Page 108 of Hand-Fasting and Other Hazards
Thane shook his head, no longer watching his dog. “This is your home.”
“No. Stella Rune is my home. Nia is my home. And I need to get back to them.”
“Look, I’m sorry about our mother,” Thane’s expression tightened, his stance bracing for a fight. “And I can never make right what Drusilla did?—”
“Thane, stop.” Lochlan turned to face him. “You never have to account for or make up for what either of them did. You saved my life—goddess, take more credit for the things you do.” He took a steadying breath. “But this isn’t about them. It’s about me, and Nia, and the world we live in, and… so much more. I will be what I can for you. And for the kingdom, if it comes to it. But Nia, the people like us in Stella Rune, in the home I’ve found and built, they have to come first for me.”
Thane searched Lochlan’s face, his jaw tight. Then he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t get it. But I get it.” A pause. “There’s a convening in a little over a week with leaders of the government and representatives of the opposition. If we work together, I think we can turn the tide—come to a compromise that still preserves the legacy our forebearers built, and push back against those trying to end our rule.”
Lochlan hesitated. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Lochlan?” Thane’s voice was soft. “I don’t want you to leave. I… I feel alone in this fight.”
Lochlan pulled his brother into a hug, tight and too short, before stepping back. “I will always be your brother. But this isn’t where I belong, Thane. And I think we both know it.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and strode out, his steps steady as he descended the staircase. This—returning to Nia, to Stella Rune, to the diaries that might help guide his path—was the only thing that felt right.
The only pain he felt was for Thane.
CHAPTER 35
Nia
“THE UNWANTED HEIR SPOTTED FLEEING THE CASTLE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?” —THE DOVER CENTENNIAL
Nia had been pacing for ten minutes, Lochlan’s note crumpled from how tightly she’d gripped it. Her bare feet made soft sounds against the hardwood floor as she moved in relentless circles. Jade’s bright eyes followed her from the couch, the dog’s head tilted in quiet curiosity.
Three days. That’s how long it had been since he’d left, and she had hated every second of it—more than she’d thought possible.
And now this: a note, cryptic and devoid of the details she craved.
I’m coming back.
“I don’t even know if this is good or bad!” Nia muttered, her frustration bubbling to the surface. She waved the note at Jade as if the dog might provide answers. Jade’s ears perked, but she remained lounged on the couch.
Nia sighed and raked a hand through her hair, then grabbed her phone to check the train station schedule again. She’d already memorized it, but still, she scanned the screen. He was either arriving soon or at midnight. There was no way to know for sure.
Lochlan hadn’t texted her back and she hated that, too—the way her chest tightened every time she glanced at her phone, the way her thumb hovered over the screen, waiting for a response that didn’t come.
It wasn’t like her to be like this, tethered to someone else’s timeline or absence. She was strong. Independent. She’d spent years building herself into the kind of woman who didn’t need anyone. Sure, maybe she had a dependency on food delivery services. And, yes, she’d grown to like having Lochlan around, with his quietly steady presence that made the house feel full, that made her old life feel lonely.
But she wasn’t going to just sit here waiting and worrying.
Jade let out a low whine, as if sensing her spiraling thoughts. “I know, I know,” Nia murmured, stopping long enough to scratch the dog behind her ears. “But I can’t mope here like some kind of lovesick fool hovering over my phone.”
Even as the words left her mouth, she wasn’t sure she believed them. She did want to be there when he got home. She wanted to see him walk through the door. She wanted to know if he was okay after whatever he’d faced in Dover.
She wanted to know if they—if she and Lochlan—were okay.
Her chest tightened again. If she stayed, she’d drive herself mad overthinking, rehearsing conversations that might never happen. She needed a distraction.
She shot off a quick text:
Me
Heading out for a bit. If you’re home before I’m back, find me at Salt.
Then, just in case, she grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote a short note and the address, leaving it on the counter where he’d be sure to see it. Satisfied—or pretending to be—Nia snatched her leather jacket from the hook near the door and pulled on her boots. She turned to Jade, who was watching her with big, soulful eyes.
