Page 88 of The Silent Mountain
Light and Darkness
*FAVIAN*
“Thereisalwayslight,”Stefan said.
The news that Alana and I officially marked and claimed each other spreads like wildfire in the clan, and despite everyone still mourning Barbara and fearing for Ludwig’s life, I can also feel how hope returns to them.
We have just bid goodbye to Barbara, and the warrior we have lost, officially in our ceremony, burning their bodies in the process and mourning them with the whole clan.
A ray of hope is definitely what the clan needs now.
“Favian?”
I look up to see my brother. “Elio, is something wrong?”
“No,” he pauses. “I know it’s not the right timing.”
“You can always come to me with any problem,” I reassure him.
“It’s not a problem either,” Elio sighs. “I just…“ He reaches for something in his pocket and pulls out a small box. “I made this a while ago. For you and Alana. I wanted to give it to you when you had marked each other.”
I get up and walk to him, reaching out my hand. Elio looks happy at my gesture, placing the box in my hand. Once open, I see there are two beautifully crafted pieces of jewelry. One pin and one brooch. Each of them is carrying a polished white moonstone, and is set into an intricate pattern of little stars that I assume symbolize snowflakes. “This is beautiful, Elio! Did you do this yourself?”
“Yes, while I was on the run, I collected stones, and Maggie taught me about them. I learned how to polish them and how to turn them into jewelry,” he pauses. “I know it might not be a suitable hobby for a prince.”
“I don’t care about that,” I tell him, sincerely impressed by his talent. “It’s beautiful, and you put a lot of heart into it, and definitely also a lot of skill!”
“You like it?”
“I love it,” I tell him. “And I am sure Alana will too.”
“I am happy she is your mate and that she is with us,” he says. “I think she will be the best queen we could have had.”
“I agree,” I say with a smile.
“What I like the most about her is that she makes you happy,” Elio adds. “I like seeing you with her.”
I take a moment for his words to sink in, and it breaks my heart a little to realize how it must have felt for him to save my life, yet have to see me so detached. “I was a pretty bad brother, huh?”
“Not at all,” he exclaims. “You were always amazing. But sometimes, it felt like you weren’t fully here.”
“It was hard coming back,” I tell him honestly. “I spent all those years fighting to stay alive and not to succumb to captivity, but once it happened, and I was back, everything felt exhausting.”
“And now?” Elio wants to know. “Do you feel it’s worth being here?”
“I have always felt it’s worth being here,” I assure him. “It just took a while for the chains to disappear fully. Even if I hadn’t met Alana, I would have stayed. You and the clan were always worth it. But I admit that she made things so much easier for me. It’s like she returned something to me that I didn’t know I had lost. And now I have you, I have Alana, the clan, and I have Stefan, as annoying as he is.”
At my last words, Elio giggles. “He really is annoying sometimes. But I think he really likes you.”
I don’t have time to reply to him, as the door gets ripped open unceremoniously, which is quite rare and instantly raises my suspicions that something is off… again. Indeed, Theodor storms inside. “My king!” he yells.
I instinctively put my hand on Elio’s shoulder and push him back, in case we get attacked. “What happened!?”
Theodor halts, taking a few breaths. “I… I… you will think I am crazy. Maybe I am crazy.” His eyes are wide open, his lips quivering. He is rambling something inaudible.
“Elio,” I say. “Go, alert Erin and Cassie, and Alana and Stefan, also. Something is off with Theodor.”
I don’t need to look at my brother to notice the deep worry. Theodor is his only remaining friend from his life before we freed the clan. He’s already lost Maggie, and now something seems to be happening to Theodor as well. Elio keeps it together, though, and just nods before dashing out of the door. His resolution makes me proud. Instead of panicking, he goes into action and tries to keep a cool head.
