Page 123 of The Cost of Blood and Bonds

She knows this place; I feel it somewhere deeper than thought. But I don’t ask; I just hold her.

The cabin fades behind us as we ride on, swallowed by the trees, and then she leans back into me.

“That’s where I grew up,” she whispers so quietly that I almost miss it.

The words hit me, and the relief nearly takes me out, but what comes flooding in behind it is what undoes me. All the waiting, all the restraint, all the times I let her pull away without chasing her, and she’s giving me this. She’s choosing me. I lower my face into her hair and breathe her in, and the only words I have are the truest ones. “I love you, Gemma.”

“I love you too,” she says as her hand tightens on mine, and it’s everything.

Chapter 40

Finn

Finn—

Ella is with us. She was badly hurt when she arrived with broken ribs, a deep gash, and unconscious for days. But Marel’s salves and stitches are working wonders. She’s awake, eating, and already giving us trouble about staying in bed.

Two young men brought her, Rye and Grier. They carried her through the snow for miles. They’ve barely slept or left her side. They love her, Finn. Plain as day.

We’ll keep her safe. She’ll be back to you soon.

—Olin

I know the letter by heart. I still unfold it every morning, smoothing the creases with my thumb, reading it like attention alone keeps them from shifting.

She should be here by now. It’s been twenty-three days since the explosion. The first three days, I tore through the ruins like there was still something left to fix. Dug until my hands split open, shouted her name until my voice gave out. Rosie stayed with me the entire time, until she finally put her body in front of mine and made me stop.

I didn’t thank her; I snapped at her and tried to go around her. She held on anyway. When my legs finally gave out, she caught me. She didn’t say anything, just braced me and let me collapse into her until the shaking passed.

I fold the letter back along the creases and look up to find Rosie, sitting by the window, watching me. There’s already a mug and a bowl of stew within reach, she must have gotten for me. I drink the water, and the ache behind my eyes eases a fraction. Rosie notices it; I see a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. She’s been doing this every day. Managing the basics, food, water, sleep, while I unravel at the edges.

“She should be here by now,” I say, more to myself than to her.

“She will be,” she says with a certainty that settles the restless bouncing in my knee.

She shifts closer to the window, adjusting her stance so she can see past the bend in the road without blocking my view.

My mind circles back to Northpine. Explosions scatter, they don’t move people halfway across the realm. Magic doesn’t deliver with that kind of precision. Whatever took Gemma there wasn’t random. Something moved her and chose where she’d land. I keep turning it over, trying to see the shape of it, but I don’t understand it.

Rosie’s fingers thread through mine, pulling me back. Then I feel her still beside me.

“Finn.”

My eyes are drawn to movement on the road. I straighten to see two horses crest the rise, with three riders. Three.

I don’t breathe.

“It’s them,” I say. “It has to be.”

Rosie doesn’t answer. She’s already moving and pulling her cloak on. We’re at the gate before my mind catches up to my feet.

As they draw closer, details resolve. Grier’s in front with his posture controlled. Then Rye, and in his arms—Gemma. The world narrows, sound thins, and my focus locks hard enough to hurt.

She’s smaller than she should be. Wrapped in blankets, slumped back against his chest. My chest tightens, fast and sharp, the urge to move hitting all at once⁠—

Then her head lifts, and her eyes find mine. Relief hits like a surge against a dam, pressure slamming forward, threatening to spill. She’s conscious. She’s here. For half a heartbeat, my hands tremble, but I stop them. She needs me to be familiar and stable. I draw a breath, set my shoulders, and lock everything back into place.

Grier steadies her down and places her on the ground. She sways, and I’m there in an instant, pulling her in gently. She melts against me, and I almost buckle from the relief. Then I ease back, with my hands still around her arms, checking her.