The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 16

The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 16

Thorne stood there, looking at Aveline’s calm face, and felt his throat tighten.

He opened his mouth. His voice came out dry.

“I didn’t claim your lantern that night.” He lowered his eyes, his voice barely above a whisper. “I regret it. I’ve regretted it every day for more than a year.”

“I knew you were safe, so I shouldn’t have come to bother you. But the longer I stayed away, the more I realized I couldn’t forget you. When I found out you were in Vesper City, I thought… I just wanted to see you once.”

He lifted his eyes. They were red at the edges.

“Aveline, can you forgive me?”

Aveline looked at him for a moment.

“Thorne, you fell for Cressida and didn’t take my lantern. I never hated you for that.”

“Feelings can’t be forced. I understand that.”

A faint light flickered in Thorne’s eyes.

“But if by forgiveness, you mean forgiving you for branding me cursed because of Cressida, for letting that town drag me through the streets and lock me in the chapel…”

Aveline paused.

“I will never forgive you for that.”

Thorne went silent.

Whatever hope had been left on his face disappeared.

Aveline looked at him and asked, “Are you finished?”

Thorne opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“If you’re finished, I’m leaving.”

She turned and walked back toward Rafferty.

He was waiting by the glasshouse steps. When she came near, he glanced at her face but asked nothing.

“Come on,” he said. “I had tea set up by the lake.”

Aveline nodded and walked beside him.

Neither of them mentioned what had just happened.

As they walked through the conservatory, Rafferty pointed out a rare winter orchid and told her a light story about it, his tone as easy as ever.

Aveline listened, but unease stirred quietly inside her.

If Thorne could find her in Vesper City, what about Bram?

Would he come too?

She forced the thought down and made herself busy. During the day, she checked inventory and accounts. At night, she worked on new fragrance formulas.

But some things arrived whether she wanted them or not.

One afternoon, as she left the shop, she heard people talking in the coffeehouse next door.

“Did you hear? Captain Caulfield from the southwest is being called back to Vesper City early.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to stay posted for another two years?”

“His record’s too good. The state approved an early return for his report. It was in yesterday’s bulletin. He’s already on the road.”

News of Bram’s return spread through the city.

Aveline did not go looking for it, but customers came in and out of the shop all day. A few scraps of gossip always found their way to her ears.

A few days later, she was sorting stock behind the counter when the light at the doorway dimmed.

She looked up.

Bram stood outside the threshold in black civilian clothes, without a uniform, without his men.

He had lost weight. His jaw looked sharper than before, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes.

He looked at her, too many emotions moving behind his gaze, until all of them settled into one low, hoarse word.

“Aveline.”

Aveline set down the ledger in her hand and looked at him.

She said nothing.

Bram stood at the door and did not come in.

After a long silence, he asked, “May I come in?”

Aveline wanted to refuse.

But when she saw the darkness under his eyes, she still nodded.

She led him to the small courtyard behind the shop and sat across from him at the weathered stone table. Without a word, she poured a cup from the kettle already waiting there.

Bram picked up the cup but did not drink.

He stared down at the leaves drifting in the water for a long time.

Then he finally spoke.