Page 102 of Forsaken Secrets

"We gave him a map of the facility, as we remember it, for protection from Ellingsworth for both our families AND Solyn. He plans to follow up with us in a week, but if our map proves accurate … the Ellingsworths will be in BIG trouble."

"Fuck," he said, finally turning to face me. "You didn't have all the information! Why didn't you just wait for me?"

Irritation twisted in my chest. "Why didn't you talk to us?" I gestured towards Eli. "We asked you to tell us the plan, and you told us to stay put!"

He grimaced, and I pressed on. "Lynk — we aren't children to just do as we're told. We have brains and are fully capable adults."

His jaw tensed and he ground his teeth together.

"Can't you at least tell us what you did?" Eli asked from behind me. "Is it something we could help fix?"

Lynk shook his head. "You say you're adults, but you still do things without knowing the repercussions. Well," he gestured widely, "I hope you can live with the consequences. I fucking hope we all can." Then he strode off.

Eli and I stood there, quietly watching him disappear into the forest, muttering to himself.

"Were we wrong?" asked Eli.

I shook my head. "He didn't give us much choice."

"Kaiya."

Eli's voice was so soft, and I turned to face him, surprised to see his face completely serious. "Come away with me."

I grimaced and forced a laugh. "Funny joke, Eli."

He shook his head. "No. What if this is the best things are? We could leave now and I'll help you. I have connections …"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm sorry, Eli, but that's ridiculous. We've known each other for what … a few days? That's nowhere near long enough to know what we feel."

His face dropped, and he looked out at the ocean briefly, but he nodded. "Then let's pack up and get you home."

I bent and helped him pack the basket in awkward silence.

We put it in the carriage and then climbed up onto the seat.

I needed to fix this. He had been misguided, but I knew he'd just been trying to help. "I'm sorry, Eli. I know this wasn't what you wanted," I said, pressing my fingers into his arm.

He grimaced and shook his head. "No. I mean, it wasn't what I planned, but I enjoyed it more than I expected. I just — "

He urged the horses forward, and we moved towards our estate.

"I just wanted to clarify," he finally said as we turned the corner by the Ellingsworth's and pulled to a stop. "I — I was serious before." He turned to face me, mouth tight and eyes earnest. "I'd like to court you."

My heart lurched, and I pressed my hands into my skirts as he rushed to explain.

"There are things about me you don't know … things I can't tell you, yet. But I think there's something between us, or at least the possibility of it, and I'd like to see where it goes. I'm not going to try to convince you to run away with me, but I would like to spend more time with you when we aren't running for our lives or fighting people."

I looked at him, into his beautiful green eyes, and wished things were different. Would we have kids? A little cottage somewhere?

It sounded beautiful … and completely impossible.

I'd already seen how magic could tear a family apart, and I didn't want that for my own. No. It would be better to focus on the future for now. Besides, this fucked up heart of mine had feelings of some sort for the damn barbarian, too.

I couldn't just choose one of them, and there was no way to choose both. Family groups had stopped after bond mages disappeared with the Fall.

My chest ached as I tried to figure out how to explain all that, though.

Breath shallow, I reached for him. We may not have a life together, but surely we could enjoy being together right now? That almost-kiss tugged at my memory. If we could have more of that …

Just as my hand brushed his shoulder, though, he turned and looked at me, eyes soft. "You were right before. I don't want this until you're ready, Kaiya, and I don't think you're there yet. I just — I know it's fast, but I wanted you to know that it was real for me … that I take you seriously. You aren't just some crush."

I nodded, throat tight.

"Let's get you home, then," he said, voice back to its normal energy. "I wouldn't want this mysterious Sylvie to come after me!"

I smiled softly as he got the carriage moving again. "Thank you, Eli. For everything. Today has truly been one of the best days of my life."

His eyes lit up. "Hopefully it's just the first of many, many more."

---