Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 22 of 55

The riders were gone, but Elodi could not rest. She climbed the stairs to her room while the castle settled into evening. Her legs ached from hours in the hidden chamber. The otter padded beside her, its jeweled collar catching the last light. Inside, she found paper and a pen on the small desk. She sat and dipped the pen. She would write to her mother. The words came slow. She told her mother where she was. She told her the walls here had no locks. She wrote that she was not lost, only far. Her hand shook. She thought of the riders sailing home with empty saddles, and of her mother waiting at a window for news. Each line felt like a stone laid down. She had run from this woman for weeks. Now she tried to build a bridge back with ink. A knock startled her. The pen slipped and left a dark mark on the page. The door opened. Damon stepped in, his blue tunic loose at the collar, his dark curls untidy from the day. He was the prince who had distracted her mother at the ball so she could flee, who had given her the griffin and crossed the sea at her side. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed. "I wanted to check on you," he said. Elodi set down the pen. She rose and touched his face. His cheek was warm under her fingers. "You have been so kind to me," she said. "We have traveled weeks together. I feel like I have known you a lifetime. I cannot thank you enough." Damon smiled. He covered her hand with his own. For a moment neither spoke. The otter climbed onto the bed and curled between them. Then Elodi's eyes fell back to the letter. The truth pressed on her chest. "Damon," she said. "My mother does not know I am here." She stepped back. "The riders searched for a rumor. They found nothing. When they report to her, she will not stop. She will come herself." Damon's smile faded. He looked at the half-finished page on the desk. "You mean to tell her," he said. It was not a question. "I have to." Elodi picked up the letter. Her voice held steady now. "Hiding behind a panel is just another cage. If I want to be free, she must hear it from me. Not from a lie your parents told at the gate." She walked to the desk and finished the last line. She wrote that she was safe, that she was happy, and that she would not be dragged home. She folded the page. Her decision was made. The letter would go across the sea to Avalonia, and her mother would learn exactly where her daughter stood.