“Help me, it’s going to eat my butt!”
“‘I need my butt!’”
Laughter burst out of us with the memory, almost bringing tears to our eyes. The image of six-year-old Lachlan trying to pull off his pants while he ran all over the field was one I’d never forget.
“I thought people would never stop teasing me after that. Thank the Gods they eventually forgot.”
“They didn’t. They still call you ‘wet pants Lachie’ behind your back,” I teased.
A grin stretched his lips, he was fully enjoying the forgotten nickname. “Lachie… It’s been a while since you last called me that.”
“It has,” I agreed. “Everything changed after my parents died and I became the ruler. Having to constantly train and prepare for being queen didn’t leave much time for childish things.”
“I understood, but we remained friends through it all. I was always there.”
“Yes, you always were…”
“I miss this.”
“I know,” I confessed. “I miss this too.”
Reminiscing, we continued to walk along the back of the castle. Our path curving around the structure as we laughed and recalled all the silly times we shared through the years, and even the hard ones. Eventually, we approached the end of the mountain cave, a place where nothing could be found other than the rocky soil and darkened hill.
“I guess our walk came to an end,” I admitted at the bend of the cavern. “Thank you for—”
The words cut off when the most remarkable aroma filtered into my nose, stealing my attention. My head turned toward the corner of the building, and I was helpless but to follow the scent. It was one I knew all too well, although I hadn’t smelled it in years—not since before my parents perished at war.
Tentative steps took me around the corner to the literal end of our kingdom, leaving my friend behind, but instead of darkness and shattered rocks, I found a field of flowers. An impossible sight because flowers were not something that grew in this cavern, especially not these ones.
Unexpected memories crashed against my chest, and I saw myself amid the flowers, picking bunches of each color with my mom to take them to our refuge. It all reminded me of what she always used to say.
“No matter how dire our situation is, never forget to see the beauty and the good things that still surround you, Daughter. This, this is what we are fighting to preserve.”
Her voice danced in my ear, causing my eyes to burn from emotion.
Lanterns were scattered all around the edges of the space before me, illuminating the pink, purple, and blue blooms. Their fresh scent engulfed me like a hug as the vision of us filling baskets returned. Mother took them for our people in the refuge, to give them hope and remind them what we were fighting for… For Caelisium to thrive freely, just like the blooms.
The field these originated from was far, far away from here. Near a place we once escaped to, but never again visited after we left. A place now filled with danger after Raithian took it back from us. A settling sigh made its way through me, controlling the rising emotion, and I placed both hands on my chest, allowing myself to enjoy this thoughtful gift my friend had given me.
“I…”
No words. I truly had no words for the beauty I witnessed. What my friend had done was far more than a heartfelt present; it was an incredible gesture, something only someone who truly knew me could offer. With these flowers, Lachlan had brought a precious memory back to me, if only for a brief moment, and I would always be grateful for that.
“Evanna,” Lachlan’s voice reached me a few moments later, and I turned around to find him kneeling before me. A single pink bloom in his hands.
Only then did I realize the familiarity with which he’d said my name. Not Princess Evanna, or just Princess. He’d called me Evanna, and dread replaced the heartwarming feeling growing through me. This wasn’t just a thoughtful gift to mend things between us. It was the grand gesture, and there was only one purpose for those in our custom.
“Please, don’t…” I whispered.
Lachlan swallowed, rising to his feet. “I know Braxton loves you, and I cannot blame him for that, because I, too, love you, Evanna. Yet, he will never know you like I do. He hasn’t gone through what we have gone through together. He wasn’t there when each loss cut through you like it did through me. He hasn’t bled with us. He didn’t share the small triumphs, and he most definitely was not there when it felt like the entire world would crumble upon us.”
Lifting a hand, he placed the pink bloom on my hair, a small smile lifting the corner of his lips.
“I still remember the first time you flew Star. The pride we felt every time our parents returned from battle after liberating lands from Raithian’s control and rescuing our people.” The smile disappeared, ache marrying his features instead. “The pain that tore us apart when we lost them all. You were there for me, and I was there for you, remember?”
Reluctantly, I nodded. Of course, I remembered. Not a single day went by when the loss of my parents, of every single one of our people, didn’t weigh heavily on my soul.
“That formed a bond between us that nothing else can ever break… or duplicate.”
“Lachlan…”
“I know that I’m no one special. I’m not the Harbinger’s son but merely a warrior, and I had no business harboring illusions of ever being with you, but my heart wants you, Evanna. I want you. Please pair with me, and I swear that I will spend my entire life proving to you that I’m the man you deser—”
“I can’t do this, Lachlan. I am sorry.” I stepped back, witnessing the pain growing in his eyes.
“If we do this, if we pair, think of the good that will bring. We could unite the kingdom once again, bring stability to our people. No more Clan Battlesky and Clan Skyborne, we would all be under your ruling once again. You want that, do you not? I will bring my people back to your side. I will love you, Evanna, I swear it. I will always be there, as I always have been.”
Something tore in my heart because I cared deeply for him, but not the way he needed.
“Yes, I want our people together again. I want to rule a kingdom that is united, like my parents did. And perhaps you are right, no man will ever know me like you do, but the bond that formed between us through happiness and sorrow is a bond of friendship, not of enduring love. I’m not the one you need, Lachlan.”
“Yes, you are, Evanna.” His hands reached for me, cradling my cheeks as the angst rose in his gaze. He didn’t want to lose me, but he failed to realize I had never been his. “Is it because he is the Harbinger’s son? You don’t have to be with him only because he has a legacy no one else could ever aspire to. I might not be—”
“Braxton is not above us, Lachlan. He is one of us. Who his father was has nothing to do with this. You are a good man, a great warrior, and that has more merit than you could ever realize. I know there is a woman who will love you the way I cannot…”
Dropping his hold, he shook his head, pushing both hands through his hair. “I do not want another woman. I want you. I’ve been here, close to you, my entire life while you have only known him a few months. What has he ever done for you? Has he offered you something like this?”