Fragile Hearts (TID - Will Herondale fanfic)

Chapter 59: Goodbyes

Will exited Jem's room. He felt all sorts of things—sorrow, heaviness, anger, loss, and a strange emptiness.

He closed the door softly and looked up. Nora.

He approached her quickly, entrapping her in his arms.

He brought his lips down to hers, desperate for something real. And nothing was more real than Nora. Nothing more real than his love for her.

Nora pulled away slightly. "Are you scared, Liam?"

Will rested his forehead on hers, closing his eyes. "I am."

Nora slowly kissed his cheek, then his nose, then his forehead, and finally his lips.

"I will go with you," said Nora, her voice leaving no room for argument.

And yet...

"Nora, it will be a long journey," Will said.

"I will go with you," Nora repeated.

"It is deadly," Will said in an anguished voice.

"I will go with you," Nora said again.

~

As Will fastened the cinch, Balios lifted his head and whickered. Will's head whipped around. A slight feminine figure stood in the doorway of the stable. As Will stared, she raised her right hand, and the witchlight in it flared up, illuminating her face.

It was Cecily. He straightened up. "Cecy, what are you doing here?"

She took a step forward, then paused on the threshold, glancing down at her bare feet. "I could ask of you the same."

"I like to talk to the horses at night. They make good company. And you should not be out and about in your nightgown. There are Lightwoods wandering these halls."

"Very funny. Where are you going, Will? If you are going to seek more yin fen, take me with you."

"I am not going to seek more yin fen."

Understanding dawned in her blue eyes. "You are going after Tessa. You are going to Cadair Idris."

Will nodded.

"Take me," she said. "Take me with you, Will."

Will could not look at her; he went to get the bit and bridle, though his hands shook as he took them down and turned back to Balios. "I cannot take you with me. You cannot ride Xanthos—you have not the training—and an ordinary horse would only slow our journey down."

"The carriage horses are automatons. You cannot hope to catch them up—"

"I do not expect to. Balios may be the fastest horse in England, but he must rest and sleep. I am already resigned. I shall not reach Tessa on the road. I can only hope to arrive at Cadair Idris before it is too late."

"Then let me ride after you and do not worry if you outpace me—"

"Be reasonable, Cecy!"

"Reasonable?" she flared. "All I see is my brother going away from me again! It has been years, Will! Years, and I came to London to find you, and now that we are together again, you are leaving!"