“But they attacked the Academy, killed some of our soldiers and cadets. Torin fled with Ellowyn at the end, taking Lex and Ilyas with them,” I whispered.
Rohak blinked once.
“And that is the reality of war. People die.” I flinched at the harshness of his voice. “Ellowyn, Lex, and Ilyas are all free adults. They can make their own decisions and will return when the time is right.”
I nodded in his hold despite not fully believing his words.
“If you didn’t let Torin inside, Ellowyn would have had no reason to force a wall of Destruction from her hands, ending the battle. Alois would have died, and I alongside him, because the gods would have killed her. You can’t live your life by ‘what ifs’ and regrets, Faylinn. It does no one any good.”
“I’m glad you didn’t die,” I blurted, much to Rohak’s amusement. He released my chin with a huffed laugh, cold air replacing his warm touch.
“Me too, Rune Master.”
Silence hung between us while we were lost to our own thoughts, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The simplicity of the night brought me more comfort than I could fully articulate. There was just something about being near Rohak, living in his space, sitting with him on his sofa, that feltright—more than just the Bond that twirled happily in my chest.
“I’m putting Sirak in the dungeon in the morning,” Rohak admitted abruptly.
“Why? Where didthatcome from?”
Rohak chuffed a laugh at my wide-eyed expression, but he just pulled me close to his body again after I’d wiggled away to see his face fully.
The grumpy General shrugged sheepishly, but there was no remorse as he delivered his reasoning.
“Alois kept him in the library, in case he becameusefulagain”—he spat the word like it was a curse—“I delivered Lex to his tormentor and then became complicit when that man was allowed to walk free in the same place that Lex called home.” Rohak shook his head, anger and self-hatred warring in his eyes. “It’s a miracle Lex even deigned to remain here, remain loyal to me. It was one ofthe things I promised myself—if something ever happened to Alois, I’d dispose of Sirak so that the ghosts of Lex’s past were just that and not flesh and bone.”
My heart thumped wildly at the vitriol and conviction in his voice, at the respect he held for Lex. I was also thankful that I’d chosen not to share my torture at the hands of Sirak and Alois. That was not a burden he needed to bear, nor did I want to tinge the already conflicting memories of his friend.
“You love him dearly,” I whispered.
Pain flashed in his gaze as he nodded.
“Yes,” he said simply. “He’s . . . the brother I never had, closer to me than even Alois was at some points. Fate brought us together, and all I did was aid in his torment, his suffering.”
“I’m not sure Lex would see it that way.”
Rohak chuffed a laugh and scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “No. He wouldn’t. He’s loyal and forgiving to a fault. Ilyas, too,” he finished in quiet contemplation.
I hummed, my respect for my Bonded only growing with each minute we were here together.
“Would you like to learn to read runes?” I asked.
Rohak extracted himself from the demons in his mind with a soft smile that melted my residual apprehension.
It’s going to be difficult to keep these barriers in place, to not complete this Bond.
“I would love that,” he said softly. “I’d love to have enough knowledge to carve a headstone for Alois in the graveyard.”
My heart broke for Rohak as I watched a myriad of emotions pass across his face—pain, hurt, anger, devastation, longing—before they settled into something like fond remembrance.
“Despite his many,manyflaws, he was still my best friend. My other half for so many years,” he whispered, picking at the callouses on his palms.
I ached for him, to take away the grief that threatened to pull him under.
“What would you write? On his headstone?” I asked.
Rohak fell into silent contemplation before his motions stilled, and he leaned his dark head back against the couch cushion, fixing me with a strange look from the corner of his eye.
“Here lies King Alois d’Refan, last of all kings.”
