Chapter Twenty-Eight
“We’re here.”
We walked another hour after our conversation.
Despite the pleading I longed to do, I was silent as there was no more I wanted to say to Nilsorn.
His mind was made up, and even when presented with an alternative in me, he was not willing to give in.
Despite the fact that a girl who had watched her love be killed before her, who was still willing to marry him, was not enough.
It may not have been sacrificing my body, but it had been a form of sacrifice to me.
I scanned the clearing we’d stepped into, then fell on a bed of rocks with moss pressed onto it. “You prepared this area?”
“I did. I’ve also brought things for you to prepare yourself with.” He opened a bag, taking out perfume jars, bags of crushed flower petals, and a long silver gown. “You may begin if you wish.”
I nearly said yes, just to stall for time, but it didn’t matter anymore. I couldn’t return home, not with Nilsorn after me. Aleixo was gone, and I felt numb at the thought of him. There was nothing I could do. I was doomed to die here.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped toward the mossy bed of rocks. I sat down, then faced Nilsorn. “If I am to die, I would rather not prolong the inevitable.”
“Ah, an elf after my own heart.” He took long strides until he stood before me, then gestured for me to lay down.
My heart was beating so fast, I could feel blood roaring in my ears. The bed wasn’t comfortable, despite the moss beneath me, but what could I expect from a bed of rocks? Moss was a poor substitute for downing, and even my mind could not work to make this resting place comfortable.
Nilsorn’s smile grew as he leaned his head closer. “Thank you, Calista.” He sighed over me. “You are giving me a gift greater than you know.”
There were so many words I wanted to say, but I couldn’t gather my wits enough to speak them. I felt like Nilsorn was not the last being I wanted to hear my final words, but here he was, about to be that being.
He raised the knife above me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable stab of death. I heard the whoosh as it flew through the air, I heard the clang of metal on metal, and I wondered if this was what it felt like to bleed out.
There was no pain, no moment of feeling the knife hit where Nilsorn had aimed.
It was silent, and then there was a gasp.
Was it from me? Had I made such a sound without realizing?
Was I now in the process of dying? Would the Realm Guard of Death see me soon, now that the Realm Guard of Life was offering me as a trade?
But nothing happened. Seconds passed like minutes, and I waited as long as I dared before opening my eyes. Nilsorn was above me, this much was true, but he was not alone.
For locked in a duel of death was none other than Aleixo.