Page 39 of Shattered Crown

Thorne stepped closer, cupping his face gently. “You won’t.”

“You can’t promise that,” Silas snapped. “Not when you're walking into something we don’t even understand. And what happens if you collapse again and no one’s there to help you?”

“I have to go,” Thorne said, voice tight. “The forest is unraveling. If I don’t return, it won’t just be me that’s lost—it will be everything.”

Silas turned away, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Why does it always come down to this?” he whispered. “Why does love always mean letting go?”

There was a long silence between them, broken only by the rustle of leaves and the distant sound of waves.

Then Silas exhaled slowly, shakily. “If I ask you to stay, you will. Won’t you?”

“I would,” Thorne said. “Even if it meant the end of me.”

Silas closed his eyes. He could ask it. Could pull Thorne close, pretend the forest could heal without him, pretend duty wasn’t clawing them apart again. But he wouldn’t.

“I won’t ask,” he said at last, opening his eyes. “I love you too much for that.”

Thorne’s expression softened, pained and tender all at once. “Then let me go. Just for now.”

Silas hesitated for another beat. Then, finally, he nodded. “Go,” he said, though it broke him. “Your forest needs you more than I do right now.”

Thorne looked like he might argue, but Silas raised a hand.

“I’ll be fine,” he added, forcing strength into the lie. “Diana knows how the court works. Elena has spies in every shadow. Kai’s still recovering but you know he’ll find a way to cause chaos in our favor.”

Thorne didn’t smile. “The last time we separated…”

“I remember,” Silas said, his voice rough. “But that was different. Then we were torn apart. This time, we choose it. And we chooseus, no matter the distance.”

He touched the crystal that hung between them, still warm with shared magic. “We have this. We’ll always have this.”

They spent the remainder of the night preparing in silence. In the privacy of a small room, Thorne summoned what strength he had left to weave a living bracelet from strands of shadow and starlight. It wrapped around Silas’s wrist, pulsing gently in time with Thorne’s heartbeat.

“It will protect you,” Thorne murmured. “And hold our bond.”

Silas drew a blade from his belt and cut a lock of his hair. With steady hands, he pricked his finger and let a few drops of blood fall onto the strands, deepening their color.

“An anchor,” he said softly, pressing it into Thorne’s palm. “To remind you who you are. Who youstillare. Even if the forest tries to take all of you.”

They held each other through the slow hours before dawn, sleep an afterthought neither could afford. Thorne traced the curve of Silas’s cheek with aching reverence, as if trying to memorize the shape of love itself.

“Promise me,” Silas whispered. “Promise you’ll come back to me.”

“I promise,” Thorne breathed. “But only if you promise not to throw yourself at Sebastian like a righteous martyr.”

Silas gave a tired smile. “Fine. No heroics unless absolutely necessary.”

“Terrible deal,” Thorne said. “I was going to say the same.”

“I mean it, Thorne. No grand sacrifices, no burning yourself out to save everyone else.”

“I promise to try,” Thorne said, which was the best he could offer.

* * *

They gathered in silence,their faces pale with exhaustion and braced with purpose. Three teams. Three paths. Thorne with Briar and Eliar, returning to the Eldergrove. Silas and Diana staying to confront Sebastian’s coup. Elena and Kai leaving to chase whispers of a man called Nathaniel.

“We need a way to stay connected,” Elena said, rubbing her temples. “Something more reliable than messages or magic pigeons. If something goes wrong…”

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