A million emotions swirled through Kayla’s mind as she glanced back and forth between the unblemished ring on her finger and Ezra’s statue body lying on the floor. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she shook her head in disbelief.

“Why, Salus?” she asked. “Why did you come back for me?”

The ring on her finger shone brightly, piercing the darkness around it. The ring on Ezra’s stone finger, unable to morph with his organic flesh, carried the scratches and flaws from all her crimes. The darkness so overwhelming and penetrating, she still thought no gold had ever truly been there. Just a ring formed from the coaldust of the Volcano of Shin.

Doubts warred in Kayla’s mind. You were betrothed, and you betrayed him at the highest order of magnitude. Then, you believed the lies of Lucius the Hermit. He told you the prince was just like the king. Not to be trusted and always out to keep the best life from you. To rob you of what’s good.

Kayla sniffled and grasped Ezra’s rocky fingers, studying his features. This was the first time she’d ever gotten a good look at him. Even carved in stone, his features radiated such power and majesty she was ashamed she ever let her heart be led astray in the first place. All the conversations they had together through the Listening Wall replayed over and over in her mind’s eye, and emotions choked her in an august mixture of sorrow and a long-lost beautiful feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. A feeling emanating from deep within her blossomed into her chest, pounding on her ribs and dying to be let loose. But this unfamiliar sensation of freeing hope frightened her. If I let myself believe in hope, in a true freedom awaiting my people and me, then I set myself up for dismay.

The longer she observed Ezra, the more her heart ached. She longed desperately to believe he was here for her, but she just couldn’t understand it. Why would he save her after she stabbed him in the back? Why would he give her the gift of his ring, knowing his ring was the only one capable of unlocking the door to the Jewel of Laridal? He could just as easily left her to die, stolen the Jewel, and kept her people in exile forever?

A slight breeze rustled her hair, cooling the bloodstained wound on her chest. Kayla thought the gust was playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn she heard the word Believe whispered in the wind.

As she pondered why Ezra would voluntarily deliver her from her death sentence, a flash of light hit her in the face. Blinking back the tears, she turned, shielding her eyes from the glare. The light from the door to the Jewel of Laridal illuminated the entire room. A thought hit Kayla, and the hope jarred her chest like a frenzied raptor begging to be let out of its cage. Maybe…just maybe…there was a possibility Ezra still loved her? Loved her far more than she’d ever deserve? Far more than she ever dared to imagine? That maybe he’d sacrificed himself for her, so she could finally be free from her exile on Rarogan?

The wind whipped around her face again, murmuring Believe over and over into her ears. The glorious thought of Salus’s love for her softened her heart and melted down the lies she let herself believe about the Nobility of the Upper Realm. She had a choice to make. She could continue striving to free herself and her people from Rarogan on her own, or she could accept Salus’s gift of freedom from Rarogan and retrieve the Jewel of Laridal for her people. The decision was so lopsided it was mind-boggling not a hard choice to make. But Kayla stared at Salus’s dead statue, and the exorbitant price for her freedom struck her with such gravity she knew she couldn’t retrieve the Jewel. It wasn’t hers to take, and if it hadn’t been for Salus, she would never have the opportunity to retrieve it. And now, Salus, the heir to the galaxy, had taken her death sentence.

The wind spoke softly to her. Believe. Frustrated, Kayla cried out to the wind. “Believe in what?! Salus is dead, and I have no right to enter that door!”

As if a ghostly echo, one of their last conversations through the Listening Wall floated to her on the wind.

“Do you believe in the Lawmaker?” Salus had asked.

“The mysterious third member of the king’s royal cabinet?”

“There’s a lot of myths floating around about him, but he’s real, you know. As real as you or me,” Salus explained. “He prefers the secrecy because it keeps his relationships on an intimate level. Kinda like you and me. But he’s been everywhere. And everywhere he goes, he leaves a trace of himself behind, waiting for people to open their eyes and see him. If you believe he’s there, you’ll find him.”

“So he’s a ghost?” Kayla had asked.

“In a way, I guess he is. But he makes the laws the king approves, and my favorite law tells of a time when someone who willfully sacrifices their heart for another person who deserves what’s coming for them, the Lawmaker will restore their heart.”

“Sounds romantic,” Kayla had quipped dryly.

“Tell me, Kayla, would you ever sacrifice your heart for someone else, even if they didn’t deserve it?”

“I’m not sure, Salus. I guess it depends on how much I love them.”

“Then, tell me this, Kayla. Would you believe if someone ever sacrificed their heart for you?”

Kayla wept as she relived that conversation. She’d thought it weird at the time, but it made perfect sense now. He knew all along what he would have to do to save her. But how had he known?

Believe. The wind pulled at her gently, pleading with her. Not demanding, but patiently imploring her. The light continued to pierce the room. Kayla could hear her own reply of hesitation to Salus’s question, but she still couldn’t make any sense of it. How could he possibly love me so much after what I did to him?

The ground shook underneath her feet, and she jerked backwards. The door to the Jewel of Laridal banged open, flooding the cavernous space in blinding, hot light. Kayla felt exposed to the core as the pure Jewel radiated immensely throughout the room. Salus’s stone melted in hers, his rocks reforming into flesh and bone. Flesh and bone which gripped around hers in the midst of the blinding light.

“Come, Kayla,” Salus spoke. “Be free. You couldn’t do it with your ring, so I did it for you. Just believe in me. Believe in my love for you.”

Kayla couldn’t see Salus, and she couldn’t feel his hand in hers anymore. The Jewel threatened to dissolve her into dust, and she wrestled with her tormenting emotions.

“Kayla.”

That was all she needed. The loving tone he spoke her name said it all. Leaving all her doubts and questions aside, she reached forward into the light. Her hand struck Salus’s, and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms safely around her.

Kayla rested in the security and peace Salus brought to her, and though the wind and light stormed all around, together they walked through the door towards the Jewel of Laridal. Salus picked the luminous orb, his ring unblemished now, and held out the gem to her. I can be free, Kayla thought. She placed her palm on the gem.

To be continued: THE RISE OF THE DRAGON (COMING JANUARY 2024)

NEXT UP: Off the Grid (COMING SEPTEMBER 2023)