“I-I’m sorry for not telling you of it sooner, but…I c-couldn’t just let you lose everything….” Maxi trailed off at his sharp intake of breath.
Riftan clutched his forehead and asked through gritted teeth, “So…you decided to leave?”
“I-It will only be four years at most. I-I will…do my best! I won’t sleep…or rest…and work h-hard every day…so I can return as soon as—”
“Enough!”
Maxi recoiled. Riftan clenched his jaw, his shoulders trembling, as he attempted to rein in his rage. His face flushed before regaining its usual stone-stillness. Maxi could tell that his resolve had solidified into something impenetrable, more solid than a brick wall.
Riftan turned to the princess and said evenly, “You can forget it. I will never allow it.”
The princess opened her mouth, an argument at the tip of her tongue, before she appeared to realize that words were futile. She stopped and took a silent step back.
“I will visit Anatol again soon,” she said finally. “You can think it over until then. You’ll see that this is the only option we have.”
“Don’t bother,” Riftan intoned as he pulled Maxi toward the door. “As long as I am the lord of Anatol, you will never be welcome. I don’t want to see your face ever again.”
“R-Riftan…you mustn’t—”
Ignoring Maxi’s mortified protests, Riftan marched out of the room. Maxi peered over her shoulder as he dragged her along and saw Princess Agnes shaking her head. It was evident that she and the princess were equally taken aback by his reaction, which had been far angrier than expected.
Maxi was about to chide him for being too harsh when she noticed his grim expression.
“Make preparations to depart,” Riftan ordered the knights waiting outside. “We are leaving this castle.”
“Right now?” Elliot cast a startled look back and forth between Riftan and Maxi, then nodded without any objections. “Understood. I will prepare the carriage at once.”
Elliot raced down the corridor while Riftan continuedstriding ahead with Maxi in tow. Ursuline, Ruth, and the other knights silently trailed them. They all seemed wary of Riftan’s menacing aura.
An hour later, their carriage was waiting for them in front of the castle gates. Maxi glanced at the knights in formation as she climbed in. They were leaving without paying their respects to the king. The breach of etiquette briefly crossed Maxi’s mind, but she dared not voice her concern. Riftan was too livid to care about such formalities.
Maxi sat down meekly and studied Riftan’s face as he tucked a blanket around her. He fixed his piercing gaze on her for an agonizing moment before swinging the carriage door shut. The brittle thud of his footsteps faded as he strode away to take his place at the front of the party on Talon.
As soon as he was out of sight, the cold tension drained from Maxi’s lungs. She rubbed her throbbing temples and let out a weary sigh. This was likely the beginning of their most exhausting argument yet, and the thought filled her with dread.
An air of uneasiness surrounded them as they set out. Everyone seemed to act as though they were traversing thin ice. The knights refrained from talking, and Riftan seemed to be dead set on ignoring Maxi.
After several failed attempts to speak to him, she gave up and idly watched the passing scenery. It occurred to her that perhaps it would be better to remain in this carriage forever.
If only the journey back to Anatol could last longer than a month! That would allow her the time she needed to think things through in a calm state of mind. More than anything, though, she wanted to delay the eventual confrontation.
Whenever they stopped to rest, Maxi would cautiouslystudy Riftan’s face. His fury was evident even from a distance. Though this was certainly not the first time she had witnessed his anger, she had never seen him so unstable.
Maxi felt miserable. It was not as if she wanted to leave his side, either. Tears of anguish welled in her eyes, and she drew a blanket around herself as she huddled in the corner of the carriage. Anxious thoughts swirled through her mind as the minutes blurred past, marked only by the rattle of the carriage wheels.
“Are you all right, my lady?” Ursuline’s face was full of worry as he helped Maxi out of the carriage. They had just arrived at Calypse Castle.
She gave an automatic nod in response. After handing Talon’s reins to a stable hand, Riftan strode over and snatched her arm from Ursuline.
“You and the others can rest after you’ve unpacked,” he growled.
“Everyone in the castle will want to know what happened,” Ursuline asked cautiously. “What should we—”
“Tell them nothing has changed,” said Riftan brusquely, heading toward the great hall.
Servants waited by the castle entrance to greet their lord, but Riftan did not even spare them a glance as he passed.
Maxi huffed as she struggled to keep up with his quick steps. When they finally reached their bedchambers, cozy thanks to the warm fire already stoked by the servants, Riftan released his grip on her arm. He wordlessly strode over to the armor stand, where he began removing his robes and heavy armor.
