Wraithsong

  Chapter 28

  I don’t stop him, except for a few questions here and there, until two-and-a-half hours later, when we come to a passage about inter-marriage between Huldras and Darkálfars. I’m sitting on top of the bed with a pillow wrapped in my arms.

  “Huldras or Huldus and Darkálfars are explicitly forbidden to marry one another. Huldras or Huldus may only marry each other, or humans, or Lightálfars because of the following reasons listed below. There are no exceptions to this rule,” Anthony reads.

  “That makes sense,” I say.

  “How so?”

  “If I married a Darkálfar and we had a child, the child would become evil, wouldn’t it?” I say.

  “That’s the common belief among the governesses.”

  I get the sense that he doesn’t agree with the law. “Do you have reason to doubt it?”

  He doesn’t answer right away, appearing to struggle with whether or not to share something. “No,” he finally says.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to marry a Darkálfar anyway,” I say, lightheartedly.

  He gets a pained look on his face and then his cheeks redden. “It’s one of the strictest laws of the Huldras.”

  He’s acting like he’s hiding something from me. “Is there something you’d like to share?”

  “No.”

  I remember Anthony telling me that he wouldn’t kiss me again and I wonder if that has anything to do with this information. “Just know that you can tell me anything.”

  He nods.

  “What would happen if someone broke the law?” I ask out of curiosity.

  “They would be banned from the Dynasty and would never be allowed to return or associate with Huldras or Huldus ever again. They become outcasts.”

  “That’s rather harsh, isn’t it?” I ask. “What if the Darkálfar was good?”

  “There has never been a good Darkálfars. The governesses see it as a betrayal of our own kind and it’s looked upon as seriously as the killing of another Huldra or Huldu.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about that.”

  Anthony closes the book and then hops off the bed. “Let’s call it a night and I’ll quiz you in the morning.”

  I follow him. “Can I ask you something—about us?” I don’t want our time together to end though my body is yelling at me to go to sleep.

  He faces me again. “I’m not sure that we should talk anymore tonight since it’s so late, and you need the rest.”

  “Screw the ‘should!’ We’ve been through nightmare after nightmare this week and I don’t care about any shoulds anymore.”

  He laughs a little. “All right.” He comes back to the bed and sits on top of the mattress.

  “I need to know something.” I face him and inch closer, my knees propped up against the mattress between his knees. He wraps his arms around my waist and I play with his hair.

  “All right,” Anthony says, his beautiful blue eyes looking up at me.

  I take a deep breath. “When I saw you…die back there at the restaurant, something occurred to me.”

  “Yes?”

  “I know I’ve only known you for a few short weeks, but—” I huff; this is very difficult. Putting my feelings into words? Impossible. My breathing shallows. “Geez, this is so hard,” I whisper. “Why did you…choose to help me over your mom?”

  Anthony pulls me in close, his cheek leaning against my chest. “Because I know Maureen is in the wrong, and I really like you—a lot.”

  Just like that, he’s said it, revealing that he feels the connection between us, too. I smile and relax my body against his.

  “I’ve never been attracted to any girl other than you, and I’ve never had such a hard time trying not to think about someone, because I know I shouldn’t.” He pauses. “Does hearing me say that frighten you, Sonia?”

  “Yes—no. I’m only afraid that we can’t…”

  “Be together?” He looks up into my eyes.

  I nod slowly, and he rises to his feet, kissing me tenderly once.

  “When did you know you…wanted to get to know me more?” I ask.

  “The second I saw you in the greenhouse, I knew I was in trouble, but I didn’t know how much trouble I was in quite then. When you came to visit my house I couldn’t help myself from wanting to kiss you. It was as if my body took over and the rest obeyed, and after that, I couldn’t keep my mind off of you.” He pauses. “We should be together, you and me.”

  I can’t help but smile. I smile because he cares about me and in all the years I can remember, I never thought I’d find anyone who would understand me so thoroughly.