“It’s real,” she whispered.
Ira’s pure joy shuddered a moment, and his smile shrank, but didn’t disappear. It rarely did.
“You really doubted this whole time,” he said, not a question. “You said goodbye to her, went on a quest, but never really believed.”
Something wet and unwelcome dripped down her cheek.
“Yes,” she breathed.
The cave was beautiful. Hidden and peaceful. A place where the rest of the world couldn’t touch the glittering stone or the still waters reflecting off the walls. A beautiful escape that she’d seen once before on a very different night.
“You are incredible, Lucinda. The amount of strength it must have taken you to walk away.”
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him and see the respect in his words that was no doubt written all over his face. It wasn’t deserved and would only break her down more than she already was.
“It wasn’t strength.” She swallowed. “It was desperation and stupidity.”
The scent of cinnamon floated on an invisible breeze that shouldn’t have been, while their voice echoed off the walls, proving nothing could be hidden here.
“One day I hope you see yourself the way Brielle does… the way I do,” he said.
He was going to kill her. This pain inside her chest that she’d put there with her reckless emotions was going to implode, and it would be at his hand. The worst part was that he didn’t even realize what he was doing. All he knew how to do was to be his charming and sincere self, but it was slowly killing her. Every small gesture, every word, every unspoken promise, but none of it was worse than the faith he had in her.
A faith that only one other person ever showed her. The one person who loved her, flaws and all. The one she owed the world to.
Wiping at her cheeks, Luci stepped her feet into her mental resolve, and all at once she remembered why she couldn’t let him break her. It was how she found the strength to take the next step, following the rocky and slick path that followed the length of the lagoon.
Ira said nothing as he followed behind her, and for that, she was more grateful than any words of praise. With every step, her heart beat a little faster, and her stomach rumbled in irritation. She could take every step in the land, walk every stair, every mile, and she still wouldn’t be able to outrun the screaming inside her lungs.
It was all real. The night she’d stepped into the Glass Room, she stepped into a twisted and wild storybook. The voice she’d heard was real. The flower was real. Blythe, littered with rows and rows of feathered flowers, was real. Brielle. Brielle, happy, healthy, and vibrant, was real.
In the stories, there was always more struggle. Wrong choices made. Romances layered between the pages. Yet Lucinda was no heroine. She was an orphan who got lucky. One generous and kind-hearted noble girl loved her, and that was all she had to her name. No great loves, no magic powers, no destiny.
Soon, the lagoon gave way to a narrow river that climbed up the mountain with them. As if the ache in her legs put there byriding for two days wasn’t enough, her feet screamed with each step. The uphill climb was a painful battle that she refused to concede to.
“We need to rest for the night, Luci,” Ira said, behind her.
The first words either of them had spoken in hours. It was impossible to know how long they’d walked. In fact, Luci felt as though his words were pulling her from some sort of haze. Her stomach was hollow and as cavernous as the cave around them, but worse was the pain in her feet. They begged to rest, but real or not, Brielle was waiting for them.
“Luci-”
His hand wrapped in hers from behind, and her heart stuttered in her chest. Ache or not, she wanted to run. Maybe she’d fall on the sleek stone, but she couldn’t stay stagnant. If she didn’t keep moving, she would break. Splinter into thousands of pieces.
Only two people would be able to put her back together, and she couldn’t allow it. Wouldn’t allow it.
“I promise you, once we get to the top, we will move at the speed of light, but if you kill yourself getting to the top, you won’t be able to stand by the time we get there. It doesn’t have to be all night, but just for a little bit, rest. Please.”
He was a prince. He was the heir to all of Meridea, and he was pleading with her. He knew the cost, and still he asked this of her.
“We won’t be late,” he said.
In answer, her stomach growled much like a wild animal, and it was hard to argue with that. The scent of cinnamon faded amidst salt and water. Maybe it was a sign.
“All right,” she whispered.
Letting her bag fall off her shoulder, she half fell on the uneven stone and held her head in her hands. This internal torture was tearing her apart, but there was nothing to be done about it.Stuck in a cave of diamonds and softly flowing blue with hints of green water, she was unsaveable.
Ira slowly sat next to her and shuffled through his bag. Silently, he laid out a cloth and placed several pieces of white bread along with a block of cheese. He sliced her off one and broke a piece of bread, handing it to her.