Page 49 of Reign of Light
“Captain knew?” Auralie asks. “How?”
I let out a deep sigh. “It’s a long story for another day, but yes, he knew.”
“Wow,” Stassia muses as she nods slowly. “So there was more to his grumpiness than just fighting feelings. Everything makes so much more sense now.”
I nod. “But that’s why I am probably the worst person to help you with a fire.”
“Move. I can do it.” Sig walks up from behind and nudges past me, squatting between the girls. “Not everyone here is an inexperienced princess.” She turns over her shoulder and shoots me a sly look before reaching out to shuffle some of the kindling. Auralie stares blankly at Sig as she grabs the flint from her hand. Sparks fly with the first strike, and Sig crouches lower, blowing gently toward the base, and coaxing the flame to life before sitting back on her heels with a satisfied grin on her face.
“Wha—” Stass gapes as she looks between us. “What the hell is going on, and why is everyone keeping secrets?”
Sig laughs loudly and stands, her hands on her hips as she watches her work literally burst into flames and engulf the gigantic pile of wood. “There’s no point in secrets anymore,” she says. “It’s not like we can go back to our kingdoms. There’s no such thing as princesses for us.”
“Tell that to Weston,” I grumble, and Sig huffs a laugh.
“I need time to process this,” Stass says, rubbing her temples as Auralie pushes to her feet, swiping the sand off her clothes.
“Well, while you process, I’m starving. I need food to focus. Let’s eat.”
Trays of food now cover the crate tables, and the suns have finally dropped below the horizon. We pile plates high and find an empty blanket, sitting to eat and watch the freedom and happiness around us. Fin pulls Weston into some sort of game, and Jorn is trying to convince everyone, including us, to get in the water despite the quickly cooling breeze.
About an hour after sunset, movement near the portal catches my eye, and it’s as if the air is sucked out of all of us. Silence falls over the group and everyone stills, turning to watch Gauge step away from the rock face. All eyes are on him as he shuffles to the sand, the same dejected look on his face as was on Taril’s; the one I know we all had.
He wasn’t worthy.
My stomach sinks. Is this only the beginning of the torment, where we find out repeatedly for the rest of the night that none of us are worthy? And if so, is it actually the best outcome since we no longer have the choice to return home?
A broad frame crossing the beach pulls my gaze, and I watch Weston approach Gauge, clapping him on the shoulder and saying something none of us can hear over the crackle of the fire and the crash of the waves. Gauge nods solemnly, then mimics Weston’s gesture, before they both release and walk back toward the surf.
The tension of the moment bursts, and no one needs confirmation of what they already knew was coming before returning to their evening, continuing the conversations that were abruptly cut off, and the games that paused. It’s only a matter of time now before the rest of the Voyagers trickle from the mountain. I can’t seem to focus on the conversation, and instead look over at the portal every few moments.
“Hey,” Sig says, bumping my shoulder with hers. She must have noticed my inattentiveness or felt my anxiety. “It’ll be fine. It’s the same thing we’ve dealt with every time before.”
I let out a deep sigh. “I know. I just can’t help but have hope that at leastoneof us would be told yes. Even though I’d be heartbroken that they couldn’t bring it home, I really want to know that at least one of us was deemed to have the purest intentions. I don’t know why the island doesn’t see that.”
Her shoulders rise and fall as her chin settles on one of them, looking toward me. “I don’t think we’ll ever know. But we can’t let it bother us for eternity. At some point we’re going to have to accept our fate.”
“Weston doesn’t want to give up,” I murmur. “I don’t know if he ever will.”
“Cap…” She pauses as she collects her thoughts. “He’s always been adamant about holding onto hope. He didn’t want to give up and have the promise of real life taken away from any of us. But I can imagine…” Her voice trails off as she chews on the inside of her cheek.
“What, Sig?”
Her chest heaves with a sigh. “I don’t want to upset you.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Just say it.”
“Fine. But don’t be mad at me, alright?”
“Promise.”
“Cap always wanted to find a way home, but it was never about himself. Everything he did was for all of us. I don’t think he saw much of a future for himself, especially after all this time. If we ever returned home, everyone he knew would have moved on. We had no way of knowing how much time had passed, and we didn’t know if anyone we knew would even be alive. But things changed. He changed. I watched it happen. I think that maybe there was more to his decision to keep looking than just to get his princess back to her kingdom.”
Tears prick at my eyes, but I hold her gaze, even as the image of his face as he watched Fin hold my hand flashes before me. Is Sig implying Weston wanted a future with me? That he didn’t want to give up in the end, because he saw more?
I shake my head. “He kept saying we couldn’t be together because of who we were back home. He wouldn’t try harder to get back if he wanted more.”
“I know that man very well. He doesn’t talk a lot, but when he does, it isn’t necessarily what he truly thinks. Or wants. Sometimes, he says things because he’s trying to convince himself.”
