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Chapter 31
The last remnants of the day’s light shone through the windows in the long gallery and caressed Cal’s skin. Colorful paintings, tapestries, and statues lined the walls. Unlike in pictures she’d seen of medieval castles, the effect wasn’t dreary or heavy. Nor was the atmosphere sterile as a museum would be. No, this space was...beautiful. Plant-life, both of the real variety and carved of stone and wood, lent a controlled wildness and seeming freedom to the area. Cal loved it.
Relian had brought her here once. A sigh escaped her at the thought of his name and all the mixed-up emotions he brought out in her.
She’d avoided him for the last ten days. Though fury still smoldered in her gut, she’d calmed down enough to see a few of Relian’s points. Maggie’s talk with her had helped in that regard. If the elves had admitted right from the start that they’d never allow her to return home permanently, it would’ve taken away some of their initial leverage. She could’ve run away or killed herself for all they knew. At the very least, telling her she had little choice in her so-called decisions would’ve caused her to fight them at every turn. Still, how could she forgive Relian for his deception and many omissions?
Cal trailed her fingers along a stone ledge and frowned. Not so long ago, her fingers would’ve been running through his hair, instead. He would’ve sat beside her and pulled her in— She dug her palm into the rough stone. No, he’d closed that path with his actions.
Relian had been avoiding her, too. She heard he was out on patrol much of the time, which worried her far more than she cared to admit. In fact, something had occurred yesterday that still sent an icy finger down her spine. While she was in the great hall, a sensation of heart-pounding terror crashed over her. Suddenly, it was as if she were Relian and could see through his eyes—could feel the air leaving her body as she hit the ground, see the sword preparing to end her life. The vision cut off there, but the scream building on her lips had ripped through the great hall like an alarm. Arrein and the king were quick to assure her that it was only a waking nightmare, but she hadn’t missed the concern in their eyes. Hours later, when a falcon brought word that the prince was unharmed, the fear squeezing at her chest eased. Finally, she could breathe normally again.
Even now, that horrible fright still lingered in a corner of her mind. Although part of her was glad that Relian was absent—sorting out her mind was easier that way—another portion only wanted him safe by her side.
In spite of her worry and affection—she now shied away from the word love—she didn’t know if they could salvage their relationship. Did she even want to? He was a prince and warrior. Some kind of battle would always be on his doorstep.
Still, no matter what the future held, the time for talking would soon come.
Dread welled up at the thought of that sure-to-happen event. She was determined to find out what he really felt for her. Maybe he was a good actor who was serving as her consolation prize for her forced stay in Eria. But why would the elves offer up the prince of their realm for such a role if any human woman would’ve sufficed? If the binding were merely fodder they thought to feed her, they would’ve picked someone else of less importance to play the part.
Yeah, that theory didn’t make sense because of their shared dreams and sightings of the mist. Those had been given by the veil, right? Even if the elves had somehow faked the binding, she somehow doubted they’d played around with her dreams.
Then there were his remarks about humans. Sure, some humans were fickle, but his “label them with a broad stroke of a brush” views still rankled. Going home had never sounded so good. A pang of homesickness struck. She’d rather be buried under mountains of homework assignments and work hours than stranded in this seeming limbo.
Soft footfalls sounded behind her, causing her to whirl around. She froze. Relian stood at the north entrance. He was there, and he was safe. Though she’d been told that, seeing him drove that fact straight to her heart. Her heady relief soon fled, though. He was there, and he’d want to talk.
Suddenly, the spacious room seemed to shrink around her. He strode a few more paces and then stopped, indecision clouding his face for a brief second. So he was no more eager for the looming conversation than she was. That reassured her marginally.
His clothes and hair were as immaculate as ever, but the pallor of his normally tanned skin riveted her attention. Were those dark circles under his eyes? Elves might be long-lived, but they were susceptible to some of the same ills as mankind, like sleeplessness.
Trying to school her emotions, she willed her expression steady. Why couldn’t anything be easy? Normal. Falling for a nice human boy would’ve been great. Why did it have to be an elf prince with a dimension that loomed between them?
Relian’s face grew grimmer as he marched over to her. He stared, his hot gaze not leaving hers. Even though she wanted nothing more than to break the connection, she met his eyes bravely.
After a torturously long moment, he closed his eyes and spoke quietly. “With you, nothing ever turns out the way I expect.”
He’d so closely echoed her thoughts. She swallowed down the knot in her throat, but words still wouldn’t come.
His face creased with remorse. “Only you could make me so furious, yet regretful.” Shaking his head, he looked at her. “How you make me remember forgotten truths or maybe truths that were never learned.”
“W...what?”
“My heated words. Though they may contain some truth, I can’t deny that my people have untold years to develop their skills, both mental and physical. We can’t judge humanity by our standards. I didn’t mean to disparage your people. You’ve been none of those things I accused you of.”
She frowned at him. “Do you believe your people to be superior?” He better answer this correctly.
“No...” When she sent him a disbelieving look, he trailed off. “Truthfully, I hadn’t given it much thought. I guess so. I suppose like many other elves, I believed our advantages gave us a certain higher ground. Perceived superiority is easy to foster against a group who isn’t present to speak for itself.”
“Kind of convenient, huh?” She wasn’t being very sympathetic, but the desire to enact a little reparation flamed within her. Let him grovel a bit. He’d put her through enough in the past weeks, not to mention the past months and years.
“You proved me wrong.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you mean by that?”
“Only that you are here to speak for your people, and you’ve smashed any beliefs I had to pieces. You’ve proved to be resilient and strong.”
“Uh-huh.” She drummed her fingers on her arms. He knew how to talk pretty when he had to.
His lips tightened. “Why must you misunderstand everything I say?”
