The first shimmer of morning light peeks over the horizon, revealing the muddy road that cuts our path through green grassy fields. Our horse, who I’ve named Dan after the strongest man from my home village, has carried us from Lystra over the last few hours.

My sore muscles strain to keep my frame stiff, resisting the urge to rest against Trevus. If I did, how would he react?

I rack my mind through the events of the night, reliving each moment. When I was talking to him as Raylia on the balcony, he said he once loved me, implying that those feelings were gone. Then he saved my life from the Hunt Unit, risking his own neck in the process. As soon as we had a moment alone, he embraced my shaking frame, holding me tight and resting his nose in the crook of my neck. It was the most relieved I’ve felt in my entire life, like heavy stones were freed from my shoulders. I kissed him on our way out of the stables, and he kissed back. Is that the same as love?

He cares – that I’m certain of. But none of this changes the fact that I took Mehlia away from him. Just because he didn’t want to see my death in the palace, doesn’t mean that his heart holds the same love that I do for him. It doesn’t mean he wants to be near the girl who took his mother.

I twist around to get a glimpse of him. The julite crown still rests on his head. It’s conspicuous, but considering the rest of his gold-threaded black oban, it’s not that out of place.

Trevus glances down at me, and I quickly turn my head back to the road, leaning further forward to not bother him.

His left hand circles my middle, and he presses my body against his, with the length of my back on his chest. My heart flutters. He does want to be close.

I finally let my sore, fatigued muscles relax, leaning my whole body into his. He doesn’t say a word.

After another hour, Trevus directs Dan right, towards a thick forest. The scent of the wilderness is reminiscent of when we left Antiock, back when Trevus was far from an ally.

Soon we’re concealed by the trees. Trevus climbs off the saddle and offers his hand. I maneuver off Dan’s tall frame with his help, and the due-covered leaves crunch under my white boots.

Trevus guides me to sit on a rock, then turns away to search through the bag Giddius gifted us. I watch the golden seams of his royal oban move with his shoulders. King Tytius will consider this a betrayal. If he granted Trevus the title of prince, he will just as surely take it away. The Hunt Unit designated to bringing me in will broaden their scope to include the treasonous prince.

Trevus returns with a waterskin and white linen in hand. He saved my life at the cost of being welcome in his own country. He’ll live in exile.

I wince as Trevus dabs the cut on the side of my head.

He rests a hand on my shoulder. “It shall be brief.”

I nod, and he continues cleaning the sore but short wound.

“You gave up everything,” I say.

He takes a seat at my side and begins looping the bandage around my forehead. “A hollow role in a palace of liars is not worth your life.”

He’s also giving up the only life he’s ever known. Am I really that important to him? I study his face, but his stoic expression obscures the feelings behind his words.

He wraps his arm around me, suddenly pulling my body to lean against his. “You need not hang on to so much worry,” he says.

It feels so good to be held again, especially after fearing it would be impossible after Nepolis. I want to be with Trevus forever, but it feels so precarious. What happens the next time he misses Mehlia? I can’t bear another minute pretending that it didn’t happen, hoping that he’ll somehow forget while fearing he’ll remember. If he’s going to leave, I need to know now.

I try speak, but my confidence has evaporated, leaving only a whisper – “What about Mehlia?”

He releases his hold and turns my body to face him. “Recall my words on the evening when you first shared your guilt,” he says.

I cast my eyes down. It was the night I tried to escape his party. He discovered that I was afraid to use my connection, and he dug my deep sin out of hiding. He said that I was a child, that I shouldn’t blame myself. Even if it wasn’t my fault – “She still died at my hand.”

He gently raises my chin. “That tragic day a decade ago already claimed a loved one from my life. I shall not let it claim another.”

A loved one . I push my lips together. His deep blue eyes don’t stray from mine. He won’t leave me. He loves me. After a life of being used, excluded and look down upon, I have what I thought would never be more than a dream – a kind man who loves me, not for my connection or use, but for me .

I hug him, pressing my head against his chest. His warm arms wrap around my frame, and he holds my figure tight. Trevus is with me – the only person I’ve ever truly connected to.

My mission into Lystra was to get the julite, but I got something far better – Trevus’s heart. He wanted to forget the girl he traveled with to Nepolis, the girl he fell in love with, but when that meant watching my life end, he couldn’t just forget.

His chest moves up and down with each breath, nudging my head back and forth. He loves me.

“’Twas great planning to have an ally ready to hand us supplies,” Trevus says. “You did all this to get hold of a magic-binding stone?”

I sit straight again. Trevus said ‘an ally’. He couldn’t have seen Giddius’s face last night. How will Trevus react to the fact that without my intervention, the one who betrayed Trevus, nearly costing him his life, would be dead.

I answer his question, omitting my thought about Giddius. “My connection has begun to consume me,” I say. “Without the julite on your head, you’d already be asleep.”

Trevus takes the crown off, examining the black julite stones for a moment. “Hand over your neckwear,” he says.

I take my necklace off. The once red ruby has turned opaque white, like that of a blind eye. Coming so close to the julite destroyed Evelyn’s enchantment.

Trevus works the faded gem out of its gold teardrop frame with a hunting knife. Soon the soft metal gives way. He follows the same process with the silver crown, freeing all three julite stones. He mounts one stone into the teardrop, creating a beautiful black and gold pendant.

After threading it back through the thin silver chain, he returns it to my hand. “Shall this suffice?”

I tuck my new necklace under my shirt. Nothing feels odd. “I won’t know without testing.”

He puts the remaining julite in a small pouch and sets it aside. “Trackers shall set out from Lystra today. Should I be set to sleep for more than two hours, abandon this location and rendezvous in Colossae.”

I nod, but the plan leaves a feeling of unease. My hands rest still on my knees, waiting for him to reach out.

His fingers touch my palm – nothing. Soon his hand is in mine, and he’s still wide awake. “It works.” The julite blocks my connection. I can touch others again without fear. A smile crosses my face, and he returns the gesture.

He tucks the other julite stones in his top pocket and digs in the bag again.

“Will we head to Mephia?” I ask. “I know three of the Six – Evelyn, Ametha and Marco.”

He picks a dark olive shirt from the bag and hands me a maroon dress. “Are they your allies?”

“They will be if we deliver the extra julite. I wouldn’t have known to head to Lystra without Evelyn’s direction.”

He turns his back and unbuttons his shirt. “While ‘tis fortunate that we encountered one another in Lystra, Evelyn did not offer much regard to your safety, as the julite’s presence keeps even the Six at a distance.”

I turn away and begin on my buttons. “I knew the risk. Without the julite to temper my connection, there was nothing for me in Mephia.”

His belt buckle clicks open. “Mephia cannot know we have obtained all of Versillia’s julite. ‘Tis the sole deterrent preventing a palace infiltration by a sorcerer with malicious intent. Our peace with Mephia is tentative on a favorable day. ‘Tis for the best that they do not gain knowledge of any matter that may tilt the balance.”

“Should we return the spare julite to Lystra?” I ask.

“We shall hide the remaining stones. Their location may be what keeps our heads on our shoulders in the event that we are captured,” he says.

Tytius will be after us. It’s a good plan.

I kick off my white pants and boots, leaving my body bare. Trevus must be bare too. The image of his well-toned back lit under the candlelight in Sisarea jumps front of mind. There was never an opportunity to see him shirtless when I was wearing the illusion. Unable to help myself, I peek over my shoulder at Trevus.

He’s half turned around too, his gaze trailing across my body. His handsome eyes find mine. We both peeped. He smirks, and my cheeks go pink.

I quickly look forward again, pulling the maroon dress over my head. This is nearly as embarrassing as when he caught my stare on our first night at Cidon. Versillian dress code is strict. Being locked up in that tower, I didn’t see many shirtless men, especially not ones that were both handsome and kind.

Though only catching a glimpse of the defined muscles across his shoulders, he looks even better than I remembered.

Finished dressing, I face him again. His royal oban has been replaced with black pants and a padded leather jacket.

He hands me a dark hooded cloak, and I tie it to my collar. We can’t stay in Versillia with the risk of being found and executed, and we can’t head to Mephia when being discovered with julite could trigger an invasion. “Where will we go?” I ask.

“We head east.” Trevus climbs back on Dan and offers his hand. “To the coastal Kingdom of Ceramaya.”

Author’s Note:

While this is a moment of peace, there is still much more to come. Trevus and Jade’s story will continue. It won’t be easy, but at least they’ll have each other.