Zaraek glanced over at Linthice.

As much as Zaraek loved seeing so many of his elven kin there, soon the busy chatter at Fancy Cakes became overwhelming. Had he not had the heartlink with her, he could still have seen from the glazed look in her eyes that she was ready to find a peaceful place away as well. He took her hand and nodded in the direction of the gate to the south.

She grinned back, knowing his thought. They said their goodbyes to Braedyn and Xiuhteena. He nodded to Kaileth and waved to Sonialar, Ayvari, Ahmandil and the others and soon they were galloping through Eversong Woods toward the beach, she on her war bear and he on Zen, his deathcharger. At the beach they dismissed their mounts and sat at the edge of the water to watch the sun sink into its own perfect reflection.

The joy still suffused him. He felt like he could float away at any moment, and yet there was something that held him here, bound to this realm. He found himself thinking of Tabalah.

Zaraek had shared some of his past with Linthice before the heartlink, but it seemed to make her uncomfortable. She only knew that he had thought of Tabalah as his wife. Not everything. He frowned slightly. He had shared the crux of the truth with Kaileth, and she had run from him before he could even explain, even set the City guard on him. That had been a mistake that he was left to wonder whether it would come back to haunt him, even as it seemed to have been forgotten now.  

Can I deepen this relationship with Linthice in all honesty without sharing my secret with her? Is that not something she should know about me?

The breeze from the sea pulled a white lock across his face, and he turned to look at Linthice as he pushed it back. His past he could not push back, but he could release it, perhaps.

Zaraek shook his head. “It has been so hard… I had to let go of my dream, my dream of a lifetime.” His voice, as always, reverberated with darkness, barely contained fel power, but with her it didn’t seem to matter, because hers echoed his.