The greatest cruelty of the world was that the deepest love meant thegreatest heartbreak.
Riyan swallowed again and his muscles tightened around me. Maybe our bond whispered in my ears or the magic in my veins tingled with truth, but I knew what Riyan was doing alltoo well.
Eat the sadness. Lock it behind iron. Feel nothing. Dull the pain withsmiling lies.
The clouds parted again and moonlight illuminated us in its soft white glow. I moved away from Riyan to give him room to rise from the rocks. Before Riyan got up, he handed me theHyton dagger.
“Keep this thing with you,” Riyan ordered. “As much as I want to pitch that ugly symbol of Lord Hyton’s pride over the side of the mountain, you need to protect yourself in caseanything happens.”
As I raised my skirt and tied the dagger to my garter, the rocks shifted as Riyan stood up. I turned around and gasped. In the light of the moon, I could see him…allof him.
Any hope I had of being able to consummate our marriage vanished inan instant.
“Wh-where are your clothes?”I asked.
“What clothes?” he laughed. “You mean all those tattered scraps that fell off me asI ran?”
“You mean youhavenothing?”
“Well, I was able tokeep something.”
Riyan picked up a small scrap of white fabric off the ground and reached out to hand it to me. The tattered scrap of linen was held together by white thread stitched to flowers. I ran my fingers along the petals I had stitched for himand smiled.
“It did not stop me from growing, but I do think you enchanted those flowers somehow,” Riyan said with a smile. “They stayed with me evenafter…everything happened.”
My heart fluttered. I put the scrap of fabric in my pocket along with my other trinkets and looked up at Riyan’s naked body. “You know you cannot go to the villagelike this.”
Riyan smirked and flexed his arms, the contours of his huge muscles defined in the moonlight. “Would the villagers not want to see their hero inallhis glory?”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “We would get run out ofthe village.”
“Run out by all the jealous husbands,you mean.”
Riyan winked at me. He picked up his cape and tied it around his waist to cover his lower half. “Does thissatisfy you?”
My cheeks flushed and I glanced off to the side as I remembered the last time hesatisfiedme. I kneaded the thick fabric of my skirt and tried not to think of what was hiding underneath thecrimson wool.
Riyan must have taken notice of my red cheeks and he laughed. He sheathed Endre’s Revenge—gripping the hilt with one massive hand instead of two—and fastened what used to be the back-strap of the sheath around his waist likea belt.
“Come here,” he said withanother laugh.
He reached down and wrapped his hand around my back. His fingertips squeezed into the sides of my waist and I yelped as he picked me up off the ground. He lifted me in the air and placed me in the crook of his left arm, cradling me against his chest. My legs rested on his forearm and my back rested against his massive bicep. I looked down, realizing in horror that I was higher off the ground than I hadever been.
“Riyan!” I shrieked. I grabbed fistfuls of chest hair and held on fordear life.
“Hey, it’s only a little higher than when we went to the lilies and I need to keep you safe,” Riyan said. “Plus, if I carry you, I can get you foodsooner. Deal?”
My voice shook as I looked down at the rocks. “Fine. Just…do not jostleme around!”
“I won’t. I’ll be very careful, just like theother day.”
Riyan took a cautious step up the path. I cried out in fear at first, but as he took one step after another, I eventually relaxed in his arm. Before I knew it, we approached a large, craggy gap in themountain ridges.
The first rays of sun rose behind us, illuminating a tall wall that blocked the gap in the mountain pass. The wall was made from tree trunks and supported by thick logs that leaned up against the wall. Logs sharpened into spikes jutted out of the wall near the height of Riyan’s eyes. The rocky path ended at a large wooden gate that did not look welcoming to someone ofRiyan’s size.
“This is the Beast’s Pass,” Riyan said. “Once you step outside their walls on the other side, we face everything Nordingaard hasto offer.”
“Why do they call it the Beast’s Pass?” I asked as I looked in awe at the massive wall that even we could notsee over.
