Page 73 of The Last One
“How did you end up back in dusty little Maford, running a forge in the back of town?”
“Well…” Jadon swallows, then his lips twitch downward. “General Stery died, and his replacement felt threatened by me. He had my father’s ear and told him that I wasn’t loyal enough to be a knight or to lead a battalion. That made my father find even less value in me. My mother wanted to step in, but she hadn’t stepped in all this time, so why start now? It was bad before, but with General Stery gone, I had no safe place—emotionally, at least—so…”
“You left the battlefield and returned to the crappy burg of Maford.”
“More or less.”
My heart wobbles as I hug my knees to my chest. “The entire realm could love you, but it doesn’t matter if one person you love—your father—has rejected you.”
He thinks about it and admits to the sky, “Yeah.”
I bump my chin against my knees a few times, then say, “Hey.”
Jadon says, “Hmm?” He’s sitting so still.
I lay my warm cheek across my knees to gaze at this man who steals my breath. “Don’t let his rejection make you become someone you weren’t supposed to become. You’re a better warrior thantheysayyou are, and you are more cherished and respected than you think.
“Scorch his world by simply believing you are worthy of being loved by a person who will love you always. Your father may be the daystar, but the nightstar creates the tides of the seas that sustain life. The nightstar provides light in the darkness, relief from unbearable heat; it slows the realm and allows life to flourish.
“Let him enjoy his time as the daystar. Hot and dangerous causes forests to catch fire and waters to dry up. Be the nightstar, Jadon.” I point up to it now as care and concern twist through me. “Beautiful, right?”
But he doesn’t turn away from me to look at the celestial body hanging above us. “Beautiful. Absolutely.”
We sit there, unmoving, as the veil between us lifts. Our eyes fix on each other, and even though our bodies haven’t moved, some part of us reaches across to touch and wonder.
Cheer-cheer-cheer.
Elyn’s sentinel has returned.
I’m the first to look away—but I will not look for that taunting cardinal. No, I bite into my cake, closing my eyes not to enjoy the taste but to staunch the dueling swells of longing and loathing.
“One moment,”Jadon thinks.“Can we just haveonemoment?”
After a moment, I swallow and open my eyes to find Jadon studying me, defiance in his soft gaze.
“I worried about you back in Maford,” he says, picking at a loose string unraveling from his bandage. “I feared you’d get seriously hurt fighting those soldiers and then the otherworldly.”
The embers from earlier warm deep in my body. He’s sitting way over there. And I’m sitting way over here. What are we gonna do about that?
“And I worried about you,” I reply.
We hold each other’s gaze for a moment, then look up to the sky together.
No cardinal.
Even covered with soot, ash, and the blood of others, Jadon is so…beautiful.Yes, his hard jaw and lovely eyes. Yes, his thick hair and strong arms. But there’s his courage. His honesty and loyalty. His wisdom and ability to listen. All of this adds to a beauty that is so…otherworldly.
“You’ll discover your truth, Kai,” he says gently. “I know you will.”
Way up high, those stars continue to race across the realm. Way up high, other worlds are being born—or at least I hope so. Theremustbe, therehasto be, a place better than this.
20
The sky continues to lighten, becoming a palette of pale pinks and blues, fiery red dulled by the cover of fog. Soon it will be time to leave this camp behind and resume our journey.
“Question,” I say, running my fingers over the log’s rough surface. “I’ve asked Olivia to explain this, but I’d like your insight now. The town you lived in is called Maford. And the kingdom is…?”
“Seriously?”
