AARYN

He had just picked up the cuffs and tools from Lhandyn and was headed back into the Tree City to find Huncer and discuss the honeymoon with her, when a red flash appeared on the trail and all the air was forced out of his lungs by the impact of his Mate throwing herself into his chest, weeping.

Aaryn almost dropped the satchel that held the cuffs. "El?! El, what's wrong!?" he held her to him, pleading with her.

"N-nothing!" she gasped, burying her face in his chest and holding him so tightly she pinched his back. "I just… I just needed you. I needed to be close to you," she whispered.

"What happened?" His heart was pounding and he wasn't yet certain there wasn't a reason to be frantic.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled herself harder against him. "I just watched my parents… I mean, I think—I hope—they're about to work this out. But I just watched them kind of break over each other and… I don't ever want that to happen to us, Aaryn!"

"Shhhh, gorgeous. Shhhh. Nothing's going to break us. I wouldn't let it." The words just came. He didn't mean to sound arrogant. He should have questioned them, but he didn't. He refuse to let anything come between them. Anything.

Elreth lifted her face, baring her throat in order to turn her head up to meet his eyes. "I won't either."

"There you go then, you see? Nothing is going to stop us, El. We did the hard stuff already. Now it's time for the good things."

He put his free hand to her face and smiled.

Elreth sighed. "I wish we didn't have to wait until tomorrow night."

"So do I," he said honestly. "But it's only one more day."

She nodded, pouting a little. He hummed and kissed her, pulling that full, lower lip into his mouth until she giggled and pushed him back.

They were both already breathing quickly.

"I'll see you after dinner?" she gulped.

Aaryn nodded, never taking his eyes off of her.

"One more day," she said, breathless.

"One more day," he repeated with relief. But he let her see the heat he felt for her, burning in his eyes.

*****

An hour later, his heart was full. Elreth had promised to find him after dinner. Huncer was on board for the honeymoon—though she'd agreed with Reth that security measures were needed. And he was sitting on the couch with his mother again, who seemed slightly better than the night before.

"I have something for you," she said and her smile seemed genuine.

"Okay," he said, smiling back, curious, and afraid to get too excited since she'd been holed up in the house for a couple weeks, so what was she likely to have?

She patted his knee and got up from the couch, pushing aside the blanket she'd had over her knees.

He looked at Eadhye quickly—was she okay to do this? But Eadhye was smiling at her she climbed the stairs, motioning to Aaryn to stay where he was.

When she came back a minute later, she wasn't smiling as widely, but she moved confidently. She brought herself back to sit next to him, an old and worn leather wallet in her hands.

"I… I promise your father I would give you this when you were mated, if he wasn't here," she said, then looked at him from the side of her eye, clearly scared about how he would react.

Aaryn was stunned. "My… father?"

She nodded. "When the war began and he was so close to the King… we knew there was always a risk he wouldn't come home, or they would come for him. So, we both organized our affairs. And part of that was… things we'd want you to know or have if we were gone."

Aaryn sat back, but she put that hand to his knee again. "Aaryn, I really want you to take this and read it, okay? He let me read it before he sealed it. It's… it's things you should know."

Aaryn blew out a breath. "I'm not sure it's good for you to be talking about him, Mom—"

"Actually," Eadhye broke in quietly from the chair across the room, "I think it would be really good for her to have chances to talk to you about your father more, Aaryn. I think that could help her."

His mother nodded. "I want to, Aaryn. I want you to know him better. And this… please, just take it and read it. Just once. If you want to get rid of it after that you can, but please. Don't make a liar out of me. I vowed to him that I would keep this and get it to you on this day in your life. Please?"

She pushed the wallet into his lap like she was afraid he would bat it away. But he just picked it up, felt the soft weight of it.

If there was anything he'd expected from his mother, this wasn't it. "Okay," he said, because he didn't think she was breathing while she waited to hear his answer. "Don't worry. I'll read it. I don't know about after that, but I'll read it."

"You have to read it tonight," she said urgently. "That's what he asked for. That you'd read it the night before you were officially Mated."

Aaryn raked a hand through his hair, but he nodded and gave his mother a small smile of reassurance. "I will, Mom, I promise."

"Thank you, Son, thank you," she said slumping in relief.

Aaryn wasn't sure what would possibly be so important in this message, but his tension rose with every breath he sat there after that. And his mother's tiredness increased.

Soon Eadhye stood and suggested Aaryn get moving to his other responsibilities. "Let's not wear her out. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

He nodded, then leaned over and hugged his mother, who clung to him, but also sagged into her seat when he let her go.

A minute later he'd farewelled Eadhye and was out on the trail, the late afternoon light dappling the forest floor through the tree canopy.

He still had more than an hour, almost two, before dinner and meeting with Elreth. He decided to go to the Weeping Tree. He could work on his gift there, and not be worried about interruptions. So with a twist to his lips, he added the wallet to his satchel and cut between the trees on the shortest route.

He would read the letter or whatever it was later. He didn't want it ruining his preparations for El.