Chapter 199: To Stand Beside Him
Theron wanted to run after her.
He wanted to catch her hand, pull her back, and keep her there in that meadow for just a little longer. She was laughing as she ran away, sunlight catching in her hair, her smile bright enough to chase away shadows that had clung to him for years.
Watching her like this, free and happy, filled him with a warmth so unfamiliar that he almost did not know what to do with it.
But he stopped himself.
Instead, he remained where he was and simply watched her go.
His lips curved despite himself, and before he quite realized it, his hand rose to his mouth. A warm blush spread across his face, reaching even the tips of his ears.
"I kissed her," he whispered, half dazed, half disbelieving.
The smile on his face deepened.
He had kissed Aveline. Not because of instinct. Not because of dreams or confusion or some strange pull he could not understand.
He had kissed her because he wanted to. The realization settled softly in his heart.
And then dread struck him.
The smile vanished.
His father.
The warmth inside him cooled instantly.
His father had found Aveline. His father had entered her dreams. His father had tried to take her away from him.
Theron lowered his hand slowly, his expression darkening.
How long would it be before his father tried again?
And what if, next time, he succeeded?
-----
Aveline woke with a smile.
The first pale rays of dawn were spilling through the windows of her room, painting everything in soft shades of gold and blue. Outside, birds chirped cheerfully, welcoming the new day, and the fresh morning breeze stirred the curtains gently.
For a few blissful moments, Aveline simply lay there, staring at the ceiling.
Then her smile widened.
Hamilton was curled beside her in his tiny lizard form, sound asleep, his tail wrapped around himself. As though sensing that she was awake, he opened one eye sleepily before promptly burying his face beneath his tail again.
Aveline laughed softly.
She stretched languidly, feeling unusually light.
Last night had not been easy. She had nearly lost herself. Someone had invaded her dream, manipulated her memories, and tried to separate her from Theron.
But in the end, she had found him.
And he had found her.
More importantly, she had made a decision.
A very important one.
Since she had already decided that Theron was going to become her husband, she needed to show everyone that she was worthy of standing beside him.
Aveline sat up slowly as that thought settled more firmly in her mind.
She understood now.
She understood why the King had tried to erase her memories.
If she were in his position, if she had a son who would one day inherit an entire kingdom, she too would hesitate before allowing him to marry just anyone.
The Crown Prince could not simply choose a woman because he loved her.
He needed someone capable. Someone who could support him. Someone worthy of becoming Queen.
Aveline looked down at her hands.
She had spent so many years believing herself unwanted, insignificant, and powerless. But she was not that frightened girl from Willowgrave anymore.
She had powers. She had knowledge. She had compassion.
And she had Theron.
All she had to do was prove herself.
If she could show the King who she truly was, surely he would understand. Surely he would see that she loved Theron sincerely and that she could be useful to both Theron and the kingdom.
Then they could all live happily.
Theron would not have to choose between his family and her. He would not have to suffer.
Aveline’s expression softened.
Yes, Theron had asked her not to meet the King again. But perhaps, he was wrong. Perhaps... the King simply needed to know her. She could not believe anyone who loved Theron so fiercely could truly be cruel.
Just once more.
Just one honest conversation.
Because the truth was simple.
She could not imagine a future without Theron in it. And for Theron, she would do anything.
-----
Aveline looked for Aelion, but she could not find him anywhere.
For a while, she wandered with growing impatience, checking the usual places, glancing through corridors, even pausing near the paths she thought he might take, but in the end she gave up and headed straight for the laboratory. It was just as well. If she could not find him, then she would simply begin on her own.
Her first order of business was clear.
She would prepare a pill for the King.
If his illness was as serious as she suspected, then perhaps helping him would soften whatever hard edge he had toward her. Perhaps it would make him see that she was not an enemy, not some reckless girl who had stumbled into her son’s life by accident, but someone willing to help, someone who could be useful, someone worth trusting.
And that, she thought, should be enough to warm his heart toward her.
After that, she could help with the cotton shortage too. She could help Theron, not only because it would matter to the kingdom, but because she wanted to stand beside him in a way that could not be dismissed.
She wanted to be someone he could rely on, someone who could do more than simply love him from a distance. She wanted to be useful to him, to his future, to the life he carried so heavily on his shoulders.
By now, she had already begun dreaming of that future in earnest.
She imagined staying with him openly instead of sneaking out to meet him in dreams. She imagined waking beside him in the morning, sharing meals with him, speaking to him whenever she liked, listening to his voice over breakfast or in the quiet of an ordinary afternoon.
She wanted the simple things as much as the grand ones. She wanted his presence to become something natural, something lived in, something hers in the open rather than something borrowed from sleep.
She wanted a life with Theron.
Not a secret.
Not a dream.
A life.
And if the King’s illness and the kingdom’s troubles gave her a way to prove she could belong there, then she would take it.
-----
Meanwhile, in his chamber, the King dismissed everyone else, and Edric stepped closer.
"I found the Willowgrave girl, Edric. She survived."
Edric almost dropped the report in his hand.
"That can’t be!"
