“I’ll take this.” Daniel picked up the axe. “And hide it. No one has any reason to suspect or search my things. You can get it later.”
“Don’t use it on anything,” Vhalla cautioned. She didn’t have any particular reason to warn him against doing so, but itfeltright. There was a deeper power to that blade that Vhalla didn’t trust. She wasn’t sure if she even trusted herself to hold it again. “And try not to touch it too much,” Vhalla added, thinking of crystal corruption a moment too late.
“I won’t be sleeping with it or anything,” Daniel chuckled. Vhalla’s remained resolute. “Fine, I won’t; you have my word.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, run along, Lady Vhalla. Or else you’ll ruin the illusion that you’ve been asleep in bed this whole time.” He gave her a tired smile.
Vhalla took a step backward, not yet ready to stop looking at him. “Thank you,” she whispered, hoping he knew she meant it for so much more than the weapon he held in his hand.
“Always.” Daniel nodded.
Vhalla turned, pulled up her hood, and tried to draw as little attention to herself as possible all the way back to the camp palace. The further she got from the blade, the easier she began to feel. But there was a singular sensation that didn’t waver until Aldrik returned to her side later. The sensation lingered until the prince, oblivious to her adventures, made her focus only on her lover, forgetting all else but his touch.
It was the hair-raising feeling of being watched.
THEY HADN’T SAIDa word since they both realized the other was awake. The crown prince and his intended rested on opposite ends of the pillow, their fingers intertwining and releasing as the dawn crept upon them. With her free hand Vhalla played with the watch at her neck.
“Vhalla,” Aldrik finally spoke. His tone told her that she wasn’t going to like what he was about to say. “If—”
“Don’t,” Vhalla beseeched softly, pressing her face into his bare chest. She inhaled deeply, imprinting on her memory the smell of smoke and fire and sweat overlaying the faint hint of eucalyptus—the scent of Aldrik.
He shook his head, his nose in her hair. “If,” Aldrik persisted, “if the battle does not go as planned ... If something happens to me.”
“Aldrik,” she pleaded. It was still hours from sunset, and her strength was already beginning to waver.
“Tell Baldair to go to my Tower room. He’s never been there, but he can order Victor to take him. Within, there’s a storeroom that has a large black chest. The key to it is hidden in the rose garden, under a loose stone near the bench,” Aldrik detailed carefully.
“Nothing will happen—”
“Vhalla,please.” His arms tightened around her. “Tell Baldair of this and tell him I want you to have everything within it and anything else he can give you to ensure your life will be taken care of and comfortable. He will believe you; he has given me his word to see you healthy and happy, and I’ve come to trust him to do that.”
Vhalla pressed her eyes closed as if she could ignore where his dutiful words stemmed from. Her mind drifted to the axe from the night before. If she could get it before the fight, could it help turn the tides of war? Vhalla thought briefly of telling Aldrik, of getting the axe and using it in whatever battle was to come. But after all his previous reactions to crystals, the last thing she wanted to do was ruin their moment. Beyond that, she didn’t quite trust the weapon, there was something she didn’t understand about it and that made her leery.
“But do not return to the South,” Aldrik continued.
“What?” Vhalla blinked in surprise, her previous debate forgotten.
“If I am—” Aldrik paused, unable to bring himself to say the words. “If I’m not there to protect you, go West. Get to my uncle. He will keep you as safe as I would. He knows it’s my will.”
“But the Knights of Jadar ...” Vhalla said uncertainly.
“The safest place will be with the man who knows them and already has a pulse on their movements,” Aldrik insisted. “My uncle has been fighting against the Knights since they rose up against my family in protest of my mother marrying my father. With my uncle, you will be taken care of, this is what I want. This is the one thing I want if I am not there to make you my wife, if I cannot protect you myself.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Will you do that?” he asked softly, interrupting her protest.
Vhalla nodded.
“Promise me,” he insisted.
“I promise.” She obliged him, and it was like a dagger to her gut. “Don’t, don’t let anything happen to you.” She gripped him around the ears, fearful. “This Empire needs you, it needs your hands to wash away the blood and to heal its wounds.”
Aldrik shook his head. “I am only good at breaking things, at reaping destruction.” His voice was tired.
“No.”
