Page 143 of The Arrow and the Alder

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Oh, no.”

Seph sat up straight and folded her legs before her.

“Oh,no,” Alder said again.

Seph grinned. “It’s nothing serious. I just thought that…well, I’ve been thinking about when we return to Asra Domm?—”

“Why on earth?”

“Because we will return eventually?—”

“Yes, but can we not think about that right now?”

“It’s not as though I’ve been thinking about it all day and night.”

Something feral lit his eyes. “I should hope not.”

Seph cleared her throat. “I got the idea while we were on our way here, and it’s been nagging at me”—at this, Alder raised a challenging brow—“occasionally,” Seph added with emphasis, and Alder smirked. “Anyway, I thought that we should consider providing aid for those who wish to return to their homes. Both those who suffered as depraved and those of Light who still want to make a life in that land. We should contact the other courts too because you know…some of those depraved are from the other courts, and I think it would be helpful to send them with some of Weald’s resources as well. Call it a gesture of unity.”

Alder was silent.

“Think about it, Alder.” Seph leaned forward. “It would be a very practical way to build trust with the other courts, with all of us working toward a common goal. And since the Court of Light is gone, creating an equal balance of power between the remaining courts…well, I see it as a new path forward for Canna. And for mortal kind. We are no longer a people who take, but one whogives.”

Alder eyed her a long while, and then he laughed. “‘Nothing serious,’ she says.”

“It really isn’t,” Seph persisted. “You’ve already been so generous with the people of Light and the depraved?—”

“We,” he corrected, touching her chin and lifting it so slightly.

“Well, yes, but anyway, they have everything they could want here, but Weald is not their home. And as for the people of Light, I would love to rebuild—not as another power, mind you, but itistheir land, Alder, and they miss it. I see it in Rian’s eyes, and I daresay my grandfather would love to finish out his days in the land he was from.”

With the curse gone, the Court of Light was no more, but the land itself still existed, though left to ruin. Seph and Alder had given Light’s fugitives a place amongst Weald, but it was not home for them.

It was nottheirs.

Alder studied her. A small crease formed between his brows, and he said, carefully, “Where does that leave you?”

Suddenly, Seph understood his reaction. “Oh…I wasn’t thinking aboutme. I just thought we could help.”

He looked settled. Somewhat. “And who would govern them?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps my grandfather could advise in that regard, and I think Linnea might prefer it if he did. It would give her a place to go—with family—but without me always bossing her around.”

Seph’s family had come back with them to Canna, though Mama and Papa and Levi had gone on to tour the land. Nora had asked to remain in Weald, and of course Seph had wholeheartedly agreed. Nora had shown a penchant for tending to plants and flowers, and the Weald air did wonders for her lungs. She’d also developed a sweet friendship with Rasia, that Seph delighted to see.

Linnea was the only one who had not voiced any decision. She seemed trapped in some kind of limbo, without a compass to show her where to go. With the end of the war, Linnea had been granted the freedom to break her engagement to Lord Bracey—which she did—but sometimes Seph noticed Linnea watching her and Alder.

Linnea would need to carve her own path, in her own time.

Alder studied Seph. “Are you sure that you don’t wish for that leader to be you? And let me be clear in saying if that is what you want, I will fully support it…it may just make things a little complicated?—”

“Alder.” She set down her chalice, sat upon her knees, scooting close enough that their knees touched. “Let me be perfectly clear. I have no interest in governing the people of Light. I hardly have any interest in helping you rule yours, but I love you, and you promised not to hold me to any crown and to let me serve the people in my own way, and I would like to serve inthisway, if you would help me.”

Alder placed his chalice beside hers and then grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap. Seph wrapped her legs around him, and he dropped his forehead to hers. “Josephine. My darling.” He rubbed his nose against hers. Waves crashed in the background. “My stubborn little arrow.” He dragged his nose along her cheek, and Seph closed her eyes, breathing him in, giving in to the sensations of him. His warm palm sliding up her back, his breath upon her cheek, and the softness of his lips as he gently kissed the delicate space below her ear. “I would do anything for you.” He kissed her neck. “Anything you ask of me.” He slipped one hand beneath her gown and pressed his palm to her bare lower back, sending a shiver down her legs. “Anything at all. Everything I have, everything I am…is yours.” He nuzzled into her shoulder, and Seph sighed. “It’s quite disconcerting, really, and yournot seriousideas will definitely cut our itinerary short.”

“I realize that.” Her voice quivered, because his other hand had taken to sliding up her thigh.

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