Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 67 of 70

Willowyn flew through the day and into the night. Her dragon crossed the open sea without tiring. By morning the coast rose ahead, familiar green and clipped with hedges. A great golden stone castle stood among the gardens, crowned with steep spires and round towers. Rose-Watch the home she was apart of for more than four months now. Here waited the King and Queen who had come to claim Kai. Willowyn steadied her breath. She still did not know what she would say to break his betrothal. She only knew she would not run again. She guided the dragon down to a field near the gates. The minx clung to her arm as she slid off. Guards raised their spears, then lowered them when they recognized her. Then she stopped. Kai stood inside the gates. She would know his dark curls and cloak anywhere. Her heart leapt, then dropped. He was not alone. A princess stood beside him, her hand tucked in the crook of his arm. She wore a red gown with long sleeves, her brown hair pinned in a neat bun. Green eyes turned toward Willowyn as she approached. "You must be her," the princess said. Her voice was warm, too warm. "The one who stops wars with water. I am Cora." She did not let go of Kai's arm. Willowyn's mouth went dry. "Kai." He stepped away from Cora at once. "Willowyn. You came back." His face broke with relief. "I searched the whole coast for you. I feared the storm took you into the sea." "I was at Graystone," she said, her eyes on Cora's hand, which still reached toward him. "I flew here to face the King and Queen. I did not know I would find you already... arranged." Cora laughed lightly. "Arranged, yes. The betrothal is mine. Kai was showing me his gardens while we wait for the priest." The words hit like cold water. Willowyn looked at Kai. "So you will marry her?" "No." His voice was hard now. "I want to end it. I told them I would not. They would not hear me without proof of another bond." He looked at Willowyn, and everything unspoken between them filled his eyes. "I needed you. I always needed you." Cora's smile thinned. “This will not stand”. Willowyn lifted her chin. She would not flee. "I am the other bond. And I intend to prove it." Cora's hand dropped from empty air. Willowyn walked through the gates of Rose-Watch, Kai at her side at last. The harder crossing had only just begun.