Page 70 of Between Despair and Hope

“No,” I answered, shaking my head. What was there to tell? “I’ll be fine; I just need to move past it.”

Dewalt spoke quietly, a grim look on his face. “And in the meantime?”

“What about it?”

“In the meantime, Emma suffers alone.Yousuffer alone.”

“Us suffering is better than me gods damn killing her.”

“Like I said before, she’s the Beloved, you couldn’t kill her—”

“She let me choke her! She wouldn’t use her divinity against me. Being the Beloved doesn’t mean shit if she won’t use it, or if I overpower her. I could snatch her fucking air before she even woke up. We’re lucky I didn’t do worse!”

He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “Fine, don’t sleep in the same room as her, but don’t shut her out. She needs you to comfort her.”

“You seem to have that covered.” I couldn’t keep the bite out of my voice, and I rubbed my hands over my face in frustration.

“You can’t be serious.”

Dewalt’s mouth was parted as he stared at me. I couldn’t wipe the scowl off my face fast enough, unable to play it off as a joke.

“Shit, you are serious. Hanwen’s taint. Are you—”

We heard the rift at the same time, closer to the cliff, and I watched the shimmer of it as Emma appeared in front of us, taking a step through. She jolted to a stop, surprise on her face, as her perfect mouth formed a perfect circle.

“Sorry, I—I just came to check on…” She trailed off as she jumped out of the way so the wrestling dragons didn’t bowl over her. It appeared one of their dirt balls had sailed off the cliff into the water below, and they hadn’t bothered to get it. Instead, they opted to fight over one of the remaining ones. Ryo dropped his and charged over to Emma, and Ifash immediately pounced on the discarded ball.

Emma’s face lit up with a smile as Ryo approached her, instantly nuzzling into her outstretched hand.

Gods, she was radiant.

The sun shone on her golden-brown hair, brushed now, and she had some pink to her cheeks she hadn’t had before. She wore a loose grey button-down, with black breeches much too long for her—she had cuffed them at the ankle, but the material was too bulky to fit in her boots. Her cloak was the thick, black one she’d worn during our trek through the mountains a few months prior. I couldn’t believe it had been that long.

“Hello, little one. Did you miss me?” Her eyes lit up as she gently petted the dragon, and he gave a great sigh before sinking to his haunches. Yvi, who had been lying contentedly between Dewalt and I, enjoying the warmth, ran over to introduce herself. Emma laughed, and I felt delight flutter down the bond, like the wings of a butterfly. I swore the clouds in my mind parted, the hateful memories gone, the fear of what I stood to lose abated. Smiling, her eyes met mine for just a moment, and I realized she probably sensed that small fraction of peace and happiness. I felt her wariness, probably annoyed with me for those mad thoughts of jealousy, but she smiled all the same.

She strode purposefully toward us, and I couldn’t help it when my stomach clenched, wishing I could see her collarbone. I wasn’t sure what she felt from me, but stopped dead in her tracks, quickly averting her eyes from me to the cat already winding its way through her legs.

“Who is this?” she asked, voice soft.

“That,” Dewalt laughed, breaking me free from my internal struggle, “is Rainier’s attempt at a dragon.”

She snorted before glancing up at me, the laughter stilling on her features when she realized he was serious. “What, really?”

I nodded, grimly. “I suppose it makes sense for you to form the terrifying creatures of myth—it’s the least the gods could do.”

She smiled sadly as she reached down to scratch the cat behind its ears and run a hand down its back. The feline arched in delight, tail standing straight up. “Well, did you name her?”

The mischievous smile on her face made me feel something entirely too dangerous for me to even consider.

“Yvi. I named that one too,” I said, nodding toward the beast watching her in adoration. “His name is Ryo now.”

She squinted at me in thought. “Why do I recognize that?”

“The Discovered Dragon.” I smiled at her, knowing what it would mean to her. I felt her emotions before she let it show on her face—hopeful joy mixed with sorrow.

“Elora’s book.”

Dewalt stood and brushed off the back of his pants. “I’m going to head back.”

---