Page 154 of Of Blood and Banes
“But Sethan?—”
Cole shakes his head. “Don’t worry about him or the rest. I’ll handle it. You take the time you need. Just…be careful, okay?”
He knits his fingers together into a foothold, dipping his head with silent encouragement before boosting me up over Daeja into the saddle. He checks each strap and buckle as he always does, and I notice the straps seem longer than usual. He pats Daeja and leaves without another word.
As I grab the belt to loop it around myself, still hooked into the saddle where I left it last, my heart skips a beat. A small sprig of purple alliums is tied with a string to one of the belt’s holes.And there, engraved into the leather so subtly only the wearer would notice it, is my name.
Katerina Blackwind.
I glance over my shoulder back into the direction where Cole left, but he’s gone. My heart quakes in my chest. I haven’t seen my full name written in so long—my last memory is the time my brother fought to teach me.
He knew just what I needed.
Knew me almost better than I knew myself at times.
“To the skies?”Daeja asks quietly.
“And the stars,”I whisper back.
She flaps her wings and lifts into the air.
CHAPTER 49
MEANT FOR MEMORIES
By the time Daeja and I land back near Everden, my eyes are stinging and dry from the wind and tears. My hands are chapped—it was the first time I’d flown without wearing Marge’s gloves.
The sun dips below the treetops, the sky melting into a haze of orange and purple.
“I’m still here,”Daeja whispers, leaning her head against mine after I dismount. Those three precious words are a reminder she’s gifted me since I had to leave her outside the military outpost back in Arterias.
For the first time since Marge’s death, my lips lift into a soft smile.“I know.”
“Now go get something to eat.”She nudges me toward Everden.“Your growling stomach is going to scare half the town if you don’t take care of it soon.”
An echo of a giggle rumbles in my chest, and I rub the end of her nose affectionately.“Thank you.”
Pressing a kiss to the bony ridge, I walk toward Everden and pause mid-step to look back at her over my shoulder.“Hey, Daeja?”
She perks up, her tail swishing back and forth behind her as she tilts her head.“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“And I love you,”she purrs.
When I make it back to my room, Cole is sitting at my desk, and he jolts to his feet when I slide through the door.
“Hey…” He relaxes slightly when he realizes it’s me.
“Hey.” I grin, leaning back against the closed door. “Thank you…for that.”
Cole nods, not wanting to take his eyes off me, but forcing his attention back to the desk. “Sethan’s been…adamant, that whenever you’re awake, you read this.” He grabs a letter and holds it out for me.
I raise an eyebrow and clear the space between us, taking it from him and flipping it over. The letter is still sealed, the fresh wax stamped with the A symbol for the Dragon Lands. “What do you mean when I’m awake…?”
“I may not have told him you were gone with Daeja all day. Just said you were sleeping.” He shrugs. “Not that it’s his business anyway. You’re a grown woman who doesn’t need to bow to anyone’s demands.”
My heart skips a beat. The Cole I knew years prior would never have risked his integrity. But then again, the Cole before me is so different from the boy and man I had grown to know and fall in love with. This man before me is sharpened into somebody else entirely, even beyond the chiseled muscles, rough beard, and long auburn hair sweeping past his jawline.
