CHAPTER 346: 346PROMISE FOR THE ROAD (PART THREE)

---

"Tell me your truth one more time," she said, voice low. "Sometimes truth slips away if it is not spoken twice."

He stepped close until they shared breath. "I want you to live," he said. "I want you to grow strong again. I want you to come to my door by your own feet, not carried. I want you to stand there with a proud face and say that you came back to me on purpose. I will be there. I will open the door."

Tears rose in her eyes, not from sadness, but from relief. "I will come," she said. "I will stand. I will say those words. I will say, ’I love you.’"

She lifted her arms. He stepped into them. They hugged hard, bodies close, no space for doubt. He felt the curve of her back under his palms. She felt the wide line of his shoulders. The hug lasted long enough to set the shape of each other in memory.

They pulled back only a little. He looked at her mouth. She looked at him. He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. She leaned in that way again, like last night, but now with full light and simple choice. They kissed. It started soft and grew deep, but they kept it on the safe side of the edge they had drawn. It was a promise, not a fire. It was a door opening, not a rush through. When they parted, both of them were flushed, both of them smiling.

"Go," she whispered. "Before I change my mind and make trouble for you."

He laughed, low and happy. "I will see you soon," he said.

"Call me tonight," she said. "I want to hear your voice in my chest."

"I will," he said.

They dressed themselves for the day. She drew her white dress smooth and tied a cord at her waist. He fixed the tear in his shirt with a small pin from his pouch and shook dust from his cloak. She slung the bundle over one shoulder and set the walking stick in her right hand. He checked the lay of the land with his eyes one last time and then pointed.

"Take that path," he said. "It will bring you to a shallow creek by noon. Follow the water toward the sun for two hours. You will find a grove of low fruit trees. Camp there. The ground is dry there. The wind is kind. The shield will hold today. Tonight I will check on you."

She nodded. "And you. Be careful on your way back."

"I will," he said.

They kissed once more, a quick bright kiss. Then they turned in two different directions. She walked into the trees. He watched until white cloth became a flash between trunks, then a ghost, then nothing. He stood very still and listened. He could not hear her steps. That was good. He turned toward the west and the line of light that marked the desert.

The walk back to the mountain was clear and hard. He did not hide his steps. He moved with the speed of a man who knows every rock by name. Sunlight fell through the high pines. Heat rose from the sand just beyond their roots. The smell of resin and dust mixed into a scent that felt like home and warning at once. He liked that mix. It kept his senses awake.

He came down a ridge and saw the mountain from the side. It rose straight up from the flat. Noon light carved its edges. Alka circled above, a dark cross against the sky. He raised his hand. She dipped one wide wing in answer. He smiled and kept moving.

At the base, the entry cut showed like a mouth in shade. He climbed the last slope two steps at a time. The stone under his boots felt good. The whisper of the tunnels moved out to meet him. He felt the hum of the egg chamber like a low song behind the walls. He breathed easier as the shade took him.

He turned one more bend and came to the main gate. He stopped.

Luna stood there, right at the threshold, hands tight at her sides, chin up, eyes bright with heat that was not only from the day. Her silver hair caught the light and threw it back at him. Her long ears were stiff. Her mouth was pressed into a line that said she had stood here a long time and had held back all the words until he arrived to hear them.

Kai did not speak. Not yet. He took in the set of her shoulders. He noted the way one foot pointed toward him and the other back into the mountain. It meant she had come forward and then turned back once, then forward again. He saw worry under the anger, like a small face behind a curtain.

"Welcome me home," he thought she might say.

She did not.

Luna did not move from the gate. Her eyes were bright and steady. Her mouth was a thin line. Kai stopped a few steps away. He could feel the weight of her worry and her anger at the same time.

"Where were you," she asked. "You said patrol. You did not come back all night."

Kai let out a slow breath. He stepped closer and put his arms around her. He did not make it a quick touch. He held her like a man who knew what he could have to do. She was stiff for a moment. Then her hands came up and pressed against his chest.

"I went to the right side forest," he said. "I checked the lanes and the water line. I found signs of a big snake. I followed the sign. It took longer than I thought. I kept watch till dawn. I am sorry I did not send a message. That was my mistake."

"You did not send a message," she said again, softer this time. "You did not come back. Do you know how that felt?"