Page 135 of Reign of Light
Turning away, my eyes fall on the fountain again. This piece of stone has brought me so much misery yet so much happiness, and now my journey with it has come to an end. Edmond will be there, for whoever finds it that needs it in the future, and I know without a doubt that their experience will be more fruitful than ours.
“I tried,” I whisper. Whether it is to the island, or to my mother, I’m unsure. I stare fixated on the water cascading down before me, so much like the waterfall that hid the island’s secrets. Reaching out, I run my fingers through it, wanting to commit those moments to memory one final time.
Mouth falling open, my eyes widen, and a gasp rips from my throat as I take in the sight before me.
It’s glowing. My hand cuts a break in the water’s flow, and everywhere it touches my skin glows gold, the same as it had when my tears fell into it almost two years ago.
I yank my hand from the stream and reach out to grab Weston, yanking him closer to the fountain.
“Weston, look!”
Extending my hand, my fingertips disappear under the stream of water, and it happens again. The glowing water cascades off my skin, down into the pool below before fading once more.
“Does yours too?” I ask and tug his hand toward the stream, immersing it in the water beside mine. My eyes widen and my stomach tumbles as I watch the water around his hand glow, the same as mine.
“Why is it doing that?” I ask, looking around to see if there are any other changes, anything that could tell us what this means and why it is so different from before.
“I should have known that you two would be the first to call me.”
We both whip around to find Edmond, cloaked in a robe similar to the one Dane wore when he was called. He stands behind us, hands clasped in front of him, with a soft smile on his face as he waits for our response.
“Pop,” Weston breathes, and Edmond smiles wider. “That worked? The magic called you?”
“It did. I felt the pull, and here I am.”
“But we didn’t shed tears,” I say. “How did we call you without them?”
Edmond barely shrugs. “Maybe the magic recognizes it already allowed you to the island once before, and you left empty-handed.”
“It’s giving us a second chance?” Hope bursts through my chest, and I look up at Weston as a grin tugs at my lips. I squeeze his arm, and he looks down at me with a smile, but my excitement falters. There’s something more behind his eyes, and I can’t figure it out, something I feel like he isn’t telling me. I hold his gaze, searching his eyes, but he looks down at where my hand is wrapped around his arm, and instead reaches over and clasps our hands together.
“It would seem so,” Edmond says, his eyes bouncing between us. “Are you ready to return?”
“Yes,” Weston says, taking long strides toward his father and pulling me alongside him. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and gives Edmond a firm nod.
Edmond places his hand gently on my back, and I watch as his other hand reaches into the loosely open pouch that dangles from his belt. The glowing, fragrant dust that caused us so much trouble pools in his palm, and I squeeze my eyes shut, turning to sink my face into Weston’s chest as I feel the magic of Dawnlin wash over us.
CHAPTER FORTY
Heat and moisture in the air surround me, and I know instantly that we are back in Dawnlin. Before I can even open my eyes, I feel Weston’s hands at the clasp of my cloak, his deft fingers undoing it and pulling it from my shoulders in anticipation of the change in weather. He tosses it to the ground on the side of the plateau before pulling his off and tossing it away as well. We didn’t dress for Dawnlin. The cold in Blackwood wouldn’t have allowed it, and it would have made it too suspicious as we tried to sneak past the guards, but the moment his garment hits the floor, excitement courses through me again.
“Are you both alright?” Edmond asks as he takes a step back, pulling off his cloak and draping it over his arm.
“I’m alright.” I finally take a moment to catch my breath, though my body hasn’t yet forgotten how long I spent here, and it isn’t difficult like it was the first time. I glance around at the same view that enraptured me before and note the oddly uneasy feeling in my stomach. It was meredays ago that we were trying so hard to leave, and I’m already back in a place I thought would be my home forever.
Not for long.
Weston stays quiet beside me, and I look up, squinting into the bright rays of the suns, trying to see if there’s something stopping him from answering his father.
“Are you all right?” I ask quietly. My eyes catch on the tick of a muscle in his jaw before he nods, looking down at the ground between us.
“Yes.”
I barely can get a sound out to ask something more, to figure out why he’s behaving so oddly…or more like he used to, but Edmond interjects.
“Then let us head to the mountain. I am sure you both know the way.” Edmond gestures down the pathway with a smile, and Weston’s hand settles firmly in the small of my back. He leads me down the path, and I struggle to keep up with his brisk pace. I sneak glances at him as we walk, trying to catch any sort of clue or expression that could give me insight as to what is going on in his mind.
Something doesn’t feel right. He’s quiet and tense, but it’s not just him that feels different. The island does too, and I can’t figure out why. Maybe it is because of the new Guardian, this being the first time he has stepped foot on the island since the magic claimed him. Or maybe this is how it was supposed to feel, before the magic was cheated.
