Flames

Chapter Thirty-Five

As soon as they were fully moved in and adjusted, Amber took Cedric to the gates of Adessa. They wrote down his name and the date, sparing him a quick glance.

"Phaepyr, eh?" The guard hardly looked impressed, an eyebrow raised as he glanced between what he had just written and the man before him. "I didn't think King Roman let people leave."

"Not willingly." Cedric offered a smile, an arm draped around the waist of Amber. "I tried to fight in this war and it wasn't for me. I'm ready to become a citizen of Adessa." He vowed, holding eye contact.

"Hmm. Come back one year from now, so long as you spend the year completely away from the war. We have ways of knowing if you've disobeyed and you will be held accountable."

"I understand."

The days passed by slowly as the family waited anxiously for the year to pass. A life inside of Adessa would change everything. Cedric could nearly guarantee that Amber, Riley, and any children Riley would have would never know the struggle of war. No one else from his family would have to know what it was like to lose your parents to the war, the only memory of them being tallies of the losses from a battle.

Three months into living away from the war, Amber discovered she was pregnant again. While the news was unexpected, it was welcomed. With their lives changing, the child would be born around the time they would finally be able to move to Adessa.

Often, she visited her father with Riley in tow. The years were catching up with the older man and she knew how important it was to spend as much time with him as possible, especially for Riley though she doubted he would remember his grandfather as he got older.

Cedric had built a fireplace into the house to keep them warm during the winter. As the season grew near, he found himself excited to use it for the first time. Nearly seven months after they had moved, the air grew cold. "Amber, I'll be back soon. I'm going to get us some wood. I think it's finally time for us to test the fireplace."

"Be safe. I love you." Amber called back, watching with a smile as he waved goodbye and left her alone with Riley. It was nice to have a place of their own, one that she felt safe in. She kneaded the dough she was going to bake on the counter, listening quietly to Riley play with his toys in his own room.

Life away from the kingdoms was easier than she had originally thought. When they first moved, Amber had been worried that the crosshairs of the war would pass by them but it never did. On rare occasions, they'd be able to hear swords clashing and men screaming but it was never visible. Those nights required Cedric holding Amber and soothing Riley, assuring both of them that he would never allow any harm to fall on either of them.

Amber knew she was lucky. Marriage that had been a result of true love was rare, yet she had it. She had one child and hadn't any complications during birth, was now pregnant with her second, and they were on their way to living peacefully without any fear of the world. As her knuckles pressed into the dough, she found herself remembering when she had first met Cedric.

She had been terrified at first, knowing that hardly anyone came back from Phaepyr alive if you didn't belong there. Waking up in the stranger's bed had been frightening, especially when it partnered with the excruciating pain in her side from the battle she had been caught between. Despite the assumptions she had already made about him, he was kind to her. He was gentle and he cared for her, going as far as lying to his king about who she was. Risking his own safety, Cedric had escorted her as far as he could to ensure she got home safely.

If it had been anyone else, not only would she have been killed but her heart wouldn't have been as trusting. Amber saw something inside of Cedric that she hadn't seen in anyone from Phaepyr before. He was a young soul that had been corrupted by ways he didn't understand. He had been tricked to fight for the wrong side. In a way, they had saved each other.