DISCLAIMER: The author's imagination and passion are the only sources of inspiration for this novel, which is a work of dedication. Parallels between these pages and the past or present may be apparent to some readers, but they are completely coincidental. You are free to interpret this art anyway you see fit, and it is meant for your enjoyment.
The atmosphere at Hylde Manor had shifted. A deep, waiting stillness had taken the place of the Red Fever's frenetic intensity. The quarantine had been lifted, the kitchens were filled with the aroma of healing broth, and the patients were recuperating. However, Reinn was just now starting to feel the real weight of the world.
In the peaceful hours of the sickroom, she had made her decision, but the "Open-Source" world demanded a conclusion as noble as the trip. She had to speak to the souls of the men who had redefined dedication, not just stroll to an altar.
Over a morning tea that felt like the last meal before a journey, she said to Ryianne and Eyrion, "It's time."
"Be gentle, but be firm," her mother said. "A heart can heal from a 'no,' but it will rot under a maybe."
Reinn spent the day in the "Garden of Names"—a remote area of the estate where the names of the Hylde ancestors' children were engraved into the silver-bark trees. She invited each man individually to join her for one last heart-to-heart.
The first was Giywon. With the poise of a man who already knew the wind had changed, he walked toward her. His silver hair was illuminated by the morning sun as they strolled along the stone walkway.
"I saw you in the infirmary, Giywon," Reinn said. "I saw the man who was willing to get his hands dirty for people who could never give him a vote or a tax. You would be the greatest Ruler this world has ever seen."
Giywon paused, gazing at a tree with silver bark. "But I am not the man who will carve his name beside yours on this tree, am I?"
Reinn grasped his hands. "Your light is so bright, Giywon. It belongs to an Empire. If I took you for myself, I feel like I would be stealing a sun from a world that needs you to lead it into the new age. You taught me that I was worthy of a crown, but you also taught me that I don't need one to be powerful."
Giywon lowered his head and briefly pressed his forehead to hers. "Then I shall be the greatest ally the House of Hylde has ever known. I will build an Empire that your children will be proud to visit. That is my vow to you, Samantha."
Next came Dyierrean, who was as solid as a mountain. He didn't wait for her to begin. "The fever showed me something," he replied, meeting her emerald gaze. "It showed me that you have found the warmth you were looking for. And it wasn't my hearth."
Reinn muttered, "Dyierrean," and moved into his personal space. "You are the safety I never had. You are the shield that never broke. But I realized... I don't want to live my life behind a shield anymore. I want to live it in the open. I want you to find a woman who looks at the North not as a fortress, but as a home. You deserve a heart that is as vast and deep as your own."
The Duke of the North bent down and gave her a reverent hand kiss that made her cry. "I will always be your blade in the dark, Reinn. If the world ever grows cold again, the North remembers its Lady."
With his tablet nowhere to be seen, Ji-Hoon greeted her near the fountain. With the analytical eyes of a man witnessing a flawless system he was not a part of, he gazed at the garden.
With a knowing yet melancholy smile, Ji-Hoon said, "The data was always leaning toward him, wasn't it? I tried to optimize a future, but love isn't a variable you can solve for."
"You gave me a vision of a world where I could be smart, and capable, and respected," Reinn stated to him. "You showed me that the future doesn't have to be scary if you have a plan. But Ji-Hoon, you are a man of the stars and the future. I need someone who is rooted in the dirt and the present. You're going to build that school, and you're going to change this world. I'll be your first benefactor."
Ji-Hoon cleared his throat to conceal his feelings as he adjusted his glasses. "I'll make sure the curriculum includes a history of the woman who outsmarted the Author. It'll be the most popular course."
Killian's emerald cloak flapped in the wind as he waited near the garden gate. The "Land-Locked Cottage" in the distance caught his attention.
Without the typical theatrical lilt in his voice, he said, "I guess I'm picking up the anchor, aren't I, Lioness?"
Reinn responded, "Killian, you are the wind," and gave him a strong hug. "You taught me how to breathe again. You made me laugh when I wanted to scream. But you and I... we are two fires. We would burn the house down. You need the sea, and the sea needs you. But don't you dare be a stranger. I expect my children to hear the most inappropriate pirate stories every summer."
Despite the brightness of unshed tears in his eyes, Killian laughed. "I'll bring them pearls from the Moon-Isles and silk from the Sun-Coast. You gave me a soul, Sam. That's a treasure I'll never trade."
At last, the garden became silent. The four men had left—not as adversaries, but as the cornerstones of her history. Reinn stood by the grove's oldest tree, her heart pounding a steady, rhythmic "Yes."
Leo emerged from the shade. He didn't appear to be a hero or a prince. He reminded her of the boy who had sat with her at a convenience store when everything seemed to be made of cardboard. He resembled the man who had given her shoulder massages in a hospital.
"They're gone," Leo said.
"They are," Reinn answered.
Leo approached her and stretched out to touch the "Ink of Free Will" on her wrist, his hands shaking a little. "Sam, I don't have a kingdom. I don't have a fortress or a fleet. I'm just... me. Are you sure? Once the Vow is spoken, the 'Open-Source' closes. We become a permanent story."
Reinn grasped his hand and covered her heart with it. "I don't want a kingdom, Leo. I want a kitchen that smells like ramen and jasmine tea. I don't want a fortress; I want a bedroom where I can hear you breathing. I don't want a fleet; I want a garden where we can watch our children grow."
She examined the tree's silver bark. "I've spent three seasons being 'Reinn Hylde.' But with you, I get to be Samantha. And Samantha wants to go home."
Leo pulled her into a kiss that was as vibrant, warm, and full of the terrible yet exhilarating possibilities of a new world as the first day of spring.
He muttered, "I love you, Sam," on the corners of her mouth.
"I love you, Leo."
Reinn faced the manor once more. Eyldion was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a single white ribbon as her parents stood on the balcony.
Eyldion remarked, his voice full with emotion, "Is the choice made?"
Reinn glanced at Leo before turning back to her brother. "The choice is made. Tell the village. Tell the Empire. The House of Hylde has found its heart."
A broad view of the manor concludes the chapter. One plain silver banner, the color of the fixer, the color of the moon, the color of home, is raised alongside the Hylde insignia, while the gold, violet, blue, and emerald banners of the other suitors are respectfully dropped.