Page 87 of Restored

“I will not stand here and watch you two kill each other.” I look at both of them.

Guards wearing the signature silver of Bellehaven start to descend from the woods. My brows furrow as I look at Maddox.

“Stand down,” he orders them. “You have to come with me, Lay. It’s your mother. My father has had her in the dungeons for days. She isn’t doing well.” My heart falters, and I lose control of my power. It recedes sluggishly back into me.

“What?” My voice is breathy as I sink to my knees in front of Maddox.

“I’m sorry, Lay. I tried to get her out of the castle, but she wouldn’t leave. She will barely eat; she just lays there chanting your name repeatedly.”

“My name?” My stomach flips as he nods. I look over at Ledger, who is wearing a pained expression. Like he already knows what I am going to say.

“Layla don’t do this,” Ledger begs.

“What choice do I have, Ledger? He has my mother.” I stand to face him.

“I’ll go with you; we’ll figure it out.” He steps toward me, and the guards draw their weapons. I can feel the faint hum of their powers as they prepare. Maddox’s face twists in confusion.

I huff out a humorless laugh. “Sandor could take you as a prisoner, or worse, kill you for what you have done.”

“I will send?—”

“Stop, Ledger.” I silence him with my raised hand. “I must go to her. I have to get back to Bellehaven. I won’t give King Sandor a reason to hurt her or the opportunity to shed more innocent blood over me. Please, just let me go,” I plead with him, my voice cracking in time with something in my chest.

The tortured look on his face is almost enough to break me. I’ve let myself indulge in the dream that I could live this life and be someone else for too long.

The reality is that I am tethered to Bellehaven, destined to live my days serving and obeying. The incapacitating ache that blooms in my chest makes me long for a time when I was blissfully ignorant and unfeeling.

“Get me out of here,” I whisper to Maddox, my voice cracking. The world blurs, and for a moment, I’m torn between two lives: the freedom I’ve tasted in Westray and the duty that’s always defined me in Bellehaven. The man who has always been my safety and the man who turned my life upside down.

My mother’s face flashes in my mind. Holt’s unblinking stare, and I know I have no choice.

“No, no, no.” Ledger’s anguished voice cuts through my haze. A vine, an extension of his desperation, wraps around my ankle almost painfully as we turn. Maddox hacks at it, and it falls away limply, like my dreams of a different life.

I force myself to look forward, each step away from Ledger feeling like a betrayal—of him, of myself, of theperson I’d started to become. But I keep moving because that is what I’ve always done, what I’ll always do for the people I love.

The guards descend as Ledger attempts to pursue us. He draws his sword, unleashing himself on the guards around him.

“Layla!” Each scream of my name makes something in my chest throb. My nails scratch at the skin there, needing relief from the pain. My power pulses unhappily under my skin and my legs strain against my command to keep walking away.

Ledger spins, his power lashing out, his sword singing through the air and into flesh. His movements are strong and skilled, but his face is desperate as his eyes flicker to me.

He slashes down guard after guard until I can no longer bear to watch. Maddox pulls me through the woods at a pace so brisk I struggle to keep up.

“Almost there, Lay.” He throws me on his horse, and I give Ledger one last look before I force my eyes forward. No part of mewantsto leave this place, to leave him.

The horse races through the woods, the trees blurring around us. Maddox holds me tightly to him. “I got you,” he murmurs into my ear.

I swallow the sob that works its way up my throat and cling to Maddox’s arm. The further I get from Westray, from Ledger, the harder it is for me to breathe. We ride higher and higher until we get to a tall peak.

Maddox takes me with him when he dismounts and sets me on a tree stump. He kneels and I wrap my arms around his neck, clinging to him as tears cascade down my cheeks.

His arm comes around my waist while his fingers stroke my hair. “I’ve missed you, Lay.” I clutch him tighter, breathing in his recognizable scent.Gods, I’d missed him so much.

“You’re alright,” he murmurs. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.” I release him and blink my eyes against the sudden onslaught of emotion. I wasn’t alright, was far from it.

“He can’t hurt you anymore. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out sooner.” A sob ratchets my body and Maddox frowns as his thumb brushes away a stray tear.

His warm hand wraps around mine. I didn’t realize I’d been scratching at my chest. His eyes linger on the necklace lying just below my collar bones. His brows draw together as his eyes flicker from my face to the beautiful piece.

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