Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 12 of 70

Willowyn stayed with Kai behind the vines as the sun dropped. Both her pets had trailed her that night. The white minx he had given her curled at her feet. Beside it sat the green fox, its coat threaded with living vines, blinking at the water. Kai had said he needed to tell her something before the tide turned. Now the light was almost gone, and he still had not spoken. He sat close. He turned toward her, and his mouth opened. Before he could get a word out, Willowyn leaned in and pressed her lips to his. They held the kiss. She felt his hand come up against her arm. For a long moment neither moved. Then they eased apart, close enough that she could still feel his breath. "Willowyn," he said. His voice shook. "I have to tell you how you make me feel." She smiled. A tear slipped down her cheek and she let it fall. "That was my first kiss," she said. "I will miss our talks, Kai." She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I have felt the same for a while now." Kai let out a breath, as if he had carried the words too long. "I kept it back because I sail tomorrow," he said. "I thought telling you would only make it harder. But I could not leave without you knowing." Willowyn looked at the dark water. The fox pressed against her side. She thought of her mother, of the throne, of the peace she was meant to bring to the kingdoms. None of it had ever felt like a choice. This did. "Then we both know," she said. "And it does not change what comes next. You leave, and I stay. I have work here." He nodded slowly. "You have your prophecy." "I have my own path," she said. "I will use my magic for more than filling troughs. I mean to end wars, not wait them out." She met his eyes. "But I needed to say this to you first. Now I have." Kai reached down and touched the white minx's head. "Keep her safe," he said. "And I will keep the sword sharp on my end." "Come home alive," she said. "Then find me. I will not be behind these walls forever." The last light left the sky. Willowyn stood and gathered the minx into her arms. The fox rose beside her. Kai got to his feet. He did not ask her to run. He did not offer to stay. He only looked at her, and she looked back, and both of them let the moment stand. "Goodnight, Kai," she said. She turned and walked toward the keep with both animals at her heels. The words were spoken now. She had let him go, and she had held her purpose. Tomorrow he would sail. Tonight, for the first time, she felt ready to be alone with her own future.