“Well, I need to sit down, I’m tired; someone kept me up making sure she kept breathing,” I say, leading her over to a stone wall that runs along the small park, just to get her to sit down.
She throws me a look, knowing what I’m doing, but sits down anyway. We sit for a few minutes as she looks around, pretending that she doesn’t notice me hyper-aware of her every breath, every hiss of pain.
“So, where, and what, is Valdyria exactly? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”
I clear my throat. “You haven’t. The only people who know Valdyria exists are me, my friend Astoris, the people who livehere… and now, you. You won’t find it on any official Celadorn map. Or any map, actually. I’ve made sure of it.”
Her brow furrows as she tries to make sense of what I’m saying, but I can see the exhaustion fogging up her mind. “I don’t understand…”
“This place… it’s a secret for a reason,” I explain as I gently help her sit up slightly. “It’s a haven. Astoris and I built this village about ten years ago. The main thing that makes Valdyria different from other villages is that the people here don’t make Offerings. Most of them were cast out of their villages because they either refused to or didn’t have anything to give.”
“And you brought them here?”
I nod.
She looks at me, her teal eyes searching mine for answers. “And they just… live here? Without fear?”
“As much as that is possible,” I reply. “They’re safe. And they don’t answer to anyone but themselves and each other.”
We sit in silence for a moment. I can feel her trying to take it all in, and part of me waits for the questions. For her to tell me this is too dangerous, too reckless, that if the king ever found out, it would be my head on the block, let alone the head of everyone here. But then she surprises me.
“You built all this?” she asks quietly, her voice filled with wonder. “You and Astoris?”
“Well, we started it. The people here built it. The houses, the sewerage system, the buildings, the landscaping. A lot goes into a town that I would never have imagined,” I nod. “It wasn’t easy, but we made it work. We pooled our expertise. And we learned along the way. It turns out I’m quite handy with a hammer,” I say with a chuckle, remembering the injured thumbs I endured when we started this endeavour though. “Ironically, we could’ve used some magic wielders, but then they wouldn’t be here if they could wield magic. Well, not most of them.”
She shakes her head, her eyes filled with questions. “But… I don’t understand why? Why did you create this place?”
I stand, rolling my tired shoulders and spin on my heels, looking around at the town park, which was once covered innothing but clay, dirt, and brush. “Because I saw a need. It’s really as simple as that.” I reach over and pick up a purple daisy from the nearby brush, twirling it in my fingers, remembering the day we saw the first bloom almost a decade ago and thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could make this place livable.
I hand the flower to Eirabella and continue, “I have been going on Collections, either as a guard or just to observe, ever since I was fifteen. There always seemed like there was something… wrong about it all. To be taking magic from people, even if it were to bolster the collective strength of the kingdom. For money. You were both right and wrong that day you told me that you didn’t think it was the right thing to do, Eirabella. You were right to think that there is something inherently wrong with the Offerings system. But you were wrong in that you don’t always need to have something taken away before you know the value of it. I have always known the value of my magic. And I’m lucky that I am not expected to make any Offerings, because I would never give it away for anything. Well, maybe one thing, to save someone I love. But nothing less.
“Anyway, on these Collection trips, I would come across people who couldn’t give, for numerous reasons. Either they didn’t have any magic, like you, or a myriad other reasons. And as you know, the king rewards villages who give the most on Collection Days, creating an atmosphere of toxic competitiveness, especially with neighbouring villages. Instead of something that should be an instrument, we were encouraging hostile rivalries. There were reports of even sabotage against villages. But what made it worse is I would often come across families or individuals that were being shunned by their villagers for not making Offerings. Such are the hidden consequences of my father’s ridiculous Offerings decree,” I say, unable to keep the loathing from my voice.
She gasps. “That’s terrible! I mean, I knew some of the people in my village used to tease me about my lack of magic;maybe some even resented me, I don’t know. But nothing so bad as to treat me differently.”
I shrug. “You were lucky. Offerings were never meant to foster this kind of negativity. It was always supposed to be something that was done out of love of kingdom, not coin. The compensation was only ever meant to be symbolic. But that’s not the nature of man. And… the kingdom, theking, took advantage of that.”
“Have you told him how you feel?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
I flick my eyes to hers, their teal depths so soft and tender. And I find myself telling her, “And… not all the scars on my body are from the battlefield, Eirabella.”
“Oh, Rylan.”
I drop my head and say the words I’ve never said aloud to anyone else. “I hate him. He had never been much of a father to me. But he’s the king. And my mother’s husband. And my life will always be bound to his. So…I built this place, as my way of doing right by the people. Until I can do more.”
She flinches, then tucks the flower behind her ear before reaching for my hand and laying her face in my palm. “They must be so loyal to you here. I bet they’d go into battle for you.”
“Perhaps. But I’d never ask them to.”
Her head nods against my hand. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Prince Rylan of Celador.” Her words catch me off guard, and a stirring warmth spreads through my chest. But what she says next is what takes my breath away. “You’re everything I could want in my future king.”
I freeze, the words sinking in like lead. Future king. The title feels heavier than it should. I know what she’s saying—what she means. But it’s a weight I’ve been running from, not one I’m ready to carry. Elara was wrong. I have nodesire for the crown, not yet. I want only the chance to do right by my people.
She lifts her head and presses a soft kiss to my cheek and rises to her feet. “Come on,Ry. Show me the rest of your wonderful little town.”
