“Tell him he might not have much time left,” Theodon added gravely.
CHAPTERFORTY
BEFORE
The cool breeze brushed through her hair as she lay beneath her favorite oak tree. A hand softly explored every curve of her body from behind. That hardworking hand that belonged to the man she had come to love.
Dolion.
He rarely kept his hands to himself anymore. She found herself craving his touch the nights she couldn’t get to him, the nights she lay awake in bed counting the hours until they could meet again.
Her legs had already been toned from riding. Training with Adriel had created more muscle in her thighs. She could tell Dolion noticed when his touch hovered there over the fabric of her dress. As his hand migrated upward, he began twirling a thin tendril of her hair between his fingertips.
His heart was pounding at her back, making her own pulse quicken. His fingers coaxed a shiver from her that traveled from the back of her neck to her tailbone. She felt his freshly shaved cheek rest in the crook of her neck. His hand came forward, cupping her waist and pulling her taut along his body.
It had been increasingly difficult to get to him in recent months. She risked it every couple of weeks, if that. Since Adriel told her of the curse, he had increased the guard stations outside Oakmire. Laurelai had grown tired of being her body double long ago. She still complied when asked, but it made Helaina feel guilty to use her like that.
She had to savor this, because now more than ever someone could catch them and her fantasy would end. So she sank into Dolion, breathing him in.
“Will you marry me one day?” His whispered question shot her straight out of his hold.
“Don’t joke about that.”
“I would never,” he began softly. “I wasn’t...” He trailed off, looking nearly defeated.
“What?” Her cheeks heated.
He smiled, seeming to notice the blooming pink there. “Would you leave Keles? Leave all of this behind and just go... with me?”
She turned away from him, devastated she couldn’t say yes. “I can’t. You know I can’t.”
“Why? Why can’t you leave?”
They had had this conversation before. He had never been satisfied with her vague explanations. Just as her family had been secretive with her, she was now keeping this one big part of her life from Dolion. It didn’t seem right.
“I’m a princess, I can’t?—”
“You say Krysta will be wed soon, she’ll leave. Why must you stay?”
She wrapped her arms around her stomach, refusing to look at him. “They would never let us marry, Dolion, it’s not how things work here.”
“Why do you have to follow anything they say? They control everything about you, it’s infuriating.”
“I can’t leave, I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” he said, clearly growing frustrated. “The least you could do is tell me why.”
Would it chase him away to know? Would he be petrified of her? She had seen the fearful looks of her family when they had witnessed her magic.
“If I tell you... you’ll leave.” She tried to blink away the brewing tears that welled at the thought of losing him—losing this one piece of happiness.
“Have I not proved myself to you? Hours of waiting past sunset, sneaking past guards. Do you know what your father could do if he caught me? Men have been hanged for much less. I haven’t asked you for anything in return until now.”
A sourness settled in her stomach.
“Look at you. You’re a caged animal to them. I offer you freedom and you turn me away.”
He moved closer. Taking her chin between his fingers, he forced her gaze to meet his own. “Let me free you, Helaina. Let go of this place... Come with me.”
