Page 43 of Song of the Heart Scale
For the first few minutes, no one spoke.
Cat sat across from me with her legs crossed and her bruises catching the light that filtered through the curtained windows.She didn’t hide them. Never had. But I saw the way her fingers restlessly drummed against the seat.
“Where are we going?” she finally asked.
“Uncle Bai’s estate in the Northern District.”
She tilted her head. “Not Obsidian Reach?”
I briefly looked out the window before answering. “I told myself the moment my exile ended, I’d never set foot on that island again. It’s not a home—it’s a prison that forgot it was a cage.”
She slowly nodded as if weighing the truth of my statement. “So… fresh start?”
“Something like that.”
“Uncle Bai won’t mind us crashing his party?”
“He’s already made up the guest rooms. He’s been trying to get me to stay there since I returned.”
Cat leaned back, one brow arching with something that looked suspiciously like a smile. “So he’s the pushy type.”
“He’s the only family I have,” I said. “He’s earned the right to meddle.”
Quiet fell between us again, but this time it was lighter.
Then her fingers brushed mine, tentative at first. I turned my hand palm-up and she settled hers into it.
Neither of us said a word.
We held hands the rest of the ride.
The district along the refined streets of the Northern District peeled past the window. The houses here were larger, built of pale stone with flowering balconies and colorful mosaic paths. It smelled of citrus and roses.
By the time the carriage turned onto the long, tree-lined road leading to Uncle Bai’s estate, the sun was easing to dusk.
The house—if it could be given such a modest name as that—was carved into the hillside. It sprawled out in graceful curves of white stone, with columns wrapped in ivy and terracesbrimming with blue flowers. A shallow stream trickled through the front gardens, winding around polished statues of dragons and phoenixes poised in mid-flight. The air buzzed with the hum of bees and the scent of lavender.
When we pulled up, Uncle Bai was waiting at the base of the stairs.
He stood tall in his travel robes. His hands were clasped behind his back and his salt and pepper hair was bound into a neat knot. His eyes narrowed the moment he saw Cat’s face and I watched the temperature of his expression plummet.
“Lord Zacharia?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Thorne.”
Cat offered a wry smile and repeated the joke she’d tried earlier with Zacharia. “You should see the other guy.”
Uncle Bai’s jaw tightened. “I’m not laughing.”
“She is,” I said. “Which means she’s fine.”
“She looks like she got in a brawl with a wildling berserker.”
I shook my head. “She gave as good as she got.”
Uncle Bai turned to Maeve and offered a courteous nod. “You must be Maeve.”
She bowed politely. “Yes, Your Highness.”
