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“Althia.” Valkus’s voice is soft, and I drag my gaze away from Yiosha to look up at him.
His clothes, neck, and face are splattered with blood, and the skin on his knuckles is torn.
“Althia, she cannot hurt you any longer.” His voice is so gentle that something inside me cracks open, and tears well up in my eyes.
Valkus walks over to me and envelops me in his embrace as I sob quietly, my body shaking in his arms.
“Sshh.” He strokes the back of my head gently. “She can’t hurt you any longer. I’m making sure of that.”
But memories of Yiosha’s attack resurface even as Valkus tries to comfort me, and cold shivers ripple up and down my spine. The hair on the back of my neck stands upright.
“Listen.” Valkus pulls away slightly. He reaches for me and cups my face with both hands. “Listen, everything is going to be okay.”
He wipes my tears away before he steps away from me. Then he leans down and grabs Yiosha by the collar of her dress.
I cannot help but take a step away from her, staggering towards the bed even though Yiosha is in no position to hurt me.
The room is silent, and I scan the faces of the zagfers who stand behind Valkus and me.
They’re terrified. They’re terrified of him.
And I can understand their fear. They’re not just afraid because Valkus is killing one of their fellow zagfers.
They’re terrified because of the crazed look on Valkus’s face. They’re terrified because, at any moment, Valkus could decide that one of them just looked at me wrong and would attempt to beat the life out of them.
He really loves me. He’s willing to do anything for me. Even kill.
Valkus might be fucking crazy, but he loves me. And that’s all that matters.
“Now,” Valkus announces as he tries to keep Yiosha from collapsing to the ground. Her mouth hangs open, but both her eyes are swollen shut.
“I kept you alive until now for a reason. You need to confess your sins. Confess what you did to Althia. And if you do that, I’ll ensure that your death is more merciful than I have been up until now.”
I know that I need to face Yiosha, who lets out a pained shriek as Valkus forces her to stand on her own feet, even though her legs look broken.
So I turn to her, my arms crossed over my chest, and look her in the face.
I am not sure if she can see me, but she starts speaking then. Tears run down her face, and she hiccups on every word.
“I tried to kill Ms. Althia. And I don’t regret it.” She whispers the words. My own breath hitches in my throat as she speaks. “She is shaming this family. She is a disgrace to this family. And Master Valkus will forever live with the knowledge that he made a great mistake.”
Is that what they all think of me? Do they all think I am a disgrace? Will my life always be in danger?
But then I look at Valkus. At this moment, he is tall, strong, and commanding. And he has kept his promise to protect me.
“Thank you,” I tell Valkus as Yiosha’s confession settles down inside me.
That is enough. It is enough to know that he is here with me. That he will be with me for the rest of our lives.
A sense of calm washes over me, and I straighten my posture to look directly at Yiosha.
Yiosha looks up at me defiantly, although I doubt that she can see much in the state that she is in.
“You are the disgrace,” I tell her calmly. “And all you have done is sealed your own fate. You could have had a good life. Instead, you did the most idiotic thing that anyone could do.”
I look at the rest of the zagfers in the room. And when I speak to them, my voice is stern and measured.
“I won’t be removed from my place in the Elenil household. I won’t ever leave the man I love. And I do not care about the differences between us. I might be human, but that doesn’t make any of you better than me. I have spent my entire life working hard for dark elves who abused and disrespected me. I am the same as you.”
