My thoughts must be on my face because Elliot gently touches my cheek as he says, “It was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through and the reason I resigned. His death wasn’t directly my fault, but… It should have been me who died.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I’m glad it wasn’t,” I whisper, hating every word. I should not be grateful for something like that. I should never be glad that someone lost his life. But the thought of Elliot not being here with me… A sob breaks from me as so many emotions come rushing to the surface, everything I have been feeling for days but refused to release. Guilt, fear, inadequacy, loneliness, affection. It all spills from me in a watery mess of tears.
Elliot tucks his arm around me and pulls me into his chest.
I let out a cry that is almost a laugh. “Oh, this is ridiculous!” I complain.
He tightens his hold. “What?”
“You are bleeding, probably dying, and I am the one falling apart!” Sniffling, I try to sit up straight again, but he will not let me. “Elliot, I am to be a queen!”
“I hope so.”
“I cannot sit here blubbering like a child when you need me to be strong.”
“I don’t need that, Freya.” His hand moves to my hair, fingers working their way into the style my attendant wove it into and sending a shiver through me. “All I need is for you to be safe. And I’m glad too.”
This time when I pull back, he gives me enough room to meet his eyes. “Why?”
Lips quirking up, he leans forward until his forehead touches mine. “Because I don’t know if I can let anyone else protect you. Even if I’ve done a terrible job of it so far. I need…” He exhales and slumps forward, and I have to press my arm against his chest to hold him up.
“You need help,” I finish for him. “Can you stand?” If I can get him on the horse, I can try to find someone who can help. While most people in this area live within the valley of Skalridge, there are some in the mountains. If there is no one close, I will take him back to the city and hope he lasts that long.
Grunting, Elliot takes a few deep breaths before he shifts his legs, ready to try to stand. “I’ll be fine,” he says.
It is clearly a lie. While he manages to stand with my assistance, his first step nearly sends him back down to the ground. He has lost too much blood, and I fear he will not have the strength to survive long enough to find help. Even then, I will never get him on the horse on my own.
“What do I do?” I ask as I tuck myself under his arm, hoping to hold his significant weight without dropping him.
Elliot hums. “Give me a minute.”
“I worry you do nothavea minute.”
The smile he gives me is so much like the roguish smirks he gave me on the day we met that I cannot help but smile back at him. “It almost sounds like you care, Rapunzel.”
Of course I care. I have wanted to tell him so many times, but it took a bullet for me to admit it out loud. “Elliot, I—”
“If—” he groans “—whenI pass out, promise me you won’t go wandering around looking for help.”
My smile immediately shifts to a scowl. “I will promise no such thing.”
“Freya, please.” He closes his eyes, leaning more heavily into me. “I need to know you’ll be safe. Find somewhere to hide and wait for…the palace guards…to find you.”
“How will the—”
“Tracker.” He moans, breaths shallow. “In your hair.”
I gasp. “What?”
Before he can explain—assuming he would choose to in the first place—he loses consciousness, and it takes everything in me to slow his fall. I end up in a heap on top of him as he crashes to the ground, my tears threatening to break loose again. The forest around me begins to darken as the sun dips behind the mountains.
“Elliot,” I whisper, knowing he will not respond as I press my palm to his cheek. I want him to tell me what to do. Ineedhim to be okay. “Please don’t leave me.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Elliot
That’sthelasttimeI let myself get shot.
