“That wouldn’t solve anything,” I reply gently. “You have to trust I’ll be strong enough to take it.”
Emmett reaches for my hand under the duvet. “You’re the strongest person I know. I just wish you didn’t have to be.”
His knuckles are still split and bruised after the fight with the Redcaps. I bring them to my mouth and press my lips to each one.
Emmett captures my chin in his hand and tips my mouth to his. The kiss is long and slow, like we’re not on borrowed time. He’s methodical as he slips his tongue between the seam of my lips, thenpulls back to trail down the column of my throat. I shiver as the cold metal of his earring brushes my bare shoulder.
I could confront him about the push and pull he’s put me through, ask him why he won’t just let me in, but instead I choose to take what he’ll give me.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he whispers.
“Don’t be afraid.” I smile against his mouth. “I’m not.”
He does us both a favor and lets me lie to him.
Emmett holds my hand until first light, then slips out of my room, ready to play his part for the day, as Bram’s devoted regent and loyal brother. I know it will hurt him.
“Check on Lydia, please,” I say as he walks away. I have the distinct feeling that he knows how to care for her better than I do.
He turns back and nods gravely.
By noon, I’m in a carriage, hurtling through the countryside into the unknown.
I’m awake this time. I assured Bram I wouldn’t fight, and I won’t.
The journey takes nearly a day, just as Rhion warned. We stop periodically for breaks to rest and eat and water the horses, and although we’re in a caravan with dozens of other carriages, I never interact with anyone but castle guards, who refuse to speak to me. By the time we arrive at the caves, I’ve cycled through all the stages of fear and acceptance twice over.
The carriage finally comes to a halt and a guard swings open the back door. I hop down, ignoring his hand.
Next to me, Lydia steps down from her carriage gingerly, gracefully accepting help.
The space where our eyes meet is pained, and I know we’re both thinking of the unicorn.
I want to hug her, to tell her it’s all going to be all right, that we’ll find a way out of this, but before I can, a pair of rough hands shoves me forward.
I whip my head around. “There’s no need for that!” I snap. “I’ll go willingly.”
It’s the smell that hits me first. The salty brine of the sea is picked up on a rough breeze, where it intermingles with the fresh, bitter scent of pine.
The caves are a yawning mouth on an expanse of cliffs that fall directly into a dark, writhing ocean. The sun reflects on its churning surface thousands of feet below. I shudder to think what kinds of creatures live within its depths.
The cave itself is unremarkable, which makes it all the more terrifying. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
The mouth reaches perhaps fifteen feet high, large enough to drive a carriage through.
Standing at the entrance, we can see a few feet inside, just a dirt floor and jagged walls. Then it disappears into darkness.
Lydia walks over to me, no sense of fear in her. Her shoulders are square, her head held high. Her cloak is snow-white, and she wears the hood over her blond curls. I peek around it to take a look at her face, which is stony.
Behind her, more carriages pull up and nobles stream out of them. There are colorful poufs set on the ground, and a long table where castle staff are setting up a noontime feast. Someone has pulled out a fiddle, and a cheery tune fills the stark cliffside.
“How do we win?” Lydia asks Bram. He’s distracted, getting his cup filled by a servant, while the rest of court settles in for the party.
Bram grins. “Whoever lasts the longest.”
Chapter Twenty
From over Bram’s shoulder, I spot Emmett and Rhion standing together. Emmett is doing a good job of playing loyal regent, but his face is gray with worry. Rhion, on the other hand, has never looked happier, his handsome face lit up with a radiant grin. When his eyes snag mine, though, they turn serious. He mouthsGoodluck.
