Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 23 of 55

The next morning, Elodi carried her letter down to the castle gates. A rider took it, tucked it into his satchel, and set out for the harbor. She watched him go until he passed the vines and blossoms and vanished. The letter was gone now. Her mother would read it. There was no calling it back. Elodi felt lighter and heavier at once. She walked into the courtyard. Pink flowers spilled over the pale stone walls. Bees moved between the blooms. She had spent weeks running and hiding, and now she simply walked, free, under an open sky. She touched a cluster of petals and smiled. This place had no locks. She had made her choice, and the wind carried it across the sea. Damon watched her from a shaded arch. He was the prince who had helped her flee her mother's castle, who had crossed the sea at her side. He said nothing. He only looked at her walking among the flowers, brave and unafraid, and something in his face softened. A hand rested on his shoulder. He turned. His mother, Queen Diana, stood behind him. Her dark hair was pinned high, her blue gown catching the light. She had granted Elodi sanctuary the day she arrived, asking no hard questions. "She is quite beautiful," Diana said. Damon nodded. He did not look away from the courtyard. "You could wed her," Diana said. Her voice was calm, sure. "She is a princess. And you have already crossed a sea for her." Damon's jaw tightened. "She just sent her mother the truth. She did it to be free, not to be handed to another house." He watched Elodi lift the otter onto her shoulder and laugh. "I will not put a ring where a lock used to be." Diana studied her son. "Then tell her that," she said. "Before her mother arrives and decides for both of you." The words landed hard. Damon breathed out slowly. Below, Elodi turned and saw him. She raised her hand and waved, easy and warm. He lifted his hand in return. That night, Queen Diana came to Elodi's room. She held a folded page sealed with red wax. A rider from the harbor had brought it back. "Your letter reached the ship," Diana said. "But another crossed it on the water." She placed the page in Elodi's hands. "This came from Avalonia this evening." Elodi broke the seal. She read three lines in her mother's hand. Her fingers went cold. Queen Evangeline had not waited for the letter. She had already boarded a ship. She was sailing to Bloomspire herself, and she would arrive within days. Elodi lowered the page. The courtyard, the flowers, the open gates, all of it would soon hold her mother inside them.