Chapter 5 - The Watch Starts Ticking
The aftermath of the attack was a whirlwind of fire and steel.
I didn't go to Charleston.
Instead, I spent forty-eight hours making sure the Valenti family would never see the mountains again.
When I returned to the estate, the fog had finally lifted.
The Blue Ridge Mountains were visible in all their rugged, ancient glory.
I walked into the kitchen.
It was clean.
The door had been replaced.
The smell of garlic and rosemary was back.
Evie was at the window, watering her herbs.
She didn't turn around when I entered.
"Is it done?" she asked.
"It’s done. You’re safe."
I walked over to her and stood by her side.
I pulled the watch from my pocket.
The leather was cracked. The glass was scratched.
It was 11:43 p.m.
"You told me I was a slave to a ghost," I said.
Evie turned to look at me, her expression soft.
"I was wrong," she said.
"You weren't a slave. You were just a man waiting for permission to leave the funeral."
I looked at the watch, then at her.
"I loved her, Evie. I loved her more than the power. More than the name."
"I know," she whispered. "That’s why you’re worth saving."
I took a deep breath.
The air felt different. It didn't feel like the past.
It felt like the present.
I reached for the small, silver stem on the side of the watch.
I pulled it out.
With a slow, deliberate motion, I turned the hands.
11:44.
11:45.
I kept turning until the hands matched the bright, morning sun streaming through the window.
Then, I pushed the stem back in.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The sound was small.
But in the silence of the kitchen, it sounded like a heartbeat.
I placed the watch on the windowsill, right next to the pots of basil.
"The Queen of Burned Biscuits deserves a better crown," I said.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
Inside was a ring.
It wasn't a mafia heirloom. It wasn't a trophy.
It was a simple band of gold with a small, green emerald that matched her eyes.
"Silas..." she breathed.
"I’m a dangerous man, Evie," I said.
"The fog will always be out there. And there will always be men like Valenti."
"But if you stay... I promise to never make you apologize for sounding alive."
She looked at the ring, then up at me.
A slow, mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Does this mean I get a budget for a professional oven?"
"It means you can have the whole mountain," I replied.
She didn't say yes with words.
She stepped into my space and kissed me.
She tasted like cinnamon and courage.
As I held her, I realized that the mountains weren't a graveyard anymore.
They were a home.
The watch continued to tick on the windowsill.
The fog was gone.
And for the first time in seven years, the King of North Carolina wasn't looking back.
He was exactly where he was supposed to be.
May you like
Standing in the light.
Next to his Queen.
