Her father patted her hand, and she realized she had been staring at her food without eating as Lord Fairmont droned on about his latest accomplishment. Would she really have to marry him? She would die of boredom.
But could any man capture her attention after Finn?
Her shoulders slumped, and she slid her hand from beneath her father’s hold. Her heart still ached for Finn, and no matter how hard she tried to forget him, he lingered in every corner of her mind. She glanced away from her father into the eyes of Lord Fairmont. Her gaze dropped to his wrinkled lips. How could any man compare to Finn?
The Yule contest was on the eve of the following day, and she dreaded it. This had always been a joyful time of year with her father and Finn and the villagers. Now, she regretted ever coming up with the contest.
Finn groaned in pain as he forced his eyes open. His hands were bound tightly behind his back, and a thick cloth that tasted of musty leather was tied securely around his mouth. His head ached, but he struggled, nonetheless. As he did, he lifted his head. He was in a forest of gnarled trees that stretched as far as he could see. The eerie silence of the woods made him uneasy. He stopped tugging and twisting his hands and stood. The air around him was cold.
Again, he fought against the binds, feeling the coarse fibers dig into his wrists. He spent precious seconds looking up at the night sky, counting off constellations, and getting his bearings. Once he knew approximately where he was, he trudged through the dense forest, shaking his head in frustration from time to time to jostle the gag off his mouth.
That bastard Kage. Finn gritted his teeth. Why would Kage attack him? Was it revenge for punching him? Or was Kage trying to keep him from entering the contest?
Chills shot up Finn’s spine, and his walk turned into a run. He used his shoulder to wipe the cloth away from his mouth until his lips were free and he could take a deep breath.
How long had he been out? He sprinted through the forest, his heart thudding in his ears. He felt the rope cutting into his wrists as he worked to unravel it. He had a vague idea of where he was, but he knew for sure that it was far from the town. A day’s walk. Would he miss the Yule? He cursed silently. Kage, Finn thought with a tightly clenched jaw.
He raced recklessly through the dense forest, dodging and weaving around branches that slashed his face. His breath came out as ragged gasps as he ran faster and faster, barely registering the icy air that numbed his cheeks. He burst through some bushes onto a dirt road.
He glanced left and right and then at the stars to orient himself before he started jogging toward the town.
Kage must have ridden out here on horseback and dumped him so he wouldn’t get to enter the contest. Finn shook his head in anger. He couldn’t let Kage win the contest.
He forced his legs to go faster, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Despite his powerful strides, the distance stretched on endlessly. He would never make it in time. It was too far.
The second he heard the approaching horse, his stomach clenched. He quickly hid in the shadows of the bushes in case it were robbers. As the rider came into view, hope flooded through him. It was a guard bearing the crest of Cavilton Castle on his tunic. Exhaling in relief, Finn stepped onto the road.
Ari stared at the parchment of tallies in her father’s solar. She had snuck away from the Great Hall and found her way here, hoping to hide. It was exhausting speaking to the suitors. And she didn’t care about them; each man was more tiresome than the last. Lord Fairmont boasted of his alleged combat triumphs, even though she knew he had only been in one battle and was injured. Sir Joseph endlessly sought to demonstrate his physical strength as if lifting a horse would win her heart. Lord Trent seemed determined to make all the other men look bad by talking about the women he could have been with if it weren’t for her. She took a deep breath. At least she’d be able to use the tallies as an excuse to disappear for a while.
Ari’s gaze scanned the numbers. Her frown deepened as she realized they were all in order. Had Father done this? Everything added up perfectly. She was pleasantly surprised her father had taken the time to finish but a bit disappointed. She couldn’t hide here any longer. They were done. Then, she noticed something in the bottom right corner. A smallX.
“Finn did it,” her father told her.
She jumped. She hadn’t heard him enter.
He approached behind her. “I noticed you left and came looking for you.”
She nodded, turning back to the parchment. “These are all correct.”
“Yes,” her father agreed, peering at them over her shoulder. “I had to read them to him, but he fixed all the numbers.”
She rolled the page and tied it with a leather string, not wanting to hear how wonderful Finn was. She set it aside and took a deep breath before turning to him. “You thought I would run away. You were checking on me.”
“I want you to be happy,” he admitted.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and rose. “Then you should have allowedallmen to enter the contest.”
“Ari,” he pleaded. “I’m doing this for your own good.”
Her jaw clenched. “Finn would have made a great leader, probably better than you. He knows the people, the village. His decisions would have been fair. So, you can tell yourself this is for my good, but you know it’s not the truth.” She hurried from the room, wanting to get away from him too.
It was early in the morning but the sun was not up yet when the guard dropped Finn at the smithy and continued to the castle. Finn hurried to the door and was about to lunge through when Conrad emerged.
“Where have you been?” Conrad asked. “I’ve been searching for you all day and night!”
Finn gritted his teeth and rubbed his head as he moved past him. “Kage ambushed me.”
“Are you well?” Conrad wondered with concern, following him.
