Chapter Seven

Home Is a Strange Word

For a long moment, no one moved.

The old man stood halfway down the stone steps, the mountain wind tugging gently at his silver hair as though even it was afraid to disturb the silence.

His eyes never left Eveline.

She had been looked at with curiosity before.

With suspicion.

With fear.

Even with awe.

But never like this.

He wasn't looking at her because she had crossed worlds.

He wasn't looking at her because she was the lost heir everyone seemed determined to protect.

He was simply... looking at her.

As though he had spent years memorizing a face he had never seen.

His gaze wandered slowly across her features, lingering on her eyes before tracing the shape of her smile, the loose strands of dark hair the wind kept blowing across her forehead.

His lips parted.

No words came.

For a heartbeat, Eveline wondered if he'd forgotten how to speak.

She shifted awkwardly, suddenly very aware that everyone else seemed content to let the silence stretch on forever.

"...Is he alright?" she whispered, leaning slightly toward Aeron.

Aeron's mouth twitched.

"I believe," he murmured back, "he's trying very hard not to cry."

Eveline's eyes widened.

"Oh."

That... hadn't been the answer she'd expected.

The old man drew in a slow, careful breath.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, rough around the edges, as though it hadn't been used for something this important in a very long time.

"You have her eyes."

Eveline frowned.

"My mother's?"

He nodded.

"So much of her."

The words carried a grief so old it had softened into something almost gentle.

He blinked once, gathering himself, and when he smiled this time, it was small and warm.

"You must be Eveline."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"...Does everyone in this kingdom know who I am?"

A hint of amusement touched his eyes.

"For eighteen years."

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"That's somehow comforting... and absolutely terrifying."

"It often is."

The corners of his mouth lifted just a little more.

The conversation could have ended there.

Instead, he noticed something else.

She was cold.

It wasn't obvious.

She wasn't shivering dramatically or rubbing her arms.

Just the tiny way her shoulders had drawn inward against the mountain wind.

Without asking, he unclasped the heavy wool cloak from around his shoulders.

Before she could object, he stepped close enough to drape it gently around hers.

The warmth surprised her.

The cloak smelled faintly of cedar, pine smoke, and old books left beside a fireplace.

It smelled...

safe.

Instinctively, she reached up to take it off.

"No, you'll—"

His hand stopped hers with surprising gentleness.

"I've waited eighteen years," he said quietly, "to do something as simple as making sure my granddaughter isn't cold."

Silence settled over the mountain.

The wind sighed softly through the pines.

Elara looked down at the ground.

Aeron suddenly found the valley below intensely fascinating.

Even Nysera turned away, giving the moment a privacy no one had asked for.

Eveline didn't know why her throat felt tight.

No one had ever said something like that to her before.

Not because she'd been unloved.

Her mother had loved her with everything she had.

But this...

This was the love of someone mourning years they could never get back.

She looked down at the cloak gathered around her shoulders.

"...Thank you."

The words came out smaller than she'd intended.

His smile deepened.

"You never have to thank me for that."

Another silence followed.

Not awkward.

Just... unfamiliar.

Finally, because she had never been particularly good at sitting inside emotional moments for too long, Eveline cleared her throat.

"Okay."

She looked from the old man to Aeron, then to Elara, then finally to the silver-haired woman standing quietly a few steps away.

"I think we need introductions."

Aeron laughed.

"A sensible request."

"I've had approximately seventeen life-changing revelations today," Eveline continued, holding up her fingers as though counting them. "I'd really appreciate knowing who I'm talking to."

The old man's laugh was soft.

"You're right."

He placed a hand over his heart and bowed his head ever so slightly.

"My name is Alaric."

She repeated it quietly.

"Alaric..."

The name stirred something.

Not a memory.

A feeling.

Then it clicked.

She looked at Elara.

Then back at him.

"...You're really my grandfather."

"I am."

He didn't step closer.

He didn't try to embrace her.

He simply stood where he was, allowing her the space to decide what she wanted.

Somehow...

That made trusting him easier.

"So..." she said slowly.

"I've had a grandfather this whole time."

"You have."

"And nobody thought that might be useful information?"

Aeron coughed into his fist.

Elara looked thoroughly unprepared to answer.

Alaric sighed.

"It is... a long story."

"I am rapidly discovering that everything here is."

That earned another laugh.

A real one this time.

It transformed his entire face.

For the first time since she'd met him, he looked less like a grieving man...

and more like someone's grandfather.

Warm.

Kind.

The sort of man who would insist you have another helping of dinner whether you were hungry or not.

Eveline smiled despite herself.

Then her eyes drifted toward the silver-haired woman.

Recognition struck almost instantly.

She pointed.

"You."

Nysera inclined her head.

"I."

"You're the woman from the alley."

"I was."

"You saved us."

"I assisted."

"You held back whatever that shadow thing was."

"I delayed it."

"You opened the portal."

"Aeron did."

"You definitely helped."

A pause.

"Perhaps."

Eveline folded her arms.

"Right."

She nodded once.

"Enough mysterious people giving mysterious answers."

For the first time, something that looked dangerously close to amusement appeared in Nysera's eyes.

"My name is Nysera."

Eveline waited.

Nothing else came.

"...That's literally all you're giving me?"

"It is a perfectly respectable name."

Aeron snorted.

Alaric chuckled.

Even Elara's lips twitched.

Eveline threw both hands into the air.

"Does everyone in Vaeloria answer questions like they're trying to win an award for saying the fewest possible words?"

Nysera considered that.

"...No."

She paused.

"I simply enjoy watching people become impatient."

Eveline blinked.

"...You know what?"

"What?"

"I think you're funny."

"I've been told it's an unfortunate habit."

For the first time since leaving Earth...

Eveline laughed.

Not because she was nervous.

Not because she was pretending everything was alright.

A real laugh.

Bright enough to echo through the mountains.

For another moment, the only sound was the wind weaving its way through the mountains.

Then—

A deep, resonant call echoed across the valley.

It wasn't quite a roar.

Nor was it the cry of any bird Eveline had ever heard.

It was lower than that.

Richer.

The sound rolled through the mountains, bouncing from cliff to cliff until it seemed the entire valley was answering it.

Eveline looked up instinctively.

"What was that?"

Alaric smiled.

"Our ride."

She frowned.

"...I'm sorry?"

Before anyone could explain, another call answered the first.

Closer this time.

The air stirred.

A powerful gust swept across the stone courtyard, sending loose strands of Eveline's hair whipping across her face. She quickly tucked them behind her ear just as a vast shadow passed over the mountainside.

Her eyes widened.

"No..."

Something enormous emerged from the clouds.

Silver wings stretched impossibly wide, each feather catching the moonlight until they seemed carved from polished steel. A second creature followed behind it, then a third, gliding effortlessly through the night sky with a grace that made their size almost impossible to comprehend.

They weren't dragons.

They weren't birds.

They were lions.

Magnificent silver lions with feathered wings and manes that shimmered like scattered stars. Every beat of their wings sent tiny sparks of silver drifting into the night before fading into nothing.

They circled the estate once before descending toward the courtyard.

They landed so gently that the stone beneath their paws barely trembled.

Eveline simply stared.

"...Those..."

She swallowed.

"...Those are lions."

"They are," Alaric agreed.

"They fly."

"They do."

"They have wings."

"They do indeed."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"And you're acting like that's perfectly normal."

"It is."

She turned to Aeron.

"You're all insane."

"We've suspected as much."

One of the lions stepped forward.

It was enormous.

Its shoulders reached nearly to Alaric's chest, its silver mane flowing even though the mountain wind had long since settled. Brilliant amber eyes regarded the small group with quiet intelligence.

The creature approached Alaric first.

Without a word, it lowered its great head.

Alaric smiled and rested a weathered hand against its forehead.

"My old friend."

The lion let out a low rumble that sounded remarkably like contentment.

Eveline watched the exchange with open fascination.

"...It knows you."

"I've known him longer than you've been alive."

"That sentence doesn't narrow things down around here."

Aeron laughed.

Nysera's lips curved into the faintest smile.

The lion turned.

Its golden eyes settled on Eveline.

For one very long moment, neither of them moved.

Eveline whispered without taking her eyes off it,

"Is it looking at me?"

"Yes," Nysera replied.

"...Is that good?"

"It is deciding."

"...Deciding what?"

"Whether it likes you."

Eveline immediately stood a little straighter.

"I suddenly feel like I'm being interviewed."

The lion took another slow step.

Then another.

Until it stood directly in front of her.

Its nose was almost level with her face.

She could feel its warm breath against her skin.

"Can I..." she whispered.

"...touch it?"

Nysera answered immediately.

"I wouldn't."

Eveline slowly lowered her hand.

"...Right."

Another pause.

The lion blinked once.

Then, without the slightest warning, it leaned forward and rubbed the side of its enormous head against her shoulder.

The force nearly knocked her sideways.

"Oh!"

She laughed, catching herself before she lost her balance.

"It's... it's purring."

The deep vibration rumbled through the courtyard.

Alaric smiled.

"It appears you've been accepted."

Nysera regarded the lion for a thoughtful moment.

"...Interesting."

Eveline looked up.

"Interesting?"

"They rarely trust strangers."

"So..."

She reached up carefully, running her fingers through the creature's impossibly soft mane.

"...Does this mean we're friends?"

The lion gave another rumbling purr.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"You have been chosen."

Eveline looked at Nysera.

"Chosen?"

"Each Moon Lion chooses the rider it will carry."

"I don't get to choose?"

"No."

She frowned dramatically.

"I feel like my opinion should matter."

"The lions disagree."

"I've known them for less than a minute and they're already judging me."

"They judge everyone."

"Wonderful."

Alaric's laughter echoed softly across the courtyard.

"I had forgotten how lively young people could be."

Eveline smiled.

"You make me sound like a particularly energetic puppy."

"I meant it as a compliment."

"...I'll allow it."

For just a moment...

The grief disappeared from his face.

He wasn't the Lord of a mountain estate.

He wasn't a man carrying the weight of a kingdom.

He was simply a grandfather smiling at his granddaughter.

And somehow...

That smile made the mountains feel a little warmer.

Far below, the valleys glittered beneath the stars.

The Moon Lions spread their magnificent wings.

Aeron swung easily onto the back of one, offering Elara a hand before helping her settle behind him.

Nysera mounted another with practiced grace, as though she had done so a thousand times before.

Alaric turned toward Eveline.

"Would you like to ride with me?"

She looked at the lion waiting patiently beside him.

Then at the endless sky beyond.

Her stomach performed an alarming somersault.

"...Does it know I'm terrified of heights?"

Alaric smiled kindly.

"It does."

"That's... somehow not reassuring."

He offered her his hand.

"I promise."

His voice carried the quiet certainty of someone who had spent a lifetime keeping promises.

"You'll be safe."

Eveline looked at his outstretched hand.

Only hours ago, she would have hesitated.

Now...

She slipped her hand into his.

"Okay."

His smile softened.

"Good."

Together, they climbed onto the Moon Lion's broad back.

The creature shifted beneath them, waiting.

Waiting until every rider was ready.

Then, with one powerful beat of its wings—

They leapt from the mountain.