Page 72 of For the Love of the Quest

As they walked, Edith took as much of Thomasin’s weight as she could. It was slow progress, winding their way through the trees in the dark, with only the glow of the full moon trickling through the leaves to light their way. They didn’t have a destination yet, not even an inkling of a plan. Edith only knew that they needed to put as much distance between themselves and the church as possible.

She almost laughed at that thought, at how much could change so quickly. Twenty-four hours ago, Edith had been lying atop the velvet curtains, tucked in Thomasin’s arms. She had stared up at the stars through the peeling slats of wood above them and let her be mind swept away into beautiful imaginings. They would return to the island someday, once their discovery of Excalibur had brought them riches and fame. They would restore the church. Thomasin would rebuild the roof, patch the walls. Edith would hang red velvet curtains to frame the stained glass windows. As sunlight filtered through them like a kaleidoscope, they would walk down the aisle. The colors would dance across the satin of Edith’s white dress.

Now, running away from that church might be the last thing they ever did together. Edith swallowed the lump in her throat. She had no right to be sad.

“How are we going to get off this island?” she asked, forcing her thoughts to more relevant topics. “My father and Worthing have the only boat. They’re certainly not going to just give up and leave us here.”

“We hunker down somewhere we can keep an eye on the boat. When they leave to look for us, we steal the boat.” Thomasin’s words were tight. She was trying to hide it, but Edith could tell she was out of breath.

“I can’t leave my father for dead,” Edith said. Though she was loath to argue with Thomasin, she knew there were lines she justcouldn’t cross. “And you need a doctor as soon as possible. We don’t have time to wait.”

“Do you have any better ideas?”

It wasn’t a better one. In fact, it was terrible. But Edith voiced it anyway. “When Worthing leaves the boat, we go talk to my father.” Thomasin began to protest, but Edith barreled on, “I agree to return home with him on the condition that we leave immediately, without Worthing, and that he provides you a doctor, then lets you go free. Now that Worthing has taken me captive and tried to extort more money from him, he won’t dispute going back on his original deal.”

“What about you?” Thomasin mumbled.

“What about me?”

“You’ll have to go home. Is that still what you want?”

“Of course not. It was never what I wanted. It was just what I thought I needed to do,” Edith said as she ducked underneath a branch, then held it up for Thomasin to pass under.

“Why would you offer this plan now, then?”

Edith shook her head, gave a short, bewildered laugh. She looked up at Thomasin. “Because it would save you.”

Thomasin avoided her gaze, looking toward the trees. “You don’t make any sense.”

“I know,” Edith admitted. She was only just starting to understand herself as well. “So we have a plan?”

“I suppose,” Thomasin said after a beat.

“Good.” Edith forced her lips into a smile. But then something occurred to her, the weight of her satchel suddenly heavier. For Thomasin, she could sacrifice a life of adventure, of freedom. But she couldn’t condemn her grandmother to the same fate. Edith tightened her grip on Thomasin’s waist and slowed to a stop. “There’s something I need to do first.”

“What is it?” Her voice wasn’t exactly unkind, but it wasn’t welcoming either.

Edith chewed on her lower lip and glanced at Thomasin out of the corner of her eye. She could see the exhaustion written plainly in the slump of her shoulders and in the way she leaned against Edith. “I can do it alone. We just need to find somewhere to hide you for an hour or two at most. There was that little cave we found near the tree with the firstN.” She tried to take a step forward, but Thomasin was a deadweight at her side.

“Tell me where you’re going.”

It was a fanciful, sentimental task, but it was important. Edith knew if she didn’t do it, she’d regret it forever. But she didn’t want to admit what she needed to do to Thomasin. Not when she already owed Thomasin so much, when Thomasin had already suffered for her. It was terribly selfish of her to ask Thomasin to sit in a cave for an hour, while she—

“Tell me.” Thomasin’s command cut off her thoughts.

Edith looked away as she said it, fixing her eyes on a patch of brambles. “I need to return to Merlin’s tomb to scatter my grandmother’s ashes.” Her cheeks were hot, and shame clogged her throat. She would always be a silly, emotional girl. She would always place too much importance on things other people derided.

But as always, Thomasin surprised her. “I’ll go with you.”

Edith reared her head back to look at Thomasin properly. “Thomasin, no. You’re in no shape to go up and down those stairs again, or even crawl through the tunnel.”

Thomasin looked at her with that stone-hewed ruthless expression Edith had seen her use so often, but hardly ever with her since that very first meeting. “You don’t tell me what to do.”

Edith could never be scared of her, though. She tilted her chin up. “I’m not going to cause you any more harm.”

“I can handle it. I’ve been in worse shape.”

“No. You’ve already done too much for me. I won’t let you help me with this.”