Chapter 433

[ 952 words ]

Talia’s POV

Nolan and Della stood with me as we waited to say goodbye to Arya and Henry. We watched from the yard while they packed up the vehicles. Walden didn’t come. He sent a message an hour earlier saying he wasn’t feeling well, so we left him alone. He was happy for Arya, but it still hurt to watch her leave. Anyone could see he’d started to think of Arya as a daughter.

“Walden wanted to be here,” I told Arya. “You know that.”

“I know. How is he recovering?” Arya asked.

“He’s not 100% yet, but he is getting there,” I replied.

“Tell him not to overdo it. He trained his warriors well. They’ll be able to maintain until he fully recovers,” Arya said.

“Listen to me before you go. Doomfur won’t welcome you with open arms. Some of them will still be loyal to your brother, and the rest will be waiting to see whether you’re anything like him,” I warned. “It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to stay hard for a while. So support each other. Both of you, every day, even on the days when you’d rather not.”

“We will,” Henry promised.

“And if something comes up that you can’t handle on your own, you contact me. I don’t care what hour it is or how small it seems. Don’t sit on a problem out of pride.”

“What counts as too big to handle?” Henry asked.

“If you’re asking yourself whether it counts, it counts.”

“I’ll link you the moment anything goes wrong,” Arya swore. “I promise.”

I nodded to Della then, and she stepped forward with the box.

Arya looked at the box, confused at first. She opened it, and her whole face changed.

“How…how did you find this?” Arya asked as she lifted the dagger out and turned it over.

“We found it in Geoffrey’s cell. We saw that your name was engraved in it and figured it was important,” I explained.

“He made this for me. I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted it,” Arya said, her fingers tightening around the hilt for a moment. She looked down at the blade, tracing her name with her thumb. “It reminds me of everything that went wrong between us and all the things I wish had ended differently. Part of me wants to throw it away, but another part wants to remember the brother he was before everything changed.” “Geoffrey made that for you, and just because you had to use it doesn’t mean you should throw it away,” I suggested. “You don’t have to make a decision on it now, but I think it would be a waste to throw away the last gift your brother gave you.”

After a long moment, Arya put the dagger back in the box and took it from me. “Thank you,” she managed to say at last.

More warriors exited the pack house to load the vehicles.

“What is all this?” Henry questioned.

“Herbs, weapons, food, blankets. From the reports, Doomfur was lacking in

resources,” Nolan answered. “There’s a full escort going with you. They’ll make sure you’re over the border before returning.”

“That’s more than we asked for,” Henry said.

“I couldn’t let the new leaders of Doomfur come home empty-handed,” I said.

“We’ll pay it back once the pack’s on its feet,” Henry said.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Nolan told him. “Think of this as a congratulatory gift.”

“I won’t disappoint you again,” Arya told me. “I’ll make something out of that pack. I promise.”

“You already have my trust. You had it before any of this happened. Just go and do your best.”

“I will, and next time I see you, I want to meet those twins. Both of them. Don’t you dare have them without telling me.”

“You’ll be the third to know.”

“Third?”

“Della first and then Leslie’s second. She’d never forgive me otherwise Her temper is worse than Della’s,

and ld like to not be on the bad side of a woman whose baby has been kicking her for months.”

Arya laughed, just like I hoped she would. They climbed into the vehicles. Henry waved, and Arya

glanced back once from the gaten et

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I stood there until the dust settled and the road was empty again.

My shoulders finally relaxed. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been until it all eased at

once.

“They’ll be all right,” Nolan assured me.

“I know they will. That’s not what worries me.” I watched the empty road a moment longer. “It’s what’s waiting for them when they get there.”

“Well,” Della announced, “I’m going to say the thing everyone’s thinking. I’ve missed Clara’s cookies.”

“That’s what you’re thinking about?!” I said. “You just had breakfast.”

“That was two hours ago. I have needs.”

Nolan chuckled. “Go enjoy,” he said. “I am going to check on the warriors and then get some work done.”

We headed back to my private sitting area Clara came in with tea and a plate of the cookies Della had been craving. The sweet, spicy smell filled the air. I took a bite. It was soft, buttery, with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. The tea was hot and strong, warming me up with each sip. For almost an hour, things were quiet Nobody got hurt nobody, fought, and there was nothing to decide. Della put her feet up on the

table, and I didn’t stop her.

Clara came in with the pot to refill us and said, “Luna, you do know what day it is.”

I looked at her blankly.

“Your checkup,” she reminded me. “The prenatal appointment. It’s this afternoon,

and I wrote it down for you two weeks ago because I knew this would happen.”

“I’d have remembered.”

“Luna, you would not have.”

Della was already on her feet when she said, “Let’s go check. I want to see how much the twins have grown.”

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