The heartlanding. She’s talking about their heartlanding. They might see the ocean every night for all they know.
“The mountains sound delightful,” Elowyn says.
“The chalet it is.” Mother wanders down the corridor, mumbling to herself about all the things she needs to do to prepare for their departure. At least that will distract her from Arisanna’s absence for a while.
“Will we get to ride the train?” Elowyn asks, and Rominy nods absently.
What did he just agree to? A month? Alone at the chalet? With Elowyn?
Stars above. He really is married now. And tomorrow, they leave on their honeymoon.
As Rominy stares at nothing in particular, Father claps him on the back and leans close so only Rominy can hear. “I’m not a young man, son. I’d like to meet my grandchildren before I go, and you need an heir.” Then Father winks and follows Mother down the corridor as Rominy looks on in shock.
Grandchildren? An heir?
“Your heart is racing.” Elowyn looks up at him with compassion in her eyes and then frowns. “Are you breathing at all?”
Is he?
She reaches for his other hand. “Deep breaths, Rominy. Then maybe you can give me a tour of the castle.”
He has to remember how to breathe first.
WhenCeriansaidit’sa long way to Darlei, he wasn’t exaggerating. Darkness fell long ago in the Wildthorne Woods of southern Lostariel, and Arisanna tries not to let her unease become too obvious as every forest sound around them makes her jump.
It’s chilly, too. She shivers again and wraps her cloak tighter around herself as Dahlia plods on loyally beneath the sore muscles and joints plaguing Arisanna with every bump.
For a while, Cerian rode silently beside her, but his parents called him to speak to them some time ago, and he still hasn’t returned.
Few of the other elves seem eager to acknowledge her existence, though Tharios and Viala always have ready smiles for her. Somehow, she feels more like a curiosity now than the wife of a prince.
When a deer crashes through the trees nearby, Arisanna almost jumps from her saddle. She tugs her cloak even closer.
“Are you warm enough?” The sudden sound of Cerian’s voice on her other side makes her jump even higher, and Cerian frowns. “Your heart is racing.”
“You just terrified me!”
He eyes her steadily. “It was already racing. Are you frightened of the woods?”
She almost denies it. Then some inexplicable desire to be upfront with him fills her, and she sighs. “Yes. We don’t have woods like these near Levina.”
His expression still doesn’t change. At some point, they stopped moving while the others continued on ahead, and now they’re more or less alone.
“I won’t let anything harm you, Arisanna.”
She gulps and nods. A strange warmth fills her at his words.
“I’ll stay with you,” he continues. “We should reach Darlei in twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes?
Suddenly, it feels too soon. They slept on the platform last night. Together. Where will they sleep tonight? Where will she sleep?
A crease forms between his brows as he looks at her. “What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head and forces a smile, but when she tries to assure him she’s fine, the words won’t come.
As if she can’t deceive him. The magic won’t let her.
