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“Go. Get out of here,” Maksim said to the prisoner. “Your comrades are waiting for you in the woods. Things are already in motion.”
The prisoner grinned. “Finally. Give my regards to the jailer, he’s been a real gent.”
He slipped out of his cell, and was gone in an instant, creeping away toward the exit.
“We need to go,” I whispered, and finally Maksim nodded.
Once we were out of the prison, we headed across the courtyard and into the castle. We wound our way through the secret warren of hidden passageways and back corridors until we were safe and alone in his own quarters where we finally, finally, locked ourselves together in a long lover’s embrace.
I let go first, bringing him a glass of water and some food from the side table in his sitting chamber.
“Excellent idea,” he said, downing the water in a matter of gulps and setting to work on the apple that I’d handed him.
I sat down beside him, almost bubbling with the plan I had figured out. Staying was an absolute impossibility. But in the hours since I’d seen him, I’d hatched what I felt was the only answer for the two of us to escape this dreadful place and finally have a shot at a happy life together.
“There is a boat leaving for Zeylos at first light. We can go there to the southern islands. I have just enough coin saved to get us that far. And then we can disappear.”
He was shaking his head before I’d even finished the sentence. I’d known he’d fight me on my idea, but I hadn’t known he’d be outright dismissive.
“No fucking way. I’m fighting Galen for you at dawn. I’m claiming you as mine, in public. I’m not going to give you a life on the run, Anika.”
The sinking feeling that had threatened to engulf me for the last few days began to take a firmer hold. Maria had learned from the gossip mill that Prince Galen’s skills as a swordsman were second-to-none. And I could well believe it, remembering the way he’d fought that guard. Apparently, he had been trained from the day he could hold a sword. He had fought, and won, a hundred battles. He had never lost a duel. And he always fought to the death.
Maksim’s skills were typical of Estana. Effective, but brutal. Clumsy in their own way, even when they worked. I knew in my gut he was up against someone far more skilled than he was. And someone who had no problem killing for sport.
Tough as Maksim was, he was no monster. I’d seen him kill on my behalf, but that was in the heat of an attack or an ambush. It was dirty, bloody and wild. And perhaps, in a back alley or an alehouse, he would have the upper hand over Galen. But I couldn’t imagine him in a formal, sanctioned duel. And I didn’t want to be the one to put him in that position, either.
I grabbed Maksim’s hand in mine. “Please. Please don’t do this. I can’t bear the thought of a life without you.”
He took my cheek in his hand and pulled me closer. “Don’t worry. Things are working exactly the way I want them to. A little faster than I expected, but there’s no way an entire delegation from Nemenia will have been missed. Everything will be in motion. I will win you. I will keep you. Because you’re my fucking destiny. That’s all there is to it.” He rose, tossing his apple core aside.
“Maksim, please…”
He shook his head.
“I’m not backing down,” he said, and then opened up the big bureau on the far side of the room. Inside were a dozen gleaming longswords. And Maksim chose the biggest one, from the very center, which had the hart sigil of his father’s family on the hilt.
CHAPTER 26
Anika
The dawn sun emerged from the clouds just as Maksim and I approached the edge of the tree line on horseback. Behind us rode Aidan and Maria. Hardly a week earlier, I’d dreamt of the four of us riding like this. But in my dreams I had been happy. Now, I was filled with nothing but dread.
Earlier, when Aidan came to Maksim’s chambers before there was any light in the sky, I had been terrified he had been sent to arrest him again and take him back to the dungeon. I know Aidan wouldn’t have been happy about it, but if those were the king’s orders he would have had no choice but to obey. Fortunately for us, however, nobody had checked on his cell and nobody knew he was gone.
Instead, Aidan handed Maksim a vellum scroll which had been delivered to the castle by messenger. Knowing that Maksim was supposed to be locked up, he had taken the message himself and dismissed its carrier in hopes that nobody would ask too many questions.
