Page 121 of Heart of the Summer Queen

Finally, they reached the gardens, which were so terribly overgrown they should instead be called a forest. Elaric’s pulse raced as he climbed the tiers leading to the pond.

When the headstones appeared before him, the relief which shuddered through him was so forceful it nearly drove him to his knees.

All stood upright, and while some edges had chipped, each inscription was still legible.

The grass was also more tamed here, with wildflowers providing some color to temper the gloom.

While it wasn’t the resting place his sister deserved, he was grateful it wasn’t the wreck he’d envisioned.

For a long while, they stood in solemn silence. Distant birdcalls rang through the trees as wind rippled through the grass surrounding his boots.

Though he’d longed to say farewell to Cerise and her family for so many years, right now he didn’t quite know what to say. Such eloquent sentiments didn’t flow naturally for him. Adara, on the other hand, likely would have fallen to her knees and unleashed every shred of heartache within.

He didn’t know if it was the lingering effects of his frozen curse or if he’d always been this way. Either way, he wished there was something he could say to Cerise, rather than staring numbly at her grave.

Adara offered him the bouquet, and gratitude swelled within as he accepted it. This gesture had been her idea entirely, and he was thankful to have an offering instead of mere silence.

Elaric laid the flowers on Cerise’s grave, placing a hand atop the cool stone.

When he closed his eyes, her face appeared amid the shadows.

If only he’d arrived sooner that day. If only she and her family had been spared.

Elaric was no fool. He knew that with his curse, he’d have been forced to say goodbye to her one day, but he wished more than anything that one of her children had survived to continue her line. He’d have treated every descendant as his own. What he would give for some trace of her to live on in this world.

Opening his eyes, he stared at the sky, at the clouds sailing through it.

For three hundred years, these regrets had tormented him, but he knew he could cling to them no longer. The past could not bechanged. He could only focus on the future Adara and him would share, and cherish every single moment.

Because the one thing he’d learned throughout these long years was that life was much too short, merely a fleeting candle. So easily and so quickly extinguished.

The graves before him now were tangible proof of that.

He released the stone and stepped back, though his attention didn’t leave the graves.

Cerise had never been one to wallow, and she’d have no patience were she here now. So instead, he thought of something which would have made her smile.

“What do you think of the name ‘Cerise?’”

He must have spoken softly, for it took Adara a moment to realize he addressed her.

Closing the distance between them, she gripped his hand tightly. “If we have a girl, we’ll call her Cerise.” The promise burned in her eyes.

The corners of his lips rose. “Do you hear that?” he said to the stone. “You had best hope we have a girl.”

Adara wrinkled her nose. “I hope so too. I’d hate to have only boys.”

With a chuckle, Elaric said, “My sister often bemoaned having three. Each pregnancy, she hoped the next would be a girl.”

“I wish I could have met her.”

“It’s for the best. The two of you would have proven a dangerous pair.”

Her eyes glinted. “I take it she didn’t dote on her baby brother then?”

“Not at all. She and Caltain took turns pulling the worst tricks on me.”

“What kinds of tricks?”

---