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October 10 - October 12, 2022
She’s…gorgeous. The kind of beauty that knocks a grown man to his knees. The kind a kingdom would worship.
“Touch you, and it will kill us both,” I say quietly.
Let wisdom be your staff; grip it firmly. Let compassion be your crown; wear it proudly. And above all, bring joy with you wherever you go. Cling to it with all of your might. For fear is the enemy of the Hyland women.”
“By the way, you really shouldn’t listen to Teddy. That’s definitely not how heirs are made.”
“Speak like that to her again, and I’ll cut out your tongue,” he says in a low growl.
As we parry, I catch a glimpse of my father. I’ve witnessed that satisfied expression before. At the stables, when someone succeeds in breaking a stallion. A wild creature forced to obey.
“Wounds from a fight are just reminders,” he answers coolly. “Reminders that we care enough about something to fight for it.”
“I meant what I said. I always do.”
There are too many graves to mourn. If I start with hers, I’ll never stop. I’ll never stop mourning.”
“What if we start with smaller secrets and work our way up?” Braizen suggests.
would’ve carried you somewhere more comfortable if I could’ve.”
“Aye, I’ve known plenty of proud archers in my day. Long-range fellows who don’t seem to understand that from a distance, anyone might feel brave.”
“Why mourn the dead at all? Why brew vengeance for those taken? Should we not all wish for swift death? Tell me, Idalia, if pain only exists in the life we now live, then why is our most basic instinct to preserve it?” Distraught, I try
I do not pity you for having faith in such things; I pity you for not possessing the same faith in yourself.”
You will come face to face with the cacoethes of your soul, and you will have to decide. Until then, know that whatever secrets the Herrah may keep is for a reason larger than us all.” The door creaks open further, and the
“And if you think you can face what comes for you without him, you are as daft as you are stubborn.”
“The Others seek to snuff out all light, and they know that yours burns too brightly.”
“The Great Darkness is in your blood, Idalia. Should you choose to face your fate, you will not survive it. However, should you choose to ignore your fate, the world will be swallowed whole, and all light shall pass away.”
At this moment, before our deaths, I reach out my hand. If we die here, die now, I will not have her pass alone. I will die with her skin on mine.
“Pay him no mind,” Teddy whispers.
“I wouldn’t get too excited about it, though,” I add with a shrug. “She’s a real pain in the ass once you get to know her.”
I almost kneel at the sight.
dead man I may be, but that look, that smile…that is a sin worth dying for.
“Idalia,” he interrupts my gawking and tilts his head downwards. “That hand belongs to me now. Do as I say.”
Braizen shouts my name like a vow. I join him, repeating his name like an unanswered prayer.
“It’s that I would do it again, Idalia. All of it.”
you look at each other the same way you did when we were children!
She…she was my steady breath. She is still!”
I love my wife, and as I promised in my vows, I will love her even in death. Till I join her in the sky.”
“Knowledge is deemed dangerous by the wicked. They don’t want those beneath them to learn too much because wisdom threatens power.”
would choose death— gladly choose death—if only to touch you.
“I’m prepared to lose my life in that Wood as long as you’re by my side. It’s better to die together than to live apart.”