Page 282 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
A promise he’d finally kept.
Sammy and Jonathan ran ahead down the lane, racing toward the monument waiting at the end. Jonathan was threeyears Samuel’s junior, but the boys were fast friends, and they always got into the most trouble whenever Arthur Jack tagged along.
The sight of the three boys together always brought tears to his eyes because all he could think about was another set of three boys traipsing through the city streets or in the Manor’s courtyard.
Clara’s hand slipped into his. “It’s rather hot today.” She squeezed his fingers lightly. “Why don’t we grab some ice cream on the way home?”
A parlor had recently opened in the market square near the Manor. Jove chuckled a little, breaking his melancholy. “When do younotwant to stop for ice cream on the way home?”
Clara rubbed a hand over her swollen stomach and smiled. “If you want Miravel to like you, you’ll buy her mama a chocolate sundae. Extra cherries.”
“I still don’t think it’s a girl,” Jove said, bringing her hand to his lips and giving it a soft kiss.
“Well, love, you’re wrong, and you’ll eat your words soon.” She gave him a full-toothed grin. “And then you can bring me double the ice cream.”
Jove wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll do that anyway.”
With most people celebrating in the public squares, hearing speeches, and purchasing gifts for loved ones, the lane they walked down was mostly empty. The occasional bark of a dog or the soft echoes of the nearby square interrupted the solitude every few steps.
“Happy Gates!” a middle-aged woman greeted from where she decorated her shop door with bright yellow flowers looped together along the frame.
“Happy Gates to you,” Clara said with a wave.
Jove tipped his bowler at the woman with a small smile. They walked a little further only greeting a few other stragglers who had yet to make their way to the celebrations. At the end stood the memorial his sons now chased each other around.
Jove and his family would be dining with Saldr, Felyra, and their children later that evening as was their yearly tradition. The Passages to the Yalven lands were open once more with the treaty signed.
Usually, Kase’s family would join, but they’d recently returned from Cerulene and would be leaving on a trip to Crystalfell soon. They’d visit once the baby arrived. Newly postpartum, Clara would appreciate some painting time with Hallie.
“Sammy, Jon, come here, will you?” Clara said, slipping away from Jove and going to wrangle her children.
His mother was set to arrive soon to fetch the boys. With the school year finishing and the baby due any day, it would be best if they stayed a few weeks out in the little hamlet of Windwick where his mother had taken up residence.
Once the baby came, she would come visit with the boys before staying a while to help them all settle in as a family of five.
His mother finally got to return to life in the countryside, though she split her time between the Manor, which now belonged to Jove, and her modest cottage. If Jove hadn’t taken on his High Guardsman duties once more, he might’ve moved his family out there as well, but somehow he doubted it.
All his life, he’d been wary of his childhood home because the memories he’d lived there were quite painful. But now, with the life he and Clara had breathed into it, it finally felt like home. He felt a part of its history and couldn’t imagine raising his family anywhere else.
Clara had also put the surviving oddly colored fruit paintings into storage and replaced them with her own works, which—in Jove’s opinion—had made all the difference.
“Mama, Mama, Mama!” Jon cried, trying to climb up the fence surrounding the dark obelisk at the center of a small court. Benches dotted the outer edge, and red and blue flowers bloomed in the space between the fence and the monument.
“Yes, dearest?” Clara said, coming to stand beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him grounded.
“I wanna read the names. Sammy says Grandpa’s name’s there! And Grammy’s!”
Clara smiled and pointed halfway up the pillar. “There, Miravel Davey. That’s who baby Rav will be named after.”
Her voice only strained once, but she swallowed hard. The years had made the loss easier to stand, but the ache would never truly leave. Jove stepped up beside her, giving the top of her head a soft kiss before setting a hand on Jon’s other shoulder. Sammy came up beside him.
Jove pointed to a name near the bottom. “And that’s Grandpa’s. Can you read it?”
Jon’s head bobbed. “Har…Har-lanShack-ley.”
Jove’s stomach hardened at the sound of his father’s name on his son’s lips. He didn’t think the guilt mixed with the relief and pride of his father’s last actions in life would ever fade entirely. He’d hated the man, but in the end, he’d saved Kase. In the end, he’d tried, and it was enough for Jove to offer him a hint of respect all these years later. Because without that sacrifice, Jove’s sons would have been reading their uncle’s name engraved upon the polished black stone instead.
Jove squeezed his shoulder. “That’s right. He and Grammy fought to keep us safe, and we’re thankful for their sacrifice.”
