Chapter 15
VIVIENNE
Astrange fog surrounds me, and I frown as I realize I’m not in the tent. Cold presses beneath my bare feet. It’s smooth stone instead of earth. The fire is gone, and the air is still.
As I turn, darkness stretches in every direction, seeming to swallow everything. There are no trees, no river… and no sign of Auren or Vaelen.
Something shifts at the edge of the dark. I hear a faint scrape, like something being pulled across stone. My breath catches as something brushes my ankle. I look down and see several vines.
They slither over the stone, thin and twisting, and full of thorns. One begins to curl around me, snagging on the fabric of my shift. I step back, but another vine moves behind me.
“Auren?” I call out, but he doesn’t answer.
A pair of golden eyes blink at me from the shadows. My pulse pounds in my ears as the vines tighten around my ankle, the sharp thorns pressing against my skin. Fear ripples down my spine. “Let me go.”
“Mine,” a deep voice whispers inside my mind.
The Goblin King. The realization settles like ice in my veins.
The thorns press deeper. Sharp pain blooms, spreading through me as the vines pull tighter, dragging me back. “Auren!”
A long, mournful howl startles me awake and relief moves through me as I realize it was just one of my nightmares.
I’d hoped they would leave me once I was wed, as my father’s mage suggested, but perhaps I’ve had them so long my mind now conjures them on its own. Drawing in a deep breath, I remind myself that the bargain has been settled. I’m married and the Goblin King no longer has any claim over my future.
Panic spikes through me as another howl splits the air, but then I remember Vaelen.
He went hunting. That’s all it is. Just him, out in the woods, doing whatever it is that massive, unnervingly intelligent Dire wolves do in the dark.
I force myself to exhale, closing my eyes, willing sleep to come.
My eyes snap open again as an owl hoots from somewhere nearby. I sigh heavily. Of course there are owls. I’m in the middle of the gods-damned wilderness. Nature isn’t silent, it’s full of sounds. That’s all.
I shift under the furs, curling in on myself. I am fine. I am—
The sharp, snarling sound of animals fighting shatters the night.
I jolt upright, my pulse pounding in my throat. The furs slip from my shoulders, but I grab at them, wrapping them around me like a shield against the unseen threats lurking beyond the thin fabric of my shelter.
I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until I hear Auren’s voice. “Vivienne?”
I force my shoulders to straighten even as my heart still thunders against my ribs. “Yes?”
“Are you alright?”
My first instinct is to tell him the truth. That I don’t feel safe out here, that every unfamiliar sound makes my skin crawl, that I don’t want to be alone. But I refuse to let him think I’m weak. “I’m fine,” I lie.
“I can scent your fear,” Auren murmurs. “Did you have another nightmare?”
I press my lips together. I had no idea he could smell something like that. In truth, it’s rather unsettling.
“No. I’m fine,” I insist, but it sounds feeble even to my own ears.
“Do you want company? We could share a tent. Nothing more.”
The offer nearly undoes me. I want so much to say yes. The word hovers on my lips, almost spilling free before I clamp my jaw shut.
Of course I want company. Auren makes me feel safe, but I don’t want to admit that… I don’t want him to think I need him.
“That will not be necessary. I’m fine,” I stress. “Just tired.”
Silence fills the air. I’m almost certain he knows I’m lying, but he lets it go.
A moment later, something heavy moves outside my tent. My pulse spikes again. “What was that?”
“It’s Vaelen,” Auren says, and my fear begins to dissipate. “He’s back. He’s just outside your tent,” Auren adds. “Would you like him to sleep in there with you?”
I move out from beneath my blanket and crawl toward the tent flap, peeling it back just enough to peek outside.
Vaelen is there, his massive form dark against the silvered light of the moon. His head turns toward me immediately, glowing eyes locking onto mine, full of quiet understanding, as if he already knows the answer.
“Do you… think he would mind?” I ask Auren.
Auren turns to the wolf and something unspoken passes between them. He must be communicating with him through their bond. After a moment, Auren turns back to me. “He will stay with you tonight.”
Relief floods my veins, loosening something tight in my chest. I pat the furs beside me and whisper, “Come.”
Vaelen tilts his head, his ears pricking up before he steps forward, lowering his massive body to crawl inside. The tent is big enough to easily accommodate him as he settles in beside me, his warmth radiating through the cool night air.
He shifts once then stretches out against me, nuzzling my side with his massive snout.
I stroke his thick fur and whisper, “Thank you.”
Vaelen closes his eyes.
I let out a breath, easing back into the furs. Closing my own eyes, I fall away into sleep.