44. Chapter 44

forty-four

N evander gripped the papers in his hand, staring at Kallessa. Her voice washed over him as he’d come in the door and he couldn’t describe his relief. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, her skin still too pale, but to him, she was radiant.

“It’s about time,” Tarrick drawled.

Nevander’s jaw clenched, his brother’s sarcasm grating against his nerves. He forced himself to ignore Tarrick, focusing solely on Kallessa. This was her moment, and he’d be damned if he’d let anyone ruin it.

The worn settee creaked as he sat beside her, a spring digging into his thigh. The discomfort faded to nothing as he held out the rolled documents to her. “Here,” he said, his voice low and intimate. “This is for you.”

After a perplexing look, she slid the ribbon off, unrolling the documents with shaking hands. The room fell silent, the air thick with anticipation. Nevander watched her intently, noting every subtle change in her expression as she read.

Once.

Twice.

Her face drained of what little color it had, eyes widening in disbelief, lips parting in a silent gasp.

Kallessa’s fingers trembled against the crisp parchment, her eyes darting back and forth as she reread each line. A wave of giddiness washed over, the words blurring before her eyes. This couldn’t be possible, could it? Wynlar Estate, the ancestral home that had been so cruelly wrenched away, was rightfully hers? No wonder her uncle was frothing at the mouth.

According to the meticulously detailed documents, which bore an undeniably official seal, her uncle Talos had never truly held any legitimate claim to the estate. The realization knocked the breath from her. He’d stolen her birthright. For five agonizing years, he’d dangled her cherished family legacy before her like a twisted bargaining chip.

It seemed like hours went by before she finally looked up to find four other sets of eyes upon her. Her own eyes burned in her skull, the words from the documents seared into her mind. The parchments slipped from her grasp, fluttering to the sofa cushions.

Now she understood the reason behind Dovina’s uncharacteristic behavior, the constant pleading for forgiveness, the fawning and deference toward her. Kallessa now rightfully owned Wynlar Estate, the ancestral home her cousin had spent her teenage years in. Dovina must have feared being tossed out onto the streets, just as Kallessa herself had been so many years ago. But did her cousin truly think she could inflict that same anguish upon family after all she’d been through?

And her uncle. She couldn’t believe someone would treat their own kin that way, casting her out like an unwanted stray after the devastating loss of her parents and brother. Talos had been cold and callous, ripping away the only home she’d ever known without a shred of compassion for her. Kallessa’s heart clenched at the bitter memories, the sting of betrayal still fresh despite the years that had passed.

She settled her gaze on Dovina, who, for the first time in her seventeen years, seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“Cousin,” Kallessa began, letting out a weary sigh, “you have been a pain in my behind for years.” A twinge of exasperated fondness colored her words.

Dovina’s face fell, tears welling in her eyes as the sting of Kallessa’s words sank in. But Dovina had been just as much of a victim as Kallessa was in a way, never having the freedom to make her own choices, trapped within the gilded cage of her noble upbringing.

“I’m so sorry, Kallessa, I really am.” Dovina stood, gripping the folds of her gown tightly, her shoulders sagging. Vulnerability shone through the cracks in her usually flippant demeanor.

Kallessa almost believed her. With a few more years to mature and some room to grow into herself, unshackled from the constraints of her father’s iron grip, Dovina would become something greater, rather than the spoiled brat she currently embodied.

“Come here,” Kallessa beckoned softly.

Dovina approached hesitantly, kneeling beside her cousin. Kallessa reached out, her fingers grazing Dovina’s cheek.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t love you,” she murmured. “You’re free to stay here as long as you want, or move with your parents. It’s up to you. We can figure out the rest of it, alright? ”

Dovina’s brow furrowed. “Does that mean I don’t have to marry the neighbor?”

Kallessa blinked. “What?”

A sheepish expression crossed Dovina’s features. “Oh, I forgot. You never heard the story of why we went to Ravenbluff in the first place. I guess I owe you an explanation.”

Leaning back, Kallessa regarded her cousin. “I guess you do,” she said, bracing herself for whatever came out of her cousin’s mouth next.

Dovina quickly gave Kallessa a rundown of why she’d desperately wanted to go to the Ravenbluff ball and why she ran off with “that odious Ratliff”. As she spoke, her voice wavered with emotion, recounting the torment she had endured under her father’s iron fist. Kallessa listened intently, her eyes widening at the revelations. Once Dovina had finished, Kallessa’s eyebrows were nearly lost in her hairline.

Could Talos truly be so heartless as to auction off his own daughter for more land? No wonder the poor girl had gone to such extremes to escape her fate. Seeing the whole situation through Dovina’s eyes, Kallessa wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have done the same thing. And if Dovina hadn’t sent them on this wild journey, she wouldn’t be sitting here now, in her own home again, surrounded by the familiar comforts she had once taken for granted.

And she never would have met Nevander. Her heart cracked at the thought of his inevitable departure.

“So,” Dovina’s voice pulled her back to the present, “do I have to marry the neighbor? ”

Kallessa shook her head, a short, incredulous laugh escaping her lips. “Absolutely not,” she reassured her cousin. “Nor anyone else you don’t wish to marry.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Dovina jumped to her feet and plopped down on the chair opposite her, suddenly ignoring the looks Prince Tarrick seemed to give her. “I think I want to open a music school. And take off this horrid corset.”