Chapter 44 : a smile to late

The Ember Couriers left Emberfield at first light, but their route bent briefly toward Sunwhisper. The manor stood solemn, its high windows catching the pale morning glow, ivy crawling its stone walls as if clinging to memories. For Ryo, returning here brought a strange pang—gratitude, guilt, and the faintest taste of something he didn’t want to name.
Lady Rose received them in the front hall. She carried herself with her usual calm dignity, though Ryo noticed the weariness behind her smile. Elowen stood at her side, posture straighter than before, his eyes steady. He looked less like a sheltered arrogant man and more like a man who had weathered a storm.
“Ryo, I missed you so much,” Lady Rose said hugging him like a teddy bear.
Aldah bowed low, scratching at her messy hair. “It's been a while..”
Lara and Vix offered a polite nod, and Kael gave a soldier’s salute. Ryo, however, lingered, eyes sliding to Andrea. She noticed. For a heartbeat, something passed between them—quiet, unspoken, fragile. The servant carried a tray of tea, moving with practiced ease, but her laughter broke the stillness as Elowen said something under his breath. Andrea leaned closer, eyes sparkling, the two of them sharing a smile so warm it made Ryo’s gut twist.
He leaned on the doorframe, crossing his arms. “Careful, Andrea,” he said lightly, letting his voice drop into its most charming register. “If you keep smiling like that, you’ll be breaking hearts all over Sunwhisper.”
Andrea looked up, startled, then blinked. A flush rose in her cheeks, but before Ryo could claim it as victory, she turned back to Elowen. “I doubt Sir Elowen would let me stray too far.”
Elowen laughed softly, and Andrea joined in. The sound was like a door slamming in Ryo’s face.
He smirked anyway, hiding the sting behind practiced ease. “Guess I’m late to the game,” he muttered, too low for anyone but himself to hear.

---
Outside, the wind tugged at his cloak as the Ember Couriers prepared to leave. Ryo walked a little apart from the group, his steps crunching over gravel. The beast stirred inside him, that familiar presence that coiled like smoke in his chest.
Pathetic.

His voice was rough and guttural. 

You think a smile is enough to claim someone? You’ve always been weak like this.

Ryo’s jaw tightened. 

Shut up.

You hide behind jokes, you were nothing before. A loser who wasted chances. Who could have been more, but chose the easy path.
Ryo’s fists clenched at his sides. Images flashed unbidden—nights spent gambling coin he never had, mornings waking in alleys with nothing but shame, faces of people who once believed in him and then turned away, his friends who where as miserable as his.
Yeah,I was a loser.
The words tasted bitter, but freeing. He lifted his gaze to the road stretching ahead, endless and uncertain. The courier cloak weighed heavy on his shoulders, but it was weight he chose to bear.
But I’m not done yet.
The beast chuckled, a sound like cracking bone.

 Not done? Or just pretending you’ve changed? You’ll slip. You always slip.

Ryo swallowed, his chest tight. “Maybe. But at least now… I’ve got people who’ll drag me back when I do.” His eyes flicked toward the others—Aldah laughing with Vix, Lara adjusting her staff, Kael quietly checking the straps on his pack.
The beast hummed, neither agreeing nor denying. We’ll see.

---
Before they mounted, Lady Rose stepped forward, offering a final blessing. “The road to Elandor is long and fraught with peril. But Sunwhispers spirits will travel with you.”

"Ghost !?" Aldah almost fainted.

Andrea stepped closer, her hand hovering just shy of Ryo’s arm. “Stay alive,” she said simply. Her voice carried no tremor, only quiet resolve.
Ryo opened his mouth to answer, but Elowen appeared beside her, slipping her hand through Elowen’s in a gesture so casual, so natural, that the words died on his tongue.
He forced a grin, tipping two fingers to his brow. “I’ll try not to get stabbed in the first mile.”
Andrea smiled. Andrea looked at him, not unkindly, but with eyes that made it clear he was an outsider to this warmth.
And maybe that was fine.

---
On the road, the Ember Couriers fell into formation, hooves drumming steady rhythm. Ryo rode near the back, letting the others set the pace. His thoughts tangled like thorn vines.
He thought of Elowen’s hand on Andrea’s, the easy bond between them. He thought of his own fumbling attempt at charm, falling flat. He thought of the beast’s words.
Maybe the beast was right. Maybe he had always been destined to fail, to trail behind brighter souls.
But then he remembered everything he had been through. His friends, the healer they had saved, the way Aldah had trusted him in a fight, the way Lara had shown him her scars, the way Kael—even Kael—sometimes glanced his way as if weighing him, not dismissing him.
And for the first time, he admitted to himself: maybe he could become more than what he’d been.
Not a hero. Not a perfect man. But someone worth remembering.
The beast stirred, restless, unsettled. Hmph. 

Dreams are easy, boy. Living them—that’s where you’ll fall.

Ryo smirked faintly, eyes narrowing on the horizon. “Guess we’ll find out.”
The wind carried away his words, leaving only the steady beat of hooves, the road unspooling before them, and the weight of a past he refused to let chain him any longer.
The Ember Couriers rode on.