Chapter 15
The shadow of the sword had long passed the promised mark
Kestrel’s men grew restless.
“My lord! She must’ve run off with that general!”
“Exactly! She lied to you! What if she stole our secrets too?!”
“A thousand men, and I’ll return with their heads on pikes!”
“Silence!”
Kestrel’s voice cut through the panic like a blade.
His eyes–those cold, wild eyes–were locked on the sword’s shadow.
He had a terrible feeling.
But he didn’t want to lift a hand against her again
So be it”
He gripped the hilt, about to draw–when the sound of hooves broke through the silence.
“Kestrel!”
My voice tore through the waste wind.
He looked up eyes wide–and rushed forward without thinking
I dismounted, landing straight in his arms.
He didn’t hesitate. His mouth crashed into mine, desperate and shaken.
“You came back…”
H
His arms trembled around me.
Hard to believe this was the same man who once rode through battle for three days straight in full armor–yet here he was, shaking just from holding me.
I couldn’t help teasing him
“Your strength’s failing, my lord?”
His lips curled in a knowing smirk
That night, I barely had time to breathe, let alone tease him again.
“I was wrong! You’re the strongest! The most vigorous!”
Not until dawn did he finally relent, pressing breathless kisses into my hair.
“I want to spend this life with you, and only you.
I laughed. “Since when did you become so poetic?”
He smiled against my temple. “Do you like it?”
Itouched his face gently. “Very much.”
Kestrel never broke his word. He never took another wife.
By the customs of his people, the widows of his father and brothers were his to claim.
Chuder 15
Yet he granted them gold and their freedom instead.
Even on his eightieth birthday, when he passed quietly in his sleep, I was the only one by his side.
He never again set foot on Aurelia.
In his final moments, his withered hand clung to mine. He smiled faintly,
“Lysandra. I was lucky to have met you in this life.”
“If there’s another… I hope we meet sooner.”
I stayed with him until the very end.
In this foreign land, the last soul I cared for was gone.
Now only I remained, clinging to the longbow he’d taught me to
wield years ago, its grip worn smooth by memory and frost.
Through the howling winds that scoured the frozen wastes, a silver–haired rider emerged.
Garrick hadn’t changed much.
Just a few more lines on his face, a quiet sorrow in his
eyes.
He knelt before me.
“Commander Garrick Aveline, here to bring Her Highness home.”
I brought Kestrel’s bow with me.
After fifty years beyond the border… it was time to go back
I died on my homeland.
Garrick prver married:
After arranging my funeral, he didn’t linger long. Not longer after… he followed me.
