As for the purpose of this enclosure, Aire’s sensory gifts tapped into the room’s history. Long ago, it had been erected as a chapel shrine. A place to honor the Seasons, expose truths, and make pledges before nature, some of which the knight intuited.
A marriage ceremony. A warrior’s rite of passage. A ceremonial test.
As time passed, we huddled and whispered about our earliest memories, then reflected on every clue that had cropped up since Aire’s return.
On this night, we rested on our sides, facing one another atop a mound of bedding. Between us, our fingers threaded, the wrist ropes brushing. The plate of Aire’s chest grazed my breasts, and our steady outtakes mingled.
“Are you thinking of Raven?” I asked.
Aire’s mouth curved. “I’m always thinking of him. Yet in your arms, it doesn’t hurt as it once did. Now I only remember the joys in Raven’s life.” But then his nostalgic grin fell. “Though, I fear my torment has attached itself elsewhere.”
At my confusion, he explained, “I fulfilled the premonition. I failed to protect you.” Aire wove his fingers with my own. “Even so, I accept this fate. Willingly, I bear the consequences with you.”
In the beginning, I told him my thoughts about the premonition. Nevertheless, I ached for this knight. He took his faith seriously, to the point where it plagued him, like his sensory gifts.
But if he couldn’t read me, why would a premonition like that manifest in the first place?
Nature didn’t always make sense. But then, neither did humanity.
Except I recalled when Aire first admitted his feelings on the platform, shortly before I confessed my treachery. And I realized. The premonition supplanted his inability to tap into me. So if nature could establish loopholes like that, we could too.
As starlight filtered through the window grilles, I thought about every interaction since we met, every moment we shared,and every battle we fought. “You didn’t fulfill the premonition.” Scooting closer, I balled our hands into fists. “You defied it.”
Aire blinked. His lips parted in objection, so I rested a digit against them. “You were always a protector, acting in rebellion to the premonition. And now, you revolted by standing by me. That’s not acceptance, it’s resistance. You haven’t failed at all.”
Hope alighted his pupils. “Could that be true?”
“Premonitions are warnings, but fate changes with every second. And if it’s about me, then let me help.” I seized his face. “Release yourself from this premonition, as I release you.”
The knight drew in a deep gust, letting my words seep in. He closed his eyes, feeling the breeze that coasted through the chamber. And when the current vanished, those lashes flapped open in amazement. “It’s gone.”
I beamed. “Damn right it’s gone.”
Uttering a gruff sound, the knight heaved me to his frame and burrowed his face in my neck. Fumbling with the tethers, we held each other as best we could.
As his muscles relaxed, I quipped, “Did you ever think you’d fall in love with a criminal?”
“You are not a criminal. Not to me.” Aire pulled back. “To me, you are a savior. You kept Rhys at bay for seven years, when he might have struck earlier and slaughtered villages across these lands. I’m honored to be loved by you. To fight at your side.” With his mouth scorching a path over mine, Aire vowed, “No matter what happens next, I will follow your lead anywhere.”
A dry sob fled my mouth. His oath washed away everything that contaminated my soul for years. In its place, a new strength forged within like steel.
My chin trembled, even as I teased, “A commander following someone else?”
“Ah,” Aire played along. “But you are not just someone else.”
“Maybe so, but you’d have to make me a knight for all that.”
Ambition lit his pupils. Without a word, Aire guided me off the divan. Too baffled to respond, I watched as he stood before me, his expression reverent.
“I’m afraid, this usually requires free hands and my broadswords. Better still, your axe,” Aire intoned. “The truest blade for the truest heart.”
My lips hung ajar. “I was… joking.”
His pupils brimmed hot enough to bend iron. “I am not.”
My heart split open. Our clan had every right to exact punishment. This was not a revolt to undercut that.
No. This was about us alone.
