Xavier stared at the stream. “Prince Elias approached her stand during the festival, either lured by the scent of baked goods or by the beautiful woman he’d no doubt heard the people speaking of. She was busy restocking the cookies and didn’t look up before spinning around with a tray. She slammed right into him. His guards rushed forward, and the prince held up his hand to stop them before placing that hand on her arm and asking if she was all right.” He lowered his head. “I knew it the moment they made eye contact. There was a certain spark between them. Like the red strings of fate had brought them together.”
My lungs burned, and I realized I wasn’t breathing. I inhaled, but it felt like I was trying to breathe through a clogged straw. That ringing in my ears grew louder. Piercing. A theory bounced around in my head, but it seemed too unbelievable to be true.
Itcouldn’tbe true.
“Prince Elias whisked her away after the festival for a night on the town and then came to visit her every day after it. That’s when I knew I’d missed my chance. How could I confess my feelings to her when she was so happy, Evan? Her smile, which had always been so bright, was even more so, and I often caught her humming to herself. But an obstacle stood in their way.”
“An obstacle?”
Xavier nodded. “The ceasefire between our warring kingdoms was only temporary. The condition for peace was for Prince Elias to marry the princess of Haran. An alliance through marriage. When Cynthia learned of his engagement, she came to me in tears. It broke my heart to see her so upset. The prince came to speak with her, and she yelled at him and ran off into the forest. He ran after her. She never told me what happened that day, but days later, the king and his party left Exalos. The prince left with him.”
Thoughts raced through my head. Questions. But also a sinking feeling that I was on the brink of something that would flip my world upside down. Again.
“The last time I spoke to Cynthia was on a night much like this one,” Xavier continued. “I was gathering a special type of flower that only blooms beneath the light of a full moon when she found me. She said she was leaving town. I asked where she was going, and she just shook her head and said she couldn’t tell me. ‘But I’ll see you again, Avi,’ she said, using the childhood nickname she had for me. She then kissed me on the cheek and left.”
“She ran away to be with the prince?” I asked.
He nodded. “Word reached Exalos in the following weeks about Prince Elias going missing. Only the royal family knew the exact details, of course. The rest of the kingdom only had speculations at first. But I knew Elias and Cynthia had run away to be together. They’d sacrificed everything for their love.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. “Did you ever learn what happened to them?”
“Haran sent assassins after Prince Elias,” Xavier answered. “Ending the engagement with the princess sent the kingdoms back into a bloody and violent war, so while soldiers from both sides clashed on the battlefield, Prince Elias and Cynthia were hunted.” He made a small sound and clasped his hands together.“Nearly a year passed without a word from her, and I was sick with worry, not knowing if she was dead or alive. So I used an enchanted looking glass to see her. A onetime spell that took much of my mana and only allowed me to see her for a minute or so.”
“What did you see?”
“A small cottage beside a pond,” he said. “Yellow, white, and purple flowers sprouted from the garden. A sign of Cynthia’s touch. She always said being surrounded by flowers brought her comfort. I then saw inside the cottage. Cynthia and Elias cuddled together in front of the fire. He pressed a kiss to her temple and said everything would be fine. That they’d be okay. In her arms was a baby boy.”
Something heavy landed on my chest.
“I’ll always cherish that image of her,” he whispered. “The way she smiled down at her son and told him she’d keep him safe, no matter the cost. The enchantment broke after that, but it brought me a sense of peace to know she was happy and well-loved in her final days.”
“Final days?”
“News of the prince’s death reached us a week later,” he said, expression grave. “No word of Cynthia or the baby, but I can only imagine they were by his side when the assassins found him.”
My insides quaked, and more tears burned in my eyes. Shock had me in its grip. As the pieces fell into place, I stared at the ripples in the stream.
“I apologize for keeping you for so long.” Xavier wiped at his cheeks. “You have my gratitude for lending this old man your ear. I haven’t spoken of Cynthia in many years.”
Not trusting my voice, I offered him my best attempt at a smile. Did it look as unsteady as it felt? Probably about as unsteady as my legs as I stood from the grass and wobbled.
“Shall I walk you back to your cave?” He rose from the grass as well.
“N-No, it’s okay. I can find my way back.” The moon had shifted a bit in the sky, but it was still bright and would easily light my way. “Good night, Xavier.”
He bowed his head to me. “And to you, young Evan.”
With my legs—and heart—heavy, I found the path back through the woods and returned to the cave. My men were right where I left them, though Lake had curled up in my spot, nose pressed to my pillow. Rowan faced the fire, his chest slowly rising and falling with his breaths.
My mind was a damn mess. My heart was too. But as I crawled back between the men I loved, some of the fractures mended. They made me feel so warm. Safe.
Safe for how long though?
Meeting Xavier in the woods felt like fate, the threads leading me toward one of my possible futures. Without Lupin’s clue about my mom, I wouldn’t have put the pieces together about my dad’s identity. And he’d been right. If anyone learned the truth, Haran really would want me captured. Maybe even killed.
A thought then occurred to me. Rowan had kidnapped me in the past, thinking I was Prince Sawyer.
What would he think knowing he’d captured a little prince after all?
