Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

It was market day once more. A whole moon cycle had passed since the last, the evening that Veras had told me that Lorik was a Sever—a Kelvarian from the Below. The evening I'd learned the truth.

It felt like a lifetime ago in some ways. Yet it had passed in the blink of an eye.

But much had changed since. I marveled that I'd gone to countless market days in the last ten years and each one had felt the same. This one? It couldn't feel any different.

For once, I smiled and waved at the vendors as I passed, many I'd spoken to in the village at least once in the last month. Eymaris came up to my stall to chat as I unpacked my potions, all healing salves and potions to help with sleep since the death needle crop had been bountiful this season.

And during the market itself, Griffel and Salladar and Winnand, families of patients I'd treated, shopkeepers I'd sent business to, and even fellow healers from the guild all passed by to talk, looking over my potions or dropping off their old bottles to me from the previous market days, which I appreciated. Many brought me gifts—food from one of the vendors, a bundle of winter flowers, a neatly wrapped package of thick socks. I was surprised and touched by the generosity.

I found that the market day flew by because of the people. The friends I'd begun to make in Rolara. Everyone seemed in great spirits—not even the snowfall and the icy chill in the air could dampen it. The music seemed more vibrant, traveling across the cold air more swiftly, and the heat and press of bodies felt more welcome.

And I realized that I'd done this. I'd created this for me. This sense of belonging in Rolara. This sense of community.

If I'd hidden myself away in the Black Veil this last month, like I always had, this market day wouldn't have felt so special.

By the time it was growing dark, my throat hurt from talking and laughing with passing villagers and neighboring vendors. Not even the sight of Veras dampened my spirits. I'd nodded at him without prompting, and he'd tipped his chin down, going on his way.

And just as I began to pack up my cart, I caught sight of Lorik.

My breath seized in my lungs, anticipation giving my heart a rough jolt.

I wondered how long he'd been watching me, but he was leaning back against the apothecary shop, his usual place during market days, and his eyes were pinned on me, a small smile playing across his lips.

For a moment, it was like we'd gone back in time. To before I'd even known his name. He had his glamour on, of course, since we were in the village, but a part of me wished I could see him. His true self. I wished the others could too.

I saw the long looks cast his way, but he paid people no mind as they skirted around him. He was only looking at me, his arms crossed over his chest, his pose relaxed and at ease.

After that night in my cottage, I'd seen him twice more and only very briefly. He'd been called back to the Below. We'd left us up in the air, an unspoken thing after what we'd discussed. About his crime marking, about the Below, about my thoughts of giving up my cottage.

There was still so much to discuss, so much to figure out—how this would even work. If it could even work.

Especially since I knew Lorik still hadn't forgiven himself. Forgiveness had always been a difficult thing for me, given my past with Veras. With Lorik…I'd found forgiveness came easily. The same couldn't be said for him.

When I was finally alone, Lorik pushed away from the building of the apothecary and strode over to me, his footsteps strong and certain, and I counted every single one because they matched my heartbeat.

"Popular little witch," he murmured, his voice dipped low so the neighboring vendor couldn't eavesdrop. "I've been trying to get you alone all evening."

I wanted to reach out and hold him. I wanted to feel his arms around me once more, but the only touch we'd had in the last few weeks had been when we'd held one another's hands at my cottage. There was a barrier we hadn't passed yet, a line neither of us had crossed.

Would tonight be the night we would?

I hope so,I couldn't help but wish. I'd done a lot of thinking these last few weeks. Too much. I was tired of thinking, I'd decided. Lorik had been correct about me all those weeks ago. I was driven by logic, and for once, I just wanted to do what felt right.

And to me, Lorik felt right. Despite everything.

The Halo lights were beginning to flicker on in the village, making it glow in the distance. My own orb was weaving around us, casting shadows across our faces as I tucked my tablecloth back into my cart, laden with the gifts I'd received today. For once, it would be nearly as heavy lugging back to my cottage as it was into the market.

"You've been here all this time?" I asked, suddenly shy.

He nodded.

"Are you…are you back for a little while?"

Lorik's lips turned up. It felt strange now, looking at his glamour when I knew the truth. What had Veras said? Power was knowledge. It peeled the veil away from your eyes.

Now I understood what he'd meant. I would never see the world the way I had before.

"Yes," he said. "My sister…she's awake."

My breath hitched. "Really?"

He nodded, and I saw the relief glide over his face, as if he couldn't believe it himself. "It's remarkable. Truly," he said. "That's why I was called back. That day, she just…woke up. It's like it never happened. She's back. Thela came back."

I rounded the table and, without hesitation, wrapped my arms around him. I didn't care if people were watching. I didn't care if they would whisper or gossip about us. I only cared about Lorik and the catch I'd heard in his voice. And I thought…I want to meet his sister one day.

Would that even be possible?

Lorik's arms went tight around me, and I pressed my face into his chest, feeling the hard thump of his heart against my cheek. Maybe this would be what he needed to help him forgive himself. His sister. Me.

We'd taken this slow, hadn't we? We'd felt one another out, tiptoeing around the idea after Lorik's necessary betrayal. But it had been long enough.

All I knew was that it had felt like a lifetime without him already. I didn't know if I could go another day.

"I'm happy for you," I said quietly, inhaling his scent deeply. His vest was luxuriously soft and supple, crafted by an expert hand. Our lives were so vastly different, but for the first time, I didn't care. It didn't matter. "Happy for her and your family."

"Thank you," he whispered. And I knew he was thanking me for more than my words.

"I told you already," I said, "the hive heart seems small in comparison now. Don't thank me for that."

"I will always thank you. Because it wasn't an easy thing. You sacrificed something you cared deeply for, something that was a constant in your life for years, for people you don't even know."

His words ruffled my hair, and I closed my eyes against him, feeling warm and safe in his arms. Because the truth was that I would always have a scar of my own, just like the crime marking on his inner wrist. The shadevine queen's sting would always ache, a perpetual reminder of what I'd needed to do.

"Let's make a deal," I suggested.

Lorik pulled back, running his eyes over my face carefully, hearing something in my tone that tightened the muscles in his body. "Oh?"

I drew in a deep breath, my heart pounding.

"I think we should put what happened behind us," I said.

His brows drew together.

"I—I want to move forward, Lorik," I told him, feeling the words clog up my throat, but I'd been feeling the truth of them for some time. "With you. If you still want that."

His eyes glowed through his glamour before he could conceal their light.

"I miss you," I whispered.

"Marion—"

"I miss you a lot," I admitted. "I think we've both been a little miserable without each other, and I don't want to regret anything. Not with you. I don't want to regret not seeing what this could be just because we don't know what could be. And I know there's so much to figure out…but I—"

Lorik's lips were on mine before I could utter another word. And I didn't care that we were giving the lingering vendors a show and there would be talk in the village tomorrow morning. I wrapped my arms around Lorik's neck and kissed him back, having missed his taste and the heat of his lips on mine.

I never wanted it to end.

But when it did, he murmured against my lips, "I'm a little in love with you, Marion."

The words made my chest squeeze, and I couldn't help the wobbly smile that crossed my face.

"I'm a little in love with you too, Lorik Ravael," I whispered back.

His lips brushed against mine, soft and sweet and slow. And I thought my heart would burst from my chest in relief and happiness. I felt like I could float high above Rolara with his kiss.

"If that's the case," he began, "I have something to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Would you join me for an Allavari ale at Grimstone's tonight?"

My laugh was soft, and the wide smile splitting my face actually hurt.

"When you order one, just call it an ale," I teased. "And yes, I will. But only if you promise to steal a kiss from me in one of the back booths."

Lorik's laugh felt like a victory. I hadn't heard it in so long, I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it.

"I promise, little witch."