Chapter 28 Rose
ROSE
Istared at a drawing of a tall, shadowy figure in all black, before shaking my head and turning the page.
I’d spent my day combing through dozens of books in the library searching for information on the Shadow Lord, but there was depressingly little to be found other than speculation, rumor, and myth.
Was he fae? Was he a god? No one knew for sure.
With a sigh, I slammed the old tome shut and grabbed the next one in the pile.
It probably didn’t help that I kept finding myself staring off into space, remembering the things Raith had done to me last night and this morning. Carnal, passionate, wonderful things. Things I wanted to experience again and again. Hopefully starting tonight after supper.
A few hours later I closed up the books and rushed to our private dining room early, unable to contain my impatience or my excitement to see Raith again.
The room was empty except for the servants and guards, but that was to be expected.
I adjusted my cleavage and smoothed my dress as I waited, hoping he would find me as appealing as he had last night.
But when he entered the room, he barely spared me a glance.
I offered him a warm smile, but he ignored it completely.
He sat across from me and grabbed his napkin without a word, a harsh scowl on his lips.
A crack ran through my heart as I realized nothing had changed between us.
Where was the man from last night and this morning, who had treated me like a treasure he’d been searching for all his life?
“Raith,” I said, hating this silence between us.
His hard eyes finally slid to mine. “Rose.”
Words hung on the tip of my tongue, but nothing came out.
I’d thought things would be different after last night, that we would finally be husband and wife in every sense of the word.
But Raith was as distant and cold as always, wrapped up in his own thoughts, unwilling to let me behind those walls he’d erected.
I wanted to ask him if sleeping together meant as much to him as it did to me, but I wasn’t sure I could take his rejection, not tonight.
I bowed my head and began sipping at my soup, trying not to show the crack spreading across my heart. “I haven’t seen you all day.”
“I’ve been busy.”
Not in his study or his workshop though.
I’d stopped by both of those a few times during the day.
Yes, I realized how pathetic that sounded.
I’d become a lovesick fool, and I didn’t know how to stop myself.
And Raith didn’t seem to return those feelings, which meant I would be doomed to suffer this unrequited love for the rest of our days.
“So I noticed,” I said, trying to hide the despair from my voice. “I spent the day in the library looking for information on the Shadow Lord, but was unsuccessful.”
“I told you not to bother,” he replied, his words clipped. “I can assure you I’ve scoured through them all.”
I lifted one bare shoulder in a shrug. “I had to try.”
“I appreciate your determination, but I already told you I don’t want you involved in this.”
My hands clenched on my skirts as I gave him a defiant stare.
“I’m already involved whether you like it or not.
We both know you have a better chance of stopping this darkness with my help.
You can’t deny my affinities are useful, almost as if fate brought the two of us together to fight this battle. ”
I wondered if my mother had seen this very thing in her fortune runes, and if everything she’d set up with Dahlia had led me to this point.
The rightness of it burned within my chest. I’d always wanted more from life—to learn magic, to fall in love, to travel, and to do something good for the world.
This was my moment, here, now, with Raith. Why didn’t he see that?
His eyes narrowed. “I fight my battles alone.”
“Not anymore.”
He threw down his napkin and rose to his feet. “I’m done arguing about this, Rose.”
I jumped up and crossed the room to him, my despair shifting to fury. “Then concede that I am right and you are wrong.”
“Never.” He caught my face in his hands and pressed a rough, open-mouthed kiss to my lips.
I gasped in surprise, but then my fingers tore at his shirt, drawing him closer as I kissed him back with the same passion.
His tongue swept across mine, his teeth tugged at my lower lip, and heat flashed between my legs.
I wanted to shove our plates aside and beg him to take me right there on the table.
“Stubborn wife,” he said, between kisses.
“Insufferable husband,” I replied.
As he pulled back, he caressed my face and gazed into my eyes. “I must go.”
His words hit me like a blow to the stomach. “Go? Now? Where?”
He dropped his hands, his face growing somber. “I won’t let this nightmare go on any longer. Tonight I go to face the Shadow Lord.”
“What?” I cried. “You can’t. Raith, no. Don’t do this!”
“I’ve determined it’s the only way. Nothing else I’ve done has worked.”
“Then let me go with you!”
“No.”
I grabbed onto his arm, desperate to keep him from teleporting away. “Raith, I’m begging you. You must let me come!”
“I said no.” He pressed his forehead against mine, and his fingers stroked my cheek. “Please, Rose. You’re all I have left.”
I fell silent, my eyes wide at his confession. For once, he’d shocked the words right out of my mouth. Finally, I managed, “You do care about me.”
“Foolish girl.” He drew me into his arms, clutching me against his chest while he buried his face in my hair. “I care about you too much.”
I turned to brush my lips against his cheek. “I care about you too, Raith. That’s why I had to find you last night even though it was dangerous. If you hadn’t come back, I would have been lost too. Which is why I’m going with you now, whether you like it or not.”
“No, you’re not.” He released me and straightened up to loom over me, but he didn’t intimidate me.
I planted my hands on my hips. “You can’t stop me.”
A cruel smile touched his lips. “Oh, but I can. I’ve put up wards to prevent you from teleporting outside the castle grounds.”
My mouth fell open as the fury returned, but I quickly recovered and stared him down with fire in my eyes. “I’ll find a way to break through them.”
“I know you will, but not tonight.” He pressed a quick kiss to my angry lips, before the darkness surrounded him.
“Raith!” I screamed, my heart breaking apart as the shadows grew. “Stop!”
But he was already gone.
I tried to teleport after him, drawing the complicated rune and focusing on his presence, but was hit by an invisible wall.
I gritted my teeth and tried again, but nothing I did could break through Raith’s wards.
I kicked his chair in sheer frustration, but all that did was make my toe hurt.
That impossible man! How dare he trap me in this castle while he left to risk his life in foolish ways.
If he thought I was going to stay put and wait quietly while he went to face the Shadow Lord, then he didn’t know me well at all.
Though I was no longer hungry, I grabbed a chunk of bread off my neglected plate and shoved it in my mouth before leaving the room. I had to keep my strength up if I was going to find a way to save my infuriating husband.
I stomped over to his workshop, hoping to find something that would tell me how to defeat his wards, but the door refused to open, even with magic. What now?
I couldn’t give up. I wouldn’t. Not when he was out there risking his life to save this kingdom. Not when I finally knew he cared for me.
Raith’s words came back to me again and I was struck with an idea. I couldn’t teleport from inside the castle grounds…but what if I left them? He couldn’t ward the entire kingdom.
I spun around with my new plan in mind and came face to face with Oren. Perfect. “Oren, I need a horse readied for me at once and—”
“I’m sorry, your majesty, but the King has ordered us not to let you leave the castle.”
“Of course he did.” Damn that husband of mine.
Still, I wouldn’t be thwarted. He probably believed he’d thought of everything, but he’d never grown up with five sisters and an overbearing father who never wanted us to have any fun.
I sighed in an overly dramatic fashion. “I’m just so worried about him. ”
“As am I.” His brow furrowed. “But my duty is to make sure you are safe.”
“I understand,” I said, in a defeated voice. “I suppose there is nothing for me to do except retire to my rooms and pray to the Sun and Moon for his quick return.”
Oren gave me a curt nod. “That might be best for all of us.”
I brushed past him and walked down the long, brightly-lit hall, already coming up with a new plan.
As soon as I stepped into my room, I sent Loura away, claiming I had a headache and only wished to be alone despite her protests that she should help me undress or pour me a bath.
Once she was gone I grabbed my cloak, threw the hood over my head, and opened my bedroom window.
I glanced outside, searching the gardens for any sign of the Shadow Lord.
When I didn’t see a dark figure skulking about, I hefted up my skirts and climbed out onto the ledge.
When I was younger, I’d done things like this all the time to escape my own castle and my father’s strict rules, both by myself and with my other sisters.
Lily had always hovered inside, telling me it was too dangerous and that I was surely going to get caught.
I never did though. And I wouldn’t tonight either.
With a quick rune I’d learned earlier today, I gathered shadows around myself, blocking out the ever-present light from the nearby torches so none of the guards on patrol would see me.
Once I was confident I was hidden I stepped onto the large tree outside my window, grasping onto its thick, rough bark.
With less grace than I cared to admit I slowly made my way down, careful not to snag my gown on anything or make a sound.
I nearly turned my ankle when I hit the ground, but then I straightened my back, adjusted my hood, and set off into the garden. Nothing was going to stop me tonight. Not the wards. Not Raith. And not the Shadow Lord either.
I made my way across the castle grounds and through the gardens, which were beautiful under the starlight.
It was a pity none could enjoy them, not when everyone was so fearful of the dark.
I swore to the Moon that once all of this was over, Raith and I would throw nighttime parties outside to celebrate the Celestials.
After all, why should only the Sun get its due in Ilidan?
I neared the edge of the garden, where my only obstacle was a tall stone wall I would have to climb over, but I sensed something behind me.
A dark, terrible presence that sucked up all the light around us.
With my heart in my throat, I slowly turned and gazed up at the towering figure before me, composed of swirling shadows and inky darkness.
The Shadow Lord.