When The Last Ember Falls

Thirty-Six

Six Months Later

Cindra:

Pressing Mikayl's pendant to my lips, I wished him happiness within the stars. We weren't mates but it didn't make it any less real. Any less of love and wonder. Nearly in tears again, I shoved the necklace back into my armor.

This was no time to cry or fall apart—not when we were about to head to the Night Court. Sliding my blade into the decorative sheath on my side, I held onto the hilt a little bit longer. I think I finally understood what my lord had been through because memories of Mikayl began to destroy me.

"Focus, Cindra..." I told myself, wiping my tears away. Bastards crept up on me still. "Protect the High Lord. That's your duty. That's all that matters now."

We never talked about what happened that night. He knew of Mikayl and I knew of his mother but neither of us truly felt like sharing the details. Thank the gods. Releasing the hilt of my blade, I walked from my room to his.

My lord stood at the edge of his bed, packing a medium sized trunk with fireproof gifts—Autumn gifts. He held onto a little stuffed Gryphon—ugly as hell, but I knew he had made it. Spent hours trying to figure out how to make a simplified version of a Gryphon for Nesta's baby. I even heard him curse a couple times as he stabbed himself with the sharp end of the needle.

"We should be going soon," I said from the doorway, not daring to go inside.

"I just need to make a quick stop," he replied, his voice unstable as he placed the Gryphon on the top of the gifts and slowly closed the lid of the trunk.

Months ago, I had gone with him to the carpenter. To the woman who lost everything in the village attacks. He paid her a more than generous sum—enough to get her business operating again and then some. She asked what to carve on the top and he said he didn't know.

So, the woman carved it there on the spot, a single red maple leaf. She said it was a reminder that the Autumn people are strong, that this court has withstood many horrors and has still been able to rebuild. That with every falling leaf, comes the hope of something new.

Wiping his hand across the carving, he sniffed louder than either of us expected. He wasn't just giving a gift, but he was giving away the future he wanted. Gods, the future even I wanted for him.

I drifted further into his bedroom, squishing my lips to the side. I was definitely going to cry if I opened my mouth now. Therefore, I didn't. Instead, I held onto his arm and we winnowed to the burned magnolia garden, to where the old trees were being cut down and dug up so the new ones could be planted. They were to be replaced after the villages were finished being rebuilt. Again.

My eyes began to water as we moved towards the statue of the Lady of Autumn, Natara. The High Lord took a knee at the base of the carved stone, placing the chest to the side. He lowered his head and remained silent. I never knew if he was praying to the gods or just talking to her in his head.

I was too scared to ask. Not scared of him, just scared of knowing the answer. It made everything that much more real.

When he was ready, he stood to his feet and reached down for the trunk. "Here, let me," I requested, arms already trying to pry the box from him. He didn't let go, he only lifted his nose and brow and stared me down. "Fine, fine...I'll be hands-free then."

"Ready?" he asked, probably more to himself than me.

Bowing my head slightly, "we don't have to go," I reminded him. This was only going to torture him further. It might as well be some sick torture for me too. I didn't see Nesta before she left, but I knew she was here. I knew the damage wasn't just the loss of his mother.