Page 17 of The Last Remaining Light

Elowynn smiled to herself as she sorted old resonance charts nearby. It should have been tedious work, but she found herself strangely content. Until recently, she hadn't realized how much she enjoyed simply existing beside other people without grief constantly closing around her throat. For so long, it had felt as though she were living beneath its weight. Yet sun after sun, moon after moon, that burden had begun to ease.

Lumenshire had changed that for her.

Or perhaps certain people within Lumenshire had.

At one point, Elowynn climbed onto a narrow stool to reach one of the higher shelves only for the stack of journals in her arms to slip sideways unexpectedly. Caelyn had deftly caught the books and Elowynn before either could hit the floor, with one hand steadying the falling journals and the other closed firmly around her wrist.

For one startled moment, neither of them moved.

Elowynn blinked down at him while Caelyn looked up from beneath loose dark strands of hair. Lanternlight caught in his forest-green eyes, turning them brighter than she remembered.

She became suddenly aware that he was no longer the gangly abbey boy she had met three turnings ago.

“You’re going to break your neck one of these suns with how clumsy you are,” he said, his voice low.

Elowynn noticed belatedly that he was still holding her wrist. Warmth crept into her cheeks and the tips of her long ears. “I was perfectly stable,” she said, attempting to sound haughty.

“You were falling, El.”

“That is simply your opinion.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It’s a remarkably accurate opinion, don’t you think?”

Elowynn rolled her eyes despite the warmth still coloring her face. “You are impossible.”

“So I’m told,” he shrugged before he huffed a laugh. Shaking his head, he finally released her wrist.

The warmth along her skin lingered as Elowynn turned back to the shelves and tried to focus on her work once again.

Across the chamber, Sister Agatha glanced up from her catalog records. The knowing look and twitch of her lips only lasted a heartbeat before she returned to her notes.

Elowynn chose not to ask, having the distinct feeling Agatha knew something she didn’t.

By the time the evening bells began tolling across the abbey, the storm had passed entirely. Clear skies had finally begun to stretch above Lumenshire after nearly a full span of storms, and fresh snow blanketed the cliffs and rooftops in glittering silver beneath the moonlight. Overhead, the stars burned brilliant and bright against the dark winter sky.

Elowynn stood beneath the upper cloister arches overlooking the sea while cold wind swept through her pale hair.

“You disappear into your thoughts whenever the stars come out.”

The voice drew a smile from her before she even turned around. Caelyn stepped beside her carrying two steaming cups of tea.

“You say it like it is unusual to find me staring at the sky,” she said.

“Mm, perhaps once. But it’s less concerning than it used to be.”

She turned toward him, that smile still on her face. “Well, that is comforting, at least. To know that I was once unusual but now I am not.” Her sapphire eyes sparkled as she teased him for his choice of words.

Caelyn stared at her a moment and then cleared his throat before he handed one of the cups to her. Elowynn accepted it gratefully.

“Thank you,” she nodded before bringing it to her lips and sipping. “Mm, you even brought my favorite. Lemon and honey.” Even with her youthful turnings, tea had become the one comfort she could always count on to warm her. “Your perception may be starting to rival my own ability to observe.”

“I think that might be the kindest thing you've ever said to me,” he smirked.

Elowynn grinned into her cup. “I work very hard to maintain my reputation for friendliness.”

Caelyn snorted a soft, amused laugh beneath his breath.

Together they stepped out onto the narrow sea-facing balcony overlooking the cliffs below. Elowynn tilted her head back instinctively. With how the snow blanketed nearly every visible surface while the stars stretched endlessly overhead in brilliant rivers of silver-white light, it reminded her of a time that was, in truth, not terribly long ago.