The change in his tone made her look up at him properly. His features were serious now—too serious.
"You're coming back, aren't you?" she asked, a flicker of doubt slipping into her voice.
"Of course," he replied at once. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "I just don't want you changing your heart while I'm gone. Time changes everything… and everyone. Who knows?"
Her brow furrowed. There was something in the way he said that unsettled her.
But before she could press him further, Drystan had already retreated, offering her a smile she could not quite decipher.
Nearby, Eric shifted uneasily and approached Garin first, before turning to his family. The thought of the impending 'disaster' that Beatrice's arrival might stir refused to leave his mind.
More than once, he had considered warning the third-in-command knight. But Rachel had firmly dismissed the idea.
