“Yes, it is,” Aerina whispered.
“It’s wrong to steal you away in this manner. The king would never let this go.” He shut his eyes, suddenly very sober. “I have tarnished your name.”
Even if Rawn had not touched her, he took her away unescorted. Most, if not all, would assume what they had done.
“I care not what they say,” Aerina said faintly. She turned her face to look at him. “Have me so no other will. Keep me so I will no longer suffer your absence. Take me away so no other will attempt it again, for I now belong to the Red Shade.” She moved closer, her lips faintly brushing his. “The Vale will surmise its own story, but I know the truth. I am foolishly in love with you too, Rawn Norrlen.”
Rawn breathed her in, shutting his eyes. “I must have fallen off my horse and lay now in a ditch half dead, imagining you say such things.”
Aerina laughed and kissed his cheek. “Does that feel imaginary?” He stilled as she kissed his mouth. “How about this one?”
Rawn held her to him and deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed against his lips.
“Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” he asked between kisses.
“I will.”
They rode away together but when Aerina fell asleep in his arms, Rawn looked down at her serene face and knew stealing her away was no better than what Red Highland had done.
It was enough to know she loved him as much as he loved her. Even if it cost his life. Rawn took her back the next morning. Aerina woke as soon as they arrived at the castle, and wept as the guards dragged him to the dungeons.
Rawn waited for death during the week he rotted in his cell. His only company was the strip of sunlight from a single high window in the cold, weathered stones of his walls.
“You swore your allegiance to me,” a harsh voice surfaced from the shadows.
Weak from a diet of only bread and water, Rawn’s head lolled to where King Leif stood by the dungeon doors.
He worked his dry throat to speak. “If you did not have it, I would not have returned her to you, sire.”
“I should have you executed for this.”
Rawn closed his eyes. He knew what his chances were when he returned.
“I would put you to the sword if your blood would remove the stain on her name. Rumors have already begun to spread that you have bedded her.”
A knot tightened in Rawn’s throat, offended and angered to not only have his integrity tarnished, but also hers. “I swear before the God of Urn, I have not touched her.”
“It matters not. Most already believe it. No one will have her now.”
Brow furrowing, Rawn’s shackles clinked as he straightened. “Should my blood be of no use to you, I fail to understand why I yet breathe.”
The king was quiet a moment as they studied each other. “Aerina has told me the truth.”
Rawn’s heart sank into the pit of his stomach.
“She is now cursed and unable to bear children. The future of our kingdom is lost.” Leif rubbed his face, suddenly looking so tired. “I suppose this is the end of our line.” He shook his head at the cobwebs on the ceiling. “Could you still love her, knowing she would never give you a son?”
“There is no question, sire. I accept her as she is in any form, in any status, in any life. If she would have me.”
Leif scoffed faintly. “I thought as much. Likewise, Aerina refuses to eat in protest if I do not terminate her engagement to Lord Karheim. I fear she will leap from her tower should I sentence you to death. Royalty bears the duty to marry for wealth and power. By which you have none.” His steel eyes sharpened with anger, but Rawn sensed Leif wasn’t truly here to kill him.
He held his breath, not daring to move or even blink.
“My reign hangs in the balance, now more than ever. It cannot be said that my own men betray me. Nor can I afford to lose those loyal to me. Your father, the most reserved elf I know, has offered his life in your stead.”
The news left Rawn speechless. His father was never affectionate. He was a hard and cold elf, driven by honor and duty. He would lay down his life for the king, but Rawn never expected he would lay it down for him.
“Are you my enemy, Rawn Norrlen?”
