“Lady Arianna’s in trouble,” Finn said before spurring his horse after her. He caught sight of her blonde hair as she galloped beneath the outer gatehouse. He charged through the inner ward and then the outer ward, but by the time he made it to the road outside the castle, she was gone.
Frantic, he desperately galloped his steed down the road in the hopes of spotting her. Dust from the dry soil puffed up in clouds behind him, and sweat dampened his tunic despite the cool air. He was not sure she had travelled in this direction and slowed the horse to a stop at a sharp curve before calling out her name.
He spotted Conrad coming out of the smithy toward him. His brother’s smile of greeting immediately vanished. “What is it?”
“Ari,” Finn said, scanning the empty landscape for her.
Conrad scowled. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Finn admitted. “I lost her.” His words had a double meaning that struck his heart hard. What had he done?
Chapter Seven
Finn and Conrad searched everywhereto no avail. As the sun set over the horizon, they rode to the castle for help. Images of Ari lying dead at the side of the road, kidnapped or worse, played in Finn’s mind over and over. His stomach was in knots as he desperately clung to the hope that she had returned to the castle.
Lord Walter met him at the gate. By the lines of worry on his forehead, Finn knew Ari was not there.
“Where is she?” Lord Walter demanded.
Finn shook his head, and he glanced over his shoulder, anxious to return to the search.
“I’ll send my army out to look for her,” Lord Walter proclaimed. “We must find her. Finn, you know her better than anyone. Bring her back.”
Finn didn’t want to tell him he and Conrad had looked all day, and now the fear inside him was clouding his brain and tearing at his heart. He didn’t know where else to investigate. He had checked the stream, the meadow, the valley. But he wasn’t going to give up. He turned his horse toward town, thinking. Where would she have gone? Alone? Heartbroken?
With a heavy heart, he rode slowly beneath the portcullis—he had done this to her, and now she was gone. All around him, the villagers and merchants bustled about their daily tasks, but he felt disconnected from them. He had hurt her. Regret sagged his shoulders.
He struggled internally, the weight of guilt on his shoulders. He should have protected her and instead had let her down when she needed him the most. Think, he told himself. He raked his brain, desperately pondering where she might be, a place of solace. He thought about their time together. But she was always so happy, so uplifting when she was with him. Except…
Except when her mother had passed. His eyes widened.
He knew where she was.
Ari shivered in the winter chill, her head bowed. Her only comfort was her steed, Charming, who stood nonchalantly chewing on grass as if nothing were amiss. She cast her gaze to the field before her. The last time she was here, it had been filled with yellow flowers and glorious, vibrant red roses—a feast for her wounded soul. But now, all that remained of the floral display was a barren wasteland of dead, thorny twigs sprawled before her.
Her throat tightened as she stared up at the old oak tree she sat beneath. Its limbs were bare now, like bony fingers reaching for the sky. She had been here once before—each time, her heart had been smashed into a million pieces. When her mother died, she had sought comfort here. It was Finn who had rescued her and given her the support she needed. He wouldn’t be able to do that this time.
Her world had changed in a matter of moments. How naïve she was. Finn had never been a fighter. Even when they were children and Kage would pick on him, he had never stood up for himself. Why would he do it for her? It had seemed so simple: all she had asked him to do was enter the Yule contest. So why couldn’t he do it? She had thought she knew him, but now she wasn’t sure if she ever had.
She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trembling as the cold seeped into her bones and her heart.
She had put so much faith in him, but it had been for nothing. She was now tied to an unknown fate. She had to continue with the contest, or her father would pick someone for her to marry.
She was…defeated, drained of any will to fight, and tired beyond belief. Deep within her, sadness consumed her like a poisonous gas.
She heard the sound of hoofbeats coming closer, yet she dared not look up. She knew in her heart it must be Finn or one of the castle guards. But she didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to face her fate. A life without him.
The horse stopped, and the person dismounted. The crunch of the dead weeds sounded beneath his boots as he approached. He stopped beside her, and she could see his black boots, worn from years of wear. She knew it was Finn.
He stood over her for a long moment before finally saying, “Your father is worried.”
Her chest constricted. She hadn’t meant to hurt her father, although this had started because of him. Because he thought she had to get married. Because she had to produce heirs.
“Are you cold?”
“Not as cold as you” was on her lips, but she said nothing.
He shifted. “I’m sorry I disappointed you.”
