Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 757

Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess

Chapter 757 Has He Been Upset Lately?

By evening, the group arrived at a wayside station.

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Calling it a station was generous; it was really just a courtyard enclosed by a few dilapidated mud–brick huts. Parts of the perimeter wall had already collapsed, crudely patched up with bundles of brambles. The yard was overgrown with withered grass that rustled whenever the wind blew.

George set his attendants to work clearing out the rooms, then personally escorted Elowen to a relatively clean one.

Elowen thanked him with a smile, stepped inside, and closed the door. Maya was staying right next door in a similarly small, mud–brick room.

Later that night, the entire station fell silent. With winter setting in, there were no insects chirping, leaving only the relentless, howling wind.

A faint sound woke Elowen from her sleep.

She knew instantly that Maya was heading out. Sitting up quietly, she walked barefoot to the window and propped it open just a crack to look outside.

The moonlight was piercingly bright.

She saw Maya slip out of the neighboring room, wrapped in a thin coat with her hair loose. Stepping quickly across the freezing ground, Maya hurried toward a corner of the courtyard.

Near the base of the wall, a tall silhouette stepped fluidly out of the shadows.

It was the broad–shouldered, sharp–featured man who had been feeding hay to the horses by the stream earlier that day.

As Maya approached, the man opened his arms and pulled her gently into his embrace. Maya buried her face in his chest, her shoulders trembling. The man stroked her back with slow, tender motions.

They spoke in low, hushed tones. They were speaking Nordian, a language Elowen couldn’t understand.

However, she guessed Maya was repeating the warning she had given her earlier–telling him not to follow so closely, or they would risk being discovered.

Watching them cling to each other in the dark, Elowen felt her own longing for Cassian deepen.

Just as Elowen was about to look away and go back to sleep, a faint tap echoed through the

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Chapter 57 Has He Been Upset Lately?

night air.

A peregrine falcon had landed on her windowsill.

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In the moonlight, its deep blue–black feathers gleamed. Though small, the bird was sleekly built, and its round, bright eyes stared straight at her.

Elowen’s eyes widened slightly.

She suddenly remembered a moment while recovering at the Whitman estate, when Emma had pointed to the sky and yelled about a massive eagle. Following Emma’s gaze, Elowen had realized it was actually a peregrine falcon. Later, during her journey north with the recruiters, she had spotted them a few more times. She hadn’t thought much of it then.

But now, one was sitting right on her windowsill.

Elowen suddenly recalled Cassian telling her that during his military campaigns in the North, he used peregrines to scout enemy positions.

Her heart stirred. Reaching out a hand, she tentatively stroked the bird’s head. Instead of pulling away, the falcon tilted its head, nuzzling against her fingers, before turning its gaze toward the east.

Elowen immediately followed its line of sight.

Watery moonlight flooded the entire courtyard. Near the base of the wall, Maya and her lover were still wrapped in each other’s arms, whispering sweet nothings. Elowen looked past them, over the wall, and toward the distance.

Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat.

She recognized a familiar figure.

Anson.

Elowen slipped out of her room without a sound. She cut across the courtyard with light, careful steps, ensuring she didn’t alert anyone in the station before gliding past the wall and into the shadows of the night.

Seeing Elowen approach, Anson visibly relaxed. He bowed respectfully, just as he always did. “Your Grace.”

Behind him, two dark silhouettes offered silent bows as well.

Elowen gestured for them to rise, immediately asking, “Where is Cassian? Has he been upset lately?”

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Chapter 757 Has He Been Upset Lately?

Anson froze.

Looking up, he studied Elowen’s face, half–illuminated by the moonlight.

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He had to admit, the love between Cassian and Elowen was truly something to envy. They were constantly on each other’s minds and understood one another perfectly.

Naturally, Anson knew better than anyone what kind of hell Cassian had been going through these past weeks–going without food or sleep, refusing to speak, his expression as cold as midwinter ice. Everyone had been walking on eggshells, terrified of crossing him.

But Anson couldn’t be too blunt about it.

“Somewhat,” Anson said, choosing his words carefully. “No one has dared speak to His Grace lately.”

A faint smile touched Elowen’s lips. “With that temper of his, there is no helping it.” Pausing for a moment, she asked, “What about Caius and Emily?”

Anson couldn’t help but note that Elowen had only just gotten around to asking about the children.

She really did put Cassian first.

“Caius and Emily are being well looked after,” Anson replied. “Though before going to sleep at night, Caius always looks around, as if he’s searching for someone. The wet nurse says he is likely looking for you, Your Grace.”

Elowen’s heart melted. She had always assumed Caius was too fond of sleeping to be particularly attached to her, but clearly, he still needed his mother.

“His Grace used the falcon to track you down,” Anson continued. “He sent me ahead to ensure your safe return to his side.”

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