Chapter 190 Going Back


    TESSA


    I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but here I was.


    I didn’t pack any of my dresses, and it had been a while since I’d even bothered to think about dressing up for something formal.


    However, the moment I decided and revealed that I was going to Fenra to attend a wedding this weekend. Edith lit up like she’d been waiting her whole life for me to say those words. She pulled <b>out </b>a dress from nowhere, dusting it off dramatically as though she’d been keeping it sealed away for some fated moment.


    “It’s perfect for you,” she’d said, holding it up with maternal pride.


    The dress did, in fact, coincide perfectly with the wedding theme: rose gold, soft golds, and silvers. It was a soft, champagne gold that clung to my frame in all the right ces, hugging my hips, outlining my waist, and–most scandalously–showing off my cleavage. I didn’t even know she had this in her possession. When had Edith managed to get a dress like this? And more importantly, why had she kept it for me?


    I slipped into it, pulling the fabric carefully over my skin, smoothing it down. It was heavier than I expected butfortable, and when I finally looked at myself in the mirror, I hardly recognized the woman staring back at me. The dress wasn’t loud, but itplemented me really well.


    The moment I stepped out of the bathroom, Noelle’s jaw dropped.


    “Damn, you have an ass,” she blurted before she could stop herself.


    My eyes widened instantly, and my cheeks burned. Good thing Ca was outside ying with the kids- thank the Moon Goddess for that. She didn’t need to hear her aunt’s mouth running wild.


    Meanwhile, Sol clicked his tongue from where he sat on the couch, leaning back like a bored prince. “I wish I could see.”


    I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop theugh that escaped me. My hands instinctively smoothed down the sides of the dress.


    “Please,” I muttered, shaking my head. “This is not my day. This is too much. I just want to see my best friend.”


    “Oh please,” Noelle cut in.


    She was already reaching for her little box of brushes and powders, fixing my makeup and adding the final touches. “Don’t you dare ruin it with that shy act. For sure, the people in Fenra are going to have grander dresses. You know how they are. Always so extra.”


    Her tone turned knowing. “It might be better now, like you said, but Fenra is still Fenra. Thatpetitive streak never goes away. It’s in their nature.”


    She dabbed a bit of shimmer on my cheekbones, then leaned back to inspect her handiwork. I couldn’t help but nod in agreement, because she wasn’t wrong. Fenra had always been thend of subtle rivalries and silent measurements, of unspokenpetitions about who looked best, who held the most powermanded the most attention.


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    Chapter 190 Going Back


    Just then, Winston walked in.


    He paused at the sight of me, his eyes softening. “Beautiful,” he said simply. He didn’t exaggerate and jour let the word stand on its own. “Are you ready to go?”


    I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.


    I stood, smoothing down the dress onest time, and turned toward the door. “I’ll be back soon, I said, giving a quick wave at Ca outside before addressing Noelle and Sol. “Take care of-


    I didn’t get to finish.


    “Take care of her, never let her out of our sight, feed her well, and make sure she naps after meals, they both recited at the same time like a ridiculous, over–rehearsed chant.


    I stopped and then narrowed my eyes.


    “We get it!” Noelle eximed, throwing her hands up before I could lecture. “Go already. Have fun. <b>And </b>get some luck.”


    Her grin widened wickedly. “Come back with another baby!”


    I clicked my tongue, ring at her. “Right back at you.”


    She only blew me a kiss.


    With no choice but to let it go, I followed Winston out to the dock.


    Fortunately, our littlemunity was nestled close to the waters, so the walk wasn’t long. The path was quiet, lined with familiar trees, and for a moment I let the calm sink into me. It was strange how the air itself seemed to change when you were on the cusp of leaving–like the world knew you were about to step away, even just for a while.


    When we reached the dock, Winston steadied the boat with ease, holding it steady as I stepped in carefully. My heels clinked softly against the wooden boards before I settled myself onto the seat.


    The boat rocked gently, the waterpping against its sides, and I looked up at the afternoon sky. The sun was dipping lower, painting the horizon in shades of orange and rose, the same palette that would greet me in Fenra.


    I wrapped my arms around myself, exhaling slowly.


    I was reallying back to Fenra.


    I thought about it for a long time, of course. I’ve been gone for far too long. I didn’t know what to expect.


    The wind brushed against my face as Winston’s boat skimmed across the waters, carrying me toward the one ce I had both longed for and dreaded seeing again.


    Although Fenra had been my home for most of my life, I knew it wouldn’t be the same anymore. Too much had changed. No, I had changed. The girl who once walked its streets had been naive and endlessly hungry for approval. The woman now returning was… what? A survivor? A failure? A mother? All of the


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    Chapter 190 Going Back


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    Eternal Woods had been my salvation, my quiet refuge when the noise of Fenra threatened to drown me They scolded me,ughed with me, treated me like family.


    I had been gone for nearly four years. Would they even remember me kindly? Would they whisper behind their masks as they always did? Would Rowan-


    No. I shook the thought away as fast as it came. I wasn’t here for him.


    I traced my fingers over the folds of Edith’s golden dress. I still couldn’t believe she had hidden something so extravagant for me all this time. She imed it was for a special asion, and apparently, my return to Fenra for Arden’s wedding counted as special. I still wasn’t sure I had the courage to wear it in front of Fenra’s endless eyes.


    But Arden deserved nothing less than my presence.


    It was her wedding.


    For so long, I thought she and Cade had married quietly, maybe during their honeymoon in rc. They’d been gone for a week after all. But no. Cade had been far <i>too </i>busy with his transition into the role of Praetor, stepping into responsibilities heavier than any crown. I understood then. They must have chosen to wait until his position was secure and until the world could pause long enough <i>to </i>honor them properly.


    And now, the moment hade.


    I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.


    Maybe that was what kept me from panicking as the boat glided forward, carrying me closer and closer to a past I had once fled. The thought of Arden’s smile steadied me.


    The horizon shifted, and I saw the faintest glimpse of Fenra. Its peaks shimmered faintly in the distance, the way I remembered them at sunset. A thousand emotions stirred in me all at once.


    Has it really been four years? It felt like both yesterday and a lifetime ago.


    I didn’t realize I had been thinking for so long until Winston slowed the boat, his voice pulling me back into the present.


    “We’re here.”