Page 41 of Betrothed

Fawn cut her off. “You know what your sons are like. You hear how they spoke to me. As if I am not my own person but an extension of them, built to smile and make their lives easier. You have been that to them, too! And to everyone in that suffocating town we grew up in. Surely you understand that I would rather be with someone who understands me, who thinks my desires are as important as their own!”

“I have never heard such nonsense,” Chastity said, hushed. She stared at Fawn, her gaunt face twisting with disgust. “Say it’s true, then. Say you have run off with that monster that ate my Renly!”

“I have,” Fawn hissed. “And I will be with him for the rest of your miserable life, and long after your bones are forgotten in the ground!”

Chastity stared at her in horrified silence. Fawn imagined Zax behind the wall of rocks she had left him behind, trying desperately to stop his fuzzy tail from thumping.

“You…” Chastity swallowed, averting her eyes. “You’ve been fooled. There is no other explanation why any woman would possibly want this.”

“I see clearer than ever,” Fawn said icily. “I am not some child to be manipulated, old woman. And neither are you! You can leave. You can do something else, anything else. Do not go back to that town and be a servant to those men around you. Deferring to them like your thoughts couldn’t possibly be as big as theirs. Leave this place, leave them!”

Her voice kept rising. But she couldn’t help it. Everything she had kept hidden from herself was spilling out, ugly and raw in the mountain air. She had never liked Chastity and her harsh, judging eyes, but she deserved better. Every woman did.

Chastity shook her head, clutching her dripping breeches. “I don’t know what has happened to you! But I-I will pray for you, Fawn. I will pray that you come to your senses, and you return to what is good and decent!”

“Fuck decent,” Fawn said desperately, ignoring the old woman’s scandalized gasp. “Chastity⁠—”

Chastity whirled, and Fawn’s heart sank as she realized what was about to happen.

“SHE’S HERE,” Chastity shrieked. “HERE, SHE’S OVER HERE!”

Fawn swore again. She turned to the wall of rocks behind her, but Zax had already emerged, speeding toward her.

Chastity’s shrieks turned to wordless screams of terror. She stumbled back, slipping in the stream and landing on her ass. There she struggled, desperately trying to scrabble backward, all the while screaming with her terrified eyes fixed on Zax, as if certain she was about to be eaten.

Zax scooped Fawn up. She was already reaching for him, her hands settling easily around his neck.

From far away came the distant sound of men shouting—three of them. Either Errol had convinced the uncertain hunter to venture into the forbidden mountain after all, or he had hired someone else.

Zax ran. The sound of screaming faded, replaced instead by the rough noise of Zax panting in Fawn’s ear as he clutched her close.

He ran for several minutes before finally letting her down. He made a pained noise as he did so, gripping his bandaged side as soon as he was able.

Fawn pushed away her regret long enough to touch the cool skin just above his bandages. “Are you okay? If I missed a petal⁠—”

“You did not,” Zax said. “There is no irritation. It simply aches. But it will heal soon enough.” He touched her cheek. “How are you?”

Fawn sighed. They would have to circle back to the cave and grab their supplies before they continued.

“Fawn,” Zax said. He looked down at her ankle worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Fawn assured him. She rotated her foot. The ankle was still tender, but she would be fine unless she pushed herself too hard. Or, say, stepped oddly on this rocky mountain range.

“I am,” Fawn said as he continued to peer at her in worry. “I just…”

She trailed off. She didn’t know how to explain it. She couldn’t stop thinking about Chastity’s fearful expression. Her complete, unwavering belief in the life she had led, and that it was the only way she could have lived. Once, Fawn believed the same thing. But now she knew otherwise, and she was so deeply saddened about all the girls back in her village.

“I’ll explain later,” Fawn said. “Let’s go get our pack. Then we’ll find your brother.”

Seventeen

When the sky darkened, Fawn finally consented to being carried once more.

“Okay,” she sighed, leaning against a rocky wall. “You win. Throw me over your shoulder, you brute.”

Zax picked her up gently. Now was not the time for shoulder-throwing. They could do that later, when she was healed. He still felt guilty for slamming her into the ground earlier. He had examined her foot after they circled back to retrieve their supplies and kissed it after he was sure the bruising had not come back. Mortals were so breakable.

Fawn sighed and reclined in his arms, examining the rock walls around them. They were getting narrower, with many paths joining to meet this main one. It almost looked like someone had carved it this way, rather than the mountain conjuring this naturally. When Fawn pointed this out earlier, Zax had admitted that his brother might have done it. He had no idea what his strange, ancient brother was capable of.