Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) by Amy Miles

knew you would risk your own life to protect him.”
    Tears
spill from his cheeks as he looks up to meet her gaze. “It is
my fault that he died, not yours.”
    “No.”
She scoots closer, grasping his hands. She shakes her head adamantly.
“If there is one thing I knew best about Fane, it’s that
he made his own choices. This is what he wanted. To have denied him
that, no matter the cost, would have been to dishonor him.”
    Even
as she speaks the words, she feels the tension in her chest begin to
ease. She blinks rapidly, processing the truth of her statement.
Slowly, a tender smile tugs at her lips and she looks back down at
the ice. “This is what he wanted,” she whispers.
    Gabriel
squeezes her hand and then releases it. He rises to his feet,
hesitating a moment. “I’ll leave you to say good-bye.”
    Roseline
places her palm against the ice one final time. This time tears of
gratitude, instead of sorrow, slip from her eyes. She smiles and
pushes up to her feet. Holding out her hand, she steps to Gabriel’s
side.
    His
gaze flits over her wind-burned cheeks, wide with surprise. “Are
you okay?”
    “Yes.”
She smiles, knowing she really is. “I’m ready to go
home.”

SEVEN

    The
scent of home has never smelled fresher to Roseline as Gabriel opens
her car door and eases her down from the black Range Rover. Mud
splatters the sides of the vehicle, evidence of Gabriel’s
impatience as they turned off the main roads of Brasov and raced
toward Bran Castle.
    Home. This
word used to feel wrong when it was paired with these cold, dank
halls, but now everything has changed. Returning from their trip to
Canada, Roseline can feel a sense of a heavy weight having been
lifted from her shoulders.
    Fane
is gone. There is nothing she can do to change that, but knowing that
he would not want her to pine for him makes moving on a tiny bit
easier.
    She
glances toward the hills, knowing the mausoleum is there. Gabriel
clenches her hand. “He will always be there,” he whispers
as he places a warm kiss against her forehead.
    She
nods, leaning into his embrace. She is weary from travel yet
energized from the journey they took together.
    Now
she can look to the future.
    “It’s
about time you two got home,” a voice calls from behind them.
Gabriel grins against her forehead before he eases her back.
    “Well,
aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He chuckles as William
emerges from the castle. He has grown a bit since he left. His hair
is longer and brushed across his forehead in a rather lazy manner.
His clothes fit snugly against the breadth of his chest. Roseline
grins behind her hand.
    “What’s
so funny?” William asks, noting the hint of a blush rising
along her cheeks.
    “Nothing.
It’s just that…” She hesitates and casts a glance
toward Gabriel. He smirks and nods, slipping his arm confidently
around her waist. “You’re hot, Will.”
    “Will?”
His brow rises with surprise. “You’ve always called me
William. What changed?”
    Roseline
smiles as she moves out of Gabriel’s grasp and throws her arms
around her friend. He stiffens, surprised, but quickly settles into
the hug. He drops his head onto her shoulder and lifts her off the
ground. “You did,” she whispers in his ear.
    When
she steps back, she can see a blush darkening the tops of his ears.
“I bet Claudia approves,” Gabriel surmises.
    William’s
flush deepens as he unconsciously looks toward the castle, as if she
might appear at any moment. “It was for her. I thought it might
help… ya know, with keeping up with all of you.”
    Gabriel
steps forward and clasps hands with his friend. They weren’t
always friends. In fact, in the beginning, Roseline would have said
there was a definite tone of discord between them, which has
thankfully run its course. She has Claudia to thank for that. “I
don’t blame you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself
either if I had a sister that could kick my butt.”
    “I
heard that!” Sadie