Page 79 of Reign of Light
He lets out a sad chuckle. “You better not. Keep the captain in check for me, alright? He needs to smile every so often.”
I laugh into Jorn’s stomach. The sound is muffled, but I can hear Sig’s soft giggle too.
“I’ll do my best.” I step away, and he winks down at me.
“If all else fails, just find some way to make him jealous.”
I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips. “Apparently you’re lucky you still have arms after all of that.”
Jorn barks a laugh, his head falling back before he looks back at me, grinning. “Desperate times. He needed a push.”
“Thank you, Jorn. For everything.”
“No need to thank me, little Lennox. We take care of each other.” He ruffles my hair and then drapes his arm around Sig’s shoulder.
“Cap awake yet?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“He wasn’t when I got up. I’ve been out here for a while though.”
I barely finish my sentence when I hear his boots on the stairs. The three of us turn toward him, and a lump forms in my throat, threatening to choke me.
It’s not Weston, the captain I’ve come to know and love, stepping out onto the deck for the final time.
It’s Weston, the First Guard.
Gone are the loose shirt and leather vest, replaced by the thick, form-fitting fabrics of the guard uniform as his heavy cloak billows behind him in the breeze. The hilt of his sword sparkles at his side, securely sheathed in the belt he took back from me, because he needs it. I don’t. Light glints off his ring, the flat face now turned to the proper position with the seal of Blackwood prominent and visible.
His eyes hold mine as he slowly crosses the deck, and I have to remind myself to breathe. The moment he reaches us, he presses a kiss to the top of my hair, and it’s clear he understands the internal struggle in my mind, equating the man I know with this new one that stands before me.
“Everyone ready?” he grumbles as he turns to face Sig and Jorn, his head swiveling between them.
Sig’s brows rise and meet in the middle as her face crumbles, but she presses a hand to her mouth, and nods silently.
Jorn doesn’t hesitate and closes the distance between him and Weston, each of them wrapping the other in a firm hug.
“Til we meet again, brother,” Jorn says, and Weston pats him on the back.
“Won’t be soon enough,” Weston says right before they step apart. Weston’s jaw works, and my heart breaks. All the goodbyes yesterday were hard on him, but Sig has been there from the beginning, and Jorn has been like a true brother. The weight of this goodbye can’t be lighter than all the rest combined.
Sig moves to me then, and we both burst into tears. Her arms crush me, and I crush her back, our sobs out of sync and loud as we cling to each other. I try to control my breathing, try to stop the stuttering sounds that escape me at the thought of no longer seeing my friend every day, and she only squeezes me tighter.
“Look after him, alright?” She mumbles so that only I can hear. “He’ll never admit it, but he needs you just as much as we all needed him. Don’t let him hide everything away. Fight him if you need to.” I nod into her, and she pulls back, her arms resting on my shoulders until she can look me in the eye.
“And you, don’t forget to live. Don’t waste this second chance we were given. Grab hold of it, and make it everything you’ve always dreamed of.”
“I could say the same to you.” Steady streams of tears fall down my cheeks, forcing me to blink them away to see her clearly again. I clear my throat and sniffle as my chest hollows out. I can’t leave without her knowing how much she meant to me, because despite her urging, and my plans to do exactly what she insisted, I don’t know how soon those things will happen, how soon I could ever see any of them again. I don’t want to walk away from her without her knowing what she means to me.
“Thank you for everything, Sig. For listening to me, for being there for me even when I lied and pushed you away, for fighting for me and believing in me. I finally know what true friendship feels like, and if I never have another again, at least I had you. I wouldn’t have made it through any of this without you.”
Her lip quivers as her hands slide down my arms until they clasp my fingers tight. I squeeze back, then let her go, because as hard as that moment was, I know I’m not the one she needs to let go of the most.
“Signee,” Weston says softly.
Hesitantly, she turns to him, the tears in her eyes welling again before she throws herself at him. She digs her face into his chest, her harsh cries still audible despite how smothered she is into him, and he wraps his arms around her shoulders, holding her gently. Weston doesn’t move, letting her cry in his arms the same way he lets me, and after a few moments, he leans down, and says something in her ear, quiet enough that neither Jorn nor I can hear. His words only make hercry harder, her sobs echoing around us until she leans back and punches him in the arm, before turning away and running her palm across her face. He smiles softly, but I can still see the sadness in his eyes as he pulls the pouch from his belt.
“Don’t be a stranger,” I say, smiling through my now quiet tears.
“Do you really think either of you could get rid of me?” Sig says with a sniff. “Maybe you’ll finally leave that castle and come visit.”
