My hope had been that Stellon would agree to help me overthrow our father that night. We could have halted the execution, and then he could have ruled Avrandar, making it a better place for everyone.
But my brother had been too cowardly to attempt the mutiny, electing instead to preserve his own skin, to give up and just let Raewyn die.
I didn’t have that in me. So I’d had to improvise.
Simply freeing her from the dungeon and whisking her away would only have resulted in the both of us being hunted by the King for eternity.
It had been imperative for the entire kingdom to assume Raewyn was dead.
It had also been necessary to have everyone together in close proximity so I could glean their glamours simultaneously.
Though I’d hoped it would be the case, I wasn’t entirely sure King Pontus would die in the dragon attack.
The threat from him was now removed, but the Earthwives were still out there somewhere, waiting to exact their price for the bargain Raewyn had reneged on by not assassinating my entire family.
It was best if everyone—especially Stellon—believed that neither of us had survived execution day.
And Raewyn almost hadn’t.
Day after day, night after night, I’d sat at her bedside, willing her to live, longing for the day she’d wake and I could tell her the truth.
It hurt that she’d bought my act so thoroughly, so easily convinced I’d never cared for her. That everything we’d shared together during our weeks on the road had been a lie.
When my father’s troops had found us in Havendor and surrounded us, I’d tried to tell her mind-to-mind of my true intentions. I remembered the harrowing moment with crystal clear recall.
I’m going to protect you, no matter what it takes,I had told her.Trust me. I will get you out of this—somehow.
But untrained in her Elven abilities, Raewyn apparently hadn’t heard my silent promises.
Again, on the road back to Merisola, I’d tried to speak to her nonverbally, riding beside the prison cart and assuring her mind-to-mind that I was only doing what I had to do to keep her safe, that I’d never let harm come to her.
Maybe it was for the best that she hadn’t been able to hear me.
Maybe it was best if she believed the worst of me now.
Because harmhadcome to her.
My mother had died because of me, and the same had nearly happened to Raewyn.
The matchmaking glamour’s revelation had been a cruel joke.
What good was it to find your perfect match when you were destined to hurt the people you loved?
I probably should have directed the dragon to take Raewyn as far away from me as possible. The problem was, the only way I could be sure she was safe was to keep her near—no matter how much it tormented me.
Elanor reached the top of the stairs and hurried down the hall toward me.
“What is the problem?” she asked. “Is she bleeding again? Hemorrhaging?”
“She’s still in pain,” I growled at her. “She’s covered in bruises and scars.”
The old healer gave me a sympathetic look. “I know it’s hard to see, but that’s normal at this stage. They will fade in time. So will the pain.”
“Take it away—now,” I ordered.
Elanor looked like she might be about to scold me for my bad manners as she had long ago when I was half her size. Now I was more powerful in every way, and as she was living under my roof, I was her lord.
“Of course, My Prince,” she said at last. “I will do what I can.”
