Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
ROSAMUND
“How far are we from Lord Eorl’s manor?” I ask as we trudge through meadows, small spotted deer darting here and there. Birds chirp, and the smell of crushed, wet grass and herbs is enchanting.
“Not that far.”
A butterfly flies around me, pink and white. “What does that mean? Days? Weeks?”
“Days. A couple of days at most. We are taking a shortcut through the wilderness, saving time.”
“That’s great,” I say, but for some reason… I don’t quite feel it. Shouldn’t I be more excited and relieved?
I don’t like walking for miles every day on rough terrain, eating scraps of meat, and being afraid for my life all the time. Surely not.
Even if it’s together with Valen.
I’m so confused, it’s giving me a pounding headache.
He’s walking ahead now, scouting the area, and I follow behind, lifting my long, bedraggled skirt that keeps catching on thorns and low brambles.
My shoes are scratched, and the heels are worn from the trek over rocks and rough earth.
They were never made for hiking through the country.
Neither was my dress, my petticoat, my body and my soul.
No part of me was made for that.
For such a journey. Such a trek. For a man like Valen, or his life.
Not that such things should concern me at all. Of course I wasn’t made for someone like him. He’s dark fae, for all the Sleeping Gods’ sakes. A werewolf.
I’m human.
And why am I even thinking about being with him? This is a stroll in the woods for him, and I’m just trying to stay alive. Not to mention, nobody has talked about what might come after.
About us. Because there is no us. There is no after for us. Why am I even thinking—?
Valen snarls, turning in a circle, face shifting, and I backpedal so fast I almost trip over my feet.
“What’s wrong?” I yelp.
“Humans.”
“But… they can’t be my people.” I wince, relax a little when I realize his rage isn’t directed toward me—then again, when has it ever been? He’s never been mad at me, not even when I put him on a leash and my family hurt him. “We’re far from the manor now.”
He sniffs. “No, it’s not your family. It’s a hunting party. I don’t know their scents.”
“You can tell, just like that? You remember every scent associated with every person you ever meet?”
He harrumphs. His tail twitches behind him, and I start. I hadn’t seen it appear. “Not all. Some are more memorable than others. I couldn’t fucking care less about the scent of your handmaid, but yours is… unforgettable.”
Heat licks at my face. “So what do we do? Are we in danger, you think?”
A low growl escapes him. “If they come after us, I’ll have to hurt them.”
I swallow hard because that’s a savage thing to say, and I should reprimand it, but instead something inside me clenches and a throb starts in my belly. Seeing Valen unleashed… is a gift. An exhilarating show of strength and power.
Which I should condemn and abhor.
Definitely.
“We should get moving.” He marches back to me and grabs my hand. “Come.”
I tug lightly on his grip, and he glances down with a frown. The shift is easing, only his ears remaining wolf-like.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
And with that question, he completely disarms me. “I’m fine. You?”
He stares at me, eyes widening a little, and I realize my question has also caught him off guard. “I…” The knot in his throat bobs. “I’m good.”
I drink in his beautiful face, the white streak of hair, the roughly-hewn lines of his jaw and cheekbones. “So let’s go.”
“Trust me to keep us safe?” he asks softly.
“You know I do.”
His smile dawns and spreads like a daybreak. “I wanted to hear it.”
“You want to hear lots of things.”
Then he does the unexpected: he turns and hauls me into his arms and just… holds me, his chin resting on top of my head. “Princess,” he whispers. “I won’t betray your trust.”
And somehow, I know he never would.
The memory of that embrace hums in my mind like a melody as we continue through the meadows, his hand tight around mine. After a while, I realize we’ve changed direction.
Again, I’m by no means an expert in journeys and wandering through the wilderness. My sense of direction isn’t informed by experience or magic. Yet, I thought I knew which way we’ve been heading all this time… Until now.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask.
“Remember the town I mentioned?”
“We’re going to a town?”
“You seem shocked. Aren’t you used to towns and civilization? I’m told it’s not that bad, although sleeping rough and eating insects is so much fucking better, if you ask me.”
A very unladylike snort escapes me. “I can’t deny I’d love to sleep on a real bed for a change.”
“I’m thinking of getting a room at the inn, staying the night. Let those hunters get on with their hunt before we head back out.”
“But we have no coin,” I remind him.
“I have contacts in the town.”
“They’d work with the dark fae?”
“Not everyone thinks we are monsters,” he mutters.
“You’re right. I just thought…”
“That everyone hates us?”
“Yeah.” This newfound guilt, when it comes to how I treated him, returns to bite me, twisting my stomach. “I did think that.”
He stops and turns to me. “Princess.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out.
“No. You’re right. Many of us are monsters. It’s just that… not all of us are.”
“I know that now,” I whisper, and I clamp my mouth shut because I’ve said too much already.
He lifts a hand to my face and cups it, his palm warm and rough against my skin. “You’re an unknown species to me, Princess.”
“What do you mean? I’m human—”
“You’re courageous and proud, but you recognize your mistakes and don’t hesitate to apologize despite the wounds my people put on you. You allow my touch—”
I step back. “Valen…”
“—sometimes.” He chuckles, letting his hand fall. “And you trust me. You’re a match for me, you’re…” His gaze goes distant. “A match.”
I frown. “What does that even mean?”
“Nothing.” He shakes his head, as if to clear it. “It means nothing. Come on, we should get moving. And we’ll also get you a clean dress to wear. Can’t have you arriving at the human idiot’s place looking like a wraith.”
“Hey, mind how you speak of Lord Eorl.”
“Beg your forgiveness, my lady,” he growls. “We animals don’t know any manners.”
And yet, that’s not true. So why is he acting like that when it comes to my future husband, and why does it make me want to laugh?
“Why… why are you so angry with him?” I ask.
“I’d be angry with any man who’s given permission to touch you and call himself your husband, Princess. He’d better be perfect.”
“He will be,” I insist.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
This time, a laugh escapes me. “Come on, Valen…”
“He’d better pass any test I set for him.”
Gods it’s… cute. Kind of adorable that he’s so very protective of me, although once he gets me to Lord Eorl, he won’t have to be.
I clutch the locket hanging between my breasts.
I haven’t looked at Eorl’s picture in a while, not since we fled my home.
Surely, someone as handsome as Eorl will be gentle and kind.
That’s what I’ve told myself ever since that picture landed in my hands. It has been my belief, my religion, my brief prayer every night, begging the Gods to grant me as much, as well as keep my parents safe in their travels in the underworld.
“Are you coming, Princess?” Valen gestures at me, his eyes hooded and glimmering under his pale lashes. “Or will I have to take drastic measures?”
The memory of my family, as well as my hopes for my future home, galvanize me, and I nod to myself. I can do this.
“What kind of drastic measures?” I ask, taking his hand again and letting him guide me over hill and through meadow toward the town on the next rise.
“Bend you over my knee,” he says, “and spank your ass for delaying us, letting the hunters catch up with us.”
“Nobody has ever spanked me,” I breathe, shocked at the idea.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” he says, his hand tightening around mine. “Fuck…”
Why does he sound so out of breath now?