Page 35

When I open my door, Orion is waiting for me. “Hello, Orion, nice to see you.”

“Layla,” he greets. “The prince requested I accompany you and Mia to the town square.”

“Oh okay.” We begin to walk.

“Are you settling into Westray?” I am secretly delighted in our conversation. Orion was a man of few words and the only person he seemed to speak to was Ledger.

“I am, it’s beautiful here,” I say as Mia joins us and we make our way through the castle.

The walk to town is stunning. We pass over the turquoise water surrounding the castle. There is a dirt path that crosses gentle grasslands and fertile fields.

We arrive at an enchanting little town. The buildings are built from a mixture of beautiful stones and cedar rooftops.

It’s bustling with people, some merchants pushing carts and kids playing in the streets. I notice multiple blacksmiths pounding metals as we walk by, remembering Westray’s main trade is weaponry.

“Ohhh, can we get a sweet first?” Mia asks as sweet smells drift into the air.

“I like the way you think.” I smile and Mia clambers up to a cart. As we get closer my mouth waters at the sweet smell.

“Greta, you know I can never resist your utidilla cakes. Can we get two, please?” she asks.

“Mia, lovely to see you! Two utidilla cakes coming right up.” Greta is a plump woman with a friendly face. She plates up two pieces of cake and puts a dollop of something I’m not familiar with on top.

“Thank you, Greta, it smells heavenly,” I tell her as I grab the plate.

“Enjoy, dears.” She smiles as Mia pays her. We find a place to sit by a babbling fountain in the town center.

Mia looks at me excitedly as I take my first bite. I moan as the delightful flavors hit my tongue. “That is incredible.”

“Right?! It’s my favorite.”

I see two men across the way with a giant hunk of meat on a skewer. The older man turns it slowly, fire emanating from what I believe to be his son’s hands, cooking a searing each side.

My brows furrow confuse d

“In Bellehaven, the powerful are required to live in a sanction away from town and their families.” It was one of the reasons my father never declared his power.

My mother didn’t have an ability, and he never wanted to be without her.

“Using your powers so brazenly is also not accepted. Abilities are to be used only for serving the King or Training.”

“I’m not surprised,” Mia chimes in taking another bite. “The people of Westray love it here and would protect it with their lives, those with abilities and those without.

“In Bellehaven, the gifted are not supposed to interact with the powerless. The King wants to keep bloodlines pure.”

“He sounds selfish and despicable. I hear he has an agreement with Grimwood to allow creatures to get close to the town. Uses their presence to scare the people and discourage them from leaving.”

I frown at her words, thinking back to all the injured soldiers I’ve healed and their gruesome wounds.

“I’ve also heard no one wants to cross him for fear he will alter or erase their memories.

He isn’t known to play fair, and it’s said he can get into one’s head with a simple blink.

” I’d experienced his powers as they slithered and raked over my mind.

I’d learned tricks over the years to hide my most valuable secrets, but he was cunning and ruthless, and I dreaded his undivided attention.

Mia must register the expression I wear. “Enough about him. I know a place that has the most succulent seared duck woodlouse. Come with me!” She grabs my hand and tugs, and I stop her.

“Wait.” I take out the coin Ledger has tossed to me and turn it around in my fingers.

I think of what I long for most, wish for something I’d never dare dream was within my reach, and cast the coin out. It sails through the air, spinning before landing with a splash in the fountain.

I laugh as a few children race to the water pushing each other to reach in and snatch it out.

They dash to Greta, handing her the coin and greedily digging into the hot utidilla cake she hands them. Mia chuckles next to me before tugging me off to the next cart.

“So, what is going on with you and Ledger? Care to enlighten me?” Mia asks as she takes a bite of tender meat. We are sitting on a bench tucked away from the crowds.

“Nothing.” The answer is instant and makes Mia lift her eyebrow.

“I mean—he’s more than I could have ever imagined.

” My answer surprises me. “I’m scared, Mia.

That I am going to hurt him. I have my mother and Maddox back…

home.” The word feels foreign on my tongue.

“My feelings, what I want, what he wants, hardly matters when so much is at stake.”

Mia gives my hand a squeeze. “For what it’s worth, he’s different since you’ve been around, happier than I’ve ever seen him. And from what I can tell, you’re different too. ”

“Have your abilities ever reacted to someone?” I blurt, bouncing my knee.

“What do you mean?”

“Has your power ever intertwined with someone else’s or awakened at the sight of them, responded to them?”

Mia frowns at my question. “Not that I am aware of, but I think I’ve heard of power having recognition. Our abilities were passed down to us from the gods and have served many before us. It is part of our soul, and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility it can recognize another from a past life.”

I nod, lost in thought, and am grateful Mia doesn’t push further. I’m snapped out of my thoughts when a little boy approaches us. He stands in front of me, holding something small in his hands. “For you,” he says, and I raise my hand to accept.

“Thank yo—” The word dies on my tongue as I hold up a small rose folded from what looks to be the page of a book.

“Where did you get this?” I demand, but the boy is already skipping away. My heart pounds as my eyes scour the town square. It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

“Is everything okay?”

I’m standing now, my body tense, the rose clutched tightly in my palm. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to be in Westray, where he could be recognized, would he? My stomach somersaults.

“Sorry to cut the night short but we must be heading back. There is a curfew in place due to increased activity in the woods.” Orion approaches us and my brows furrow in response.

“What kind of increased activity?”

“There have been multiple sightings of Kerolu and Dire wolves near our borders. Highly unusual. I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about, but to be safe, the prince requested we escort you back.”

Fear skitters up my spine, rooting in the pit of my stomach as unease fills my body. I can’t seem to shake it as we make our way back to the castle.

I fidget with the paper flower, chewing the edge of my nail. I avoid Mia’s gaze as it flits from the flower to my face curiously.

“Are you alright, Layla?” she finally asks as we walk back to the castle.

“Yes, I’m fine.” The answer couldn’t be further from the truth, but I don’t know what else to say. “I’m rather tired, so I think I will call it a night.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, thank you for the lovely outing. I didn’t realize how much I’ve hungered for a friend like you. Truly.” I mean every word. It’s difficult to imagine a world without her, and my chest aches at the thought.

Mia’s arms wrap around me, and I return her embrace. “I feel much the same. Sleep well, Layla.” With that, she leaves me .

Sleep doesn’t come easy that night. I lay staring at the paper rose illuminated by the light of the moon. I toss and turn, my body restless, my mind alight with worry. I swear I hear a howl pierce the quiet of the night.

When I do find sleep, my dreams are plagued with visions of snapping teeth, razor-sharp claws, and agonized screams.