Only once they were in sight of Eden—a name he’d chosen because of some ancient text that called it paradise—did he remove the binding around her eyes.
“This is where I live,” he’d declared, sweeping his arm at the ruins he’d begun reclaiming a few years ago.
Inside the wall they’d hastily patched, the buildings jutted, jagged sets of teeth overgrown with vines and, in some cases, tumbled-down chunks of stone. Once upon a time the ruins had been a great city. He’d found a painting of it sealed away in a room along with a few other treasures. He’d taken over one of the most untouched buildings in the heart of it. Over the last few years, others had joined him. Like Jonas, who could fish like no one’s business, and his wife who did incredible things when she cooked it.
Then there was Anita’s father, Maurice, a gruff man who’d lost an eye in a mad wizard attack. The mad part being the fate of those who didn’t learn to control their gift. And even then, it was said the strongest disciplined sometimes succumbed the hardest.
People joined him. Believers like Roark who saw the same potential he did when he looked upon the remains. Planned how they could rebuild.
Eden was going to be their paradise.
Theona didn’t see the future. Her expression as she beheld the crumbling ruins he’d commandeered held a hint of a sneer. “This is your home? You live here?”
He tried to ignore the disdain. “Yes. We’ve been rebuilding.”
“Slowly by the looks of it.”
“You should have seen it when we found it.” The memory made him realize how far they had come. “We’re going to bring it back to its former glory.”
“Maybe in a few decades,” she’d muttered. He might have taken offense, yet in that moment, she turned a bright smile on him. “This place is amazing. You’re amazing.”
Unlike most people he ran into, he couldn’t read her mind. He didn’t know she lied. Wouldn’t have believed it, given she was in his bed two days later.
She spent days with him, asking him to show her around, asking so many questions. Forget his earlier caution. He let her see every important cranny and did so gladly, never realizing just how she played him. It hurt so bad later when he found out she’d used him.
Despite a very glorious week, she eventually asked to go home. She claimed her remaining family would miss her.
“I’ll miss you,” Roark had said, a foolish young man in love.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
But he did worry, which was why, despite the protests of his Marsh neighbors, he led her exit out by the bluffs. Following them, she’d be in the city before nightfall. Given she lived in the city, he did wonder what she’d been doing travelling in the Marsh with her parents.
She’d pouted. “Why won’t you come with me?”
“Because the city isn’t my thing.”
“How am I supposed to find you again?”
“Will you come back?” He remembered searching her gaze, sad at seeing her go, but wondering if it wasn’t for the best. There was something false about her humor. As if the smile hid something.
“Don’t tell me what we did meant nothing to you.” Her lower lip wobbled, and her eyes welled with tears.
“Of course it meant something,” he hastened to say. “And if you want to return to me, I’d be more than happy.”
“But how will you know when I’m ready? I’ll never find my way back unless you draw me a map.”
A map that could get into the wrong hands? He wasn’t that besotted. “You shouldn’t travel alone. You’ll need an escort, meaning we need a signal.”
Eyeing their location, he pointed to the goliath of a tree, reaching much higher than the others and split into many twining trunks from a single base. “See this tree? If you want to come back, send someone to put out a yellow ribbon.”
“How is a yellow ribbon supposed to help?”
“I’ll ensure someone swings by to look for it on a regular basis. If they see it, they’ll tell me, and I’ll make arrangements to fetch you in the city.”
“Or maybe I’ll just show up and surprise you.”
“Don’t be foolish. You don’t want to get lost in the Marsh.”
“You’re right. I guess this is goodbye.” Their kiss was long and lingering. Despite holding on to him the whole ride out, she drove off on his vehicle with a bit more speed and skill than he’d have expected.