“I already have,” her father replied.
She stumbled away from him as if he had struck her. Clutching her throat in disbelief, she stared at him in betrayal. She had done this for Finn. So she could marry the man she was in love with. She swallowed in a thick, tight throat. Finn would still enter the contest, wouldn’t he? He had to! She brushed by her father and walked down the hallway.
“Ari!” her father exclaimed.
But she didn’t stop. Her walk turned into a run. The stones blurred as she raced by the walls. Everyone she passed paused to gaze after her.
She clutched her chest as the crushing pain of longing for Finn intensified. There was still hope, she told herself. He would enter the contest. And yet, doubt festered within her. Her entire being longed for Finn, his comfort, his companionship, and his love. Desperation drove her forward, and she sprinted from the keep, bursting through the double doors into the inner ward.
She paused, her eyes darting around the inner ward in desperation, searching for one person. She muttered Finn’s name under her breath as if it were a mantra. Then she heard her own name from behind her and wheeled around to see Finn coming toward her, his face etched with concern.
“Finn!” she gasped with relief.
Worry washed over him as his gaze swept her face, and his mouth dropped open. “Are you hurt?” He studied her as he reached for her.
But Ari backed away. “Are you joining the contest?” she demanded.
He slowly lowered his hands. “Ari,” he said in anguish. “I want to talk to you about that.”
“You don’t want to compete,” she said brokenly.
“I want you to cancel it,” he proclaimed.
Her lips weakly quivered as she struggled to contain her emotions. He bowed his head, refusing to look at her, and she didn’t need any words to know what he was thinking. This was the only way they could be together, but he wasn’t willing to defy her father.
“I want to…” Finn began.
Ari knew how this story ended. She took a ragged breath. “But Father told you not to. And you have to do what he orders.”
Shock washed over Finn’s face, and his mouth opened and closed.
She turned away and began to walk blindly, tears burning her throat and eyes. She didn’t know where she was going, only that Finn wouldn’t enter the contest for her.
“Ari,” he grabbed her arm, halting her. “Cancel the contest.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. If I do, Father will pick someone for me.”
Finn’s hand fell slowly from her arm.
She stared at him, her only hope of marrying him shattered like glass. Her world crumbled into ruin, leaving nothing but despair in her heart.
“Let me think, Ari,” he said desperately.
“What is there to think about?” she replied softly. “You either enter the competition, or I marry someone else.”
He wrinkled his brow, studying her face as if looking for the solution he needed.
She nodded. She had her answer. She backed away from him, and he took one step after her before she whirled, running to the stables. She pulled her beloved stallion, Charming, from his stall, and mounted him.
Finn blocked the door. “Ari, wait. We’ll figure this out.”
She glanced down at Finn. The tears that had been gathering in her eyes blurred him into a cloudy image. Her body trembled with grief. She felt helpless, as if all hope had been robbed from her, and the only thing left to do was shake her head in disbelief.
“There’s nothing to figure out. You won’t enter the contest. You don’t…” She couldn’t voice the end of her statement. Love me enough, she thought. Tears stung her eyes and blinded her sight as she spurred Charming forward, gripping his mane with white knuckles, not knowing where they were headed. The one place, the one person she had thought was safe, was the person who had ripped out her heart and shredded it.
Terrified for Ari’s safety, Finn quickly snatched a horse from its stable and mounted it without pause or saddle.
“Where are you going?” the stable boy demanded. “Ya can’t just take that horse.”
