Toryn.”
“I guess it’s a good thing she’s Lady of Toryn, then. Aren’t you happy that she’s your sister? I thought you would be.”
“I am, believe me. I just wish I didn’t have to be…” Ashlyn kicked at a pebble. “I wish I didn’t have to be illegitimate, too. It sucks. I know it’s not as big a deal out here in the Free Lands, but in Toryn that’s a huge stain. And even in Industry, people were whis
pering. It was so frustrating.”
“Industry? Was that where you were before you came here?”
“Huh? Oh- yeah. I caught a ride from Toryn with Aaron. I was going to stay there a bit longer, but…” She trailed off.
Aik shook his head. “I know it’s not easy right now, Ashlyn, but give it time. People will eventually stop talking. All wounds heal in time.” A cold wind blew a tiny dust devil across the ground in front of them, and he shivered. “Let’s go. It’s chilly out here.”
They began to ascend the stairs, and Ashlyn asked, “So you said Jackson and the Spartans are here. What about Skye? He took off from Toryn even before I did.”
Aik looked surprised. “He hasn’t shown up yet. I assumed he was still in Toryn, helping Restlyn.”
“Nope.” Ashlyn considered her words for a moment before saying, “Um…anyone else from FLD?”
Aik let out a sharp bark of laughter. “You just came from Industry, so you must know that Aaron and Sara are there.”
“Yeah, they said they’ll be out in a week or two.”
“That leaves just one person, then.” Aik sounded amused. “Very subtle, Ash.”
She blushed, but didn’t mind the teasing too much. It wasn’t like her feelings for Drake were any big secret at this point. “Is he here?”
Aik stepped off the stairs and nodded in the direction of the Eternal Flame. “See for yourself.”
For a heart-stopping moment, Ashlyn thought he was saying that Drake was here, in Cosmea- but when she turned to look at the Eternal Flame, she didn’t see him. There were several couples dancing around the fire, and then off to the right was a tall man with short, dark hair.
Ashlyn’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not Drake.”
Aik padded towards the stairs that led up to his house. “I’ll see you later, Ash.”
“But wait- that’s not Drake!” It couldn’t be. Confused, Ashlyn walked towards the Flame, frowning as she drew closer. The man was facing away from her, staring into the fire, but even from this distance she could tell it wasn’t Drake. He wore a waist-length tan coat. There were no silver boots, no long black coat, and no glove on his left hand. His dark hair was cut short. Drake’s hair had hung to his shoulders.
She actually paused halfway to the fire, wondering why she was even bothering to get up close when this man so clearly was not Drake.
Then he turned around, and her breath caught in her throat.
She’d recognize those red eyes anywhere.
But…the rest of him…
She was rooted in place as he caught sight of her and began walking, drawing closer with an easy, ambling stride. As more details of his appearance became apparent, Ashlyn went completely still. This version of Drake looked nothing like the man she’d fallen in love with. What had prompted such a drastic change?
He stopped a few paces away from her, his hands in the pockets of his jacket, his ruby eyes questioning.
Ashlyn finally found her voice. “You…cut your hair.”
“So did you,” he answered quietly.
“But why?”
He slowly closed the distance between them, walking tentatively, almost as if he were afraid that she would spook and run away like a wild animal.
He reached out and took her hand, cradling it within his. “It felt too much like part of my past,” he said. “I would rather look to the future.”
She reached up with her free hand and ran it over his closely-cropped hair, which emphasized his already-pronounced widow’s peak and made his stunning ruby eyes sparkle.
“I had Restlyn cut mine because Skye’s a terrible barber,” she said, shrugging, trying to sound nonchalant. “He did an awful job. Restlyn didn’t have much to work with.”
Drake smiled. “I like it.”
Her heart rate sped up considerably at that. “Do you really?”
He raised her hand and, never breaking eye contact, pressed a kiss into her palm. “I love everything about you, Ashlyn.”
I somehow find that hard to believe, she wanted to say, but couldn’t seem to string together a sentence, or even make any kind of comprehensible sound, so instead she just grinned like an idiot.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked, gesturing to the fire.
Ashlyn nodded wordlessly, and he pulled her close, dropping a kiss on her forehead before turning and leading her towards the Eternal Flame.
The End
About the Author:
Charity Santiago is a native of southeastern Arizona and a writer since childhood. She wrote her first manuscript, Guinea Pig Code!, at age nine. When she’s not writing books, Charity spends her time wrangling children and watching Sylvester Stallone movies.
Charity currently has four books published on Amazon Kindle: A Carol for Ben, a contemporary holiday romance, and the Lady of Toryn trilogy, which consists of Return, Regret, and Redemption. Charity is currently hard at work writing Stane of Nine Thousand, the first installment in a brand new Kresmir trilogy called Battle for Cosmea. Stane of Nine Thousand will follow Restlyn and Skye as they race against time to save Kresmir from the Spirit of the Caverns.
Connect with Charity Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinephilemama
Blog: http://charitysantiago.blogspot.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/charitysantiago
The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) Page 50