Page 164 of The Villainess Chose Naps Over Death Flags

She stepped closer to his horse, reaching up.

Caspian leaned down from the saddle, and Carol stretched up on her toes to meet him halfway.

Their lips met in one last kiss—tender and desperate and full of promise.

"Come back to me," Carol whispered against his mouth.

"Always," Caspian promised.

He straightened in the saddle, but his eyes never left hers.

Edwin rode up beside them, grinning despite the serious nature of their mission. "Don't worry, Your Grace," he said to Carol. "We'll bring the Duke back safe and sound. I guarantee it."

Carol managed a small smile. "You'd better, Captain. Or I'll be very cross with you."

"Wouldn't dream of disappointing you, Your Grace," Edwin said with a wink.

Caspian raised his hand, and the assembled troops fell into formation behind him.

"Move out," he commanded, his voice carrying across the courtyard with absolute authority.

The gates opened, and the column began to move.

Caspian looked back one more time, his green eyes finding Carol's across the distance.

She raised her hand in farewell, trying to smile even as tears threatened to fall.

Then he turned forward, and the troops rode through the gates and down the road leading away from Frostholme.

Carol stood in the courtyard, Shadow pressed against her legs and Mochi winding around her ankles, watching until the last rider disappeared from view.

The courtyard felt empty without them. Too quiet. Too still.

Shadow whined softly, sensing her distress.

"I know," Carol said, kneeling carefully to hug the growing shadow wolf. "I miss him too."

Mochi climbed into her lap despite his size, purring loudly as if trying to comfort her.

Carol sat there in the courtyard for several long minutes, her pets surrounding her with warmth and devotion, staring at the empty road.

He'd come back. He always came back.

But that didn't make watching him leave any easier.

Finally, Carol stood, her hand resting on her belly.

"Come on," she said to Shadow and Mochi. "Let's go inside. Papa will be home before we know it."

Shadow's tail wagged hopefully. Mochi meowed.

But as Carol walked back into the estate, the corridors seemed longer and emptier than they had just an hour ago.

She'd gotten too used to having Caspian here. Too used to his presence, his warmth, his steady reliability.

Now he was riding toward danger, toward monsters, toward the endless battle at the northern border.

And all Carol could do was wait.