Vhalla pressed her eyes closed, her heart aching at being unable to reveal herself to him.
“Tell me!” Aldrik cried.
“Why must you do this?” The Emperor’s voice was so soft that Vhalla could barely hear it. “What is your unhealthy obsession with the girl?”
“She lives?” Even having just woken from a long sleep, Aldrik missed nothing. The Emperor’s anger would not exist had Vhalla died cleanly in the Pass.
“She lives,” the Emperor confirmed. The room settled. “For now.”
“What?” the crown prince uttered in shock.
Vhalla didn’t want him to ever find out the Emperor’s ultimatum, but she especially didn’t want him to find out like this. Her fingers twitched, wanting to reach for the shutter, to pull Aldrik from the room and from his father’s reach.
“She understands that she must focus on the task before her—and nothing else,” Emperor Solaris began. “She knows that should she give into distractions, it will have grave consequences for her.”
“Father, what are you talking about?” Baldair asked.
“We had a very productive conversation, the girl and I,” Emperor Solaris’s voice echoed ominously.
That was certainly one way to put it.
“And now I hope to have an equally productive one with you, Aldrik.”
Silence was the crown prince’s response.
“She has until spring to deliver me the North or she will be hung and quartered.” It wasn’t any easier to hear the second time. “But I fear she has become too much of a risk. So, even if she does succeed, I trust you will decide what to do with her when her usefulness has run its course.”
“What to do with her?” Baldair was the one who was brave enough to ask for clarification.
“She is a liability. She can listen in on conversations, walk through walls. There is no secret that could be kept from such a creature—”
“She’s a woman,” Aldrik corrected firmly.
“—creature,” the Emperor continued. “I should not think I would even need to mention the Crystal Caverns.” There was a long pause. “I did not think so. I am not so certain your tests were conclusive enough, Aldrik. Perhaps she can manage crystals. If so, she becomes an even greater risk to us all if someone decides to use her to unlock the power that sleeps there. War is full of casualties; no one expects her to leave this battlefield.”
Vhalla pressed her eyes closed tightly, feeling sick.
“She saved Aldrik’s life, Father.” Baldair’s defense was heartwarming, however useless.
“It was her duty! That is the role of subject and lord. A role I feel is being blurred.” The Emperor let his implications hang in the air. “Well then, I look forward to your plans on the matter.”
“I will not,” Aldrik said softly as the door opened.
Vhalla’s heart stopped.
“Excuse me?” the Emperor asked coldly.
“She has done too much. We need her. I need—”
“In what ways do you need her?” Emperor Solaris finished for his son, cruelly skewering the words that Aldrik was letting get away from him.
“You know in what way!” Aldrik lost his control. The silver-tongued Fire Lord, the fearsome prince had been stripped away to a desperate man.
Vhalla pressed her eyes closed. How had the world tilted so far off-balance?
“Yes,” the Emperor said slowly. “I am afraid I do.” Vhalla could imagine the Emperor crossing the room to stare down his son as he had her when she heard his footsteps. “She clearly can’t be tamed, so she dies, Aldrik. And I have every suspicion that it will be a far gentler death if it is done by your hand than mine.”
WHAT WILL YOU do?” Baldair asked, finally breaking the silence and spurring Vhalla to action.
“Baldair, go,” Aldrik demanded sourly. “Brother, we can—”
“I said leave me!” the crown prince seethed in pain.
Both royals turned quickly as the shutter opened. Vhalla quickly hopped over the window ledge before anyone below would notice her silhouette against the candle-lit room. She eased the shutter closed as softly as possible, straightening.
Aldrik stared at her wide-eyed, his gaze heaped adoration upon her as though she was the Goddess herself descended upon the earth and made mortal. “Vhalla,” he croaked.
“Aldrik.” Spider-webbed fractures stretched across the ice she’d packed around her heart, shattering under its own weight. She sprinted to him and his stiff muscles prevented him from rising too quickly to meet her. That didn’t stop Vhalla from pressing herself atop him at an awkward angle, half seated at the edge of the bed.
His arms slowly heeded his commands. They worked themselves around her, holding the shaking Windwalker with all the strength the crown prince could muster. Vhalla hiccupped softly, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.
“My Vhalla,” he whispered, gripping her. “My lady, my love. You, you ...” His voice broke and he drew a shuddering breath.
She pulled away, staring down at the prince. “You’re here.” “As are you.” His palm cupped her cheek, and Vhalla leaned into it, savoring his touch.
“You wouldn’t be, Aldrik, if it weren’t for her,” Baldair reminded them both of his presence.
“What happened?” Aldrik glanced between the two of them. “Tell me everything.”
“You shouldn’t tax yourself.” Vhalla was suddenly worried about the smallest thing breaking him. “Tell me everything,” he repeated firmly.
“After you fell ...” Baldair began, obliging his brother.
Vhalla glanced at him askance. She had no interest in hearing of how she had disobeyed the Emperor or her frantic run through the North. She also prayed that Baldair mentioned nothing of the confusion surrounding Daniel. The younger prince didn’t betray her trust.
The crown prince absorbed his brother’s words silently. His eyes shimmered as his beautiful mind began to wake once more. Vhalla allowed herself to be distracted by how wonderful every curve of his face was, and by his thumb running over the back of her hand.
“Vhalla.” He summoned her attention when Baldair had finished. Aldrik opened his mouth, and his words faltered. “You woke me also, didn’t you?”
She searched his face, reading the meaning hidden in the depths of his eyes. It had been real then, what she had witnessed during the Joining. He had been there as much as she had been. Vhalla nodded.
“Thank you,” Aldrik whispered, almost reverently. “Of course, my prince.”
“Now, we must find a way to deal with my father.” Aldrik closed his eyes as if in pain.
Vhalla’s stomach clenched. “If the Emperor demands my death ... there isn’t much hope is there?”
“No. We will win this war and then your freedom—”
“I heard.” She couldn’t handle the flash of hopelessness in his eyes, the flash of truth, when he realized she knew his father’s demands of her death no matter the war’s outcome. “I will fail before I force your hand.”
“I couldn’t.” Aldrik shook his head. “You know I can’t.”
“He hates what I am to you,” Vhalla breathed in realization. “Well, if my crime is love, then I am indeed guilty.”
“I will not let it happen.” Aldrik tried to push himself up into a seated position. He grimaced, and Vhalla quickly adjusted the pillows to try to give him support. “I promise you.”
“Don’t.” Her hands faltered. Vhalla straightened and stood, her arms were limp at her sides. “Don’t cheapen our promises. Some can’t be kept.”
“No!” Aldrik’s voice rose slightly, and Baldair made a shh-ing sound with a nervous glance toward the door. “If I must, I will take you away myself and hide you.”
Baldair leaned forward in obvious surprise.
“Then you’ll be hunted also.” Vhalla shook her head. “Don’t be rash about this. It’s what’s meant to be and—”
“Don’t do this.” Anger flared in his eyes, and it made the timbre o
f his voice deepen. “Don’t you dare do this to me, Vhalla Yarl.” With more speed and strength than Vhalla thought he currently possessed, Aldrik pulled her back onto the bed. “I told you this would never be easy, I warned you. I begged you to spare my heart if you weren’t ready for this fight.”
She glanced away, unable to bear the burden of guilt.
“Look at me,” he demanded softly. She obliged. “You do not give in. You disobeyed the Emperor himself, you ran alone through the North, you—who was once a library girl! You’re smart and capable and strong and beautiful, and I will not let you forget those things now. I will not let them be diminished.” Aldrik gripped her hand as though he was physically holding onto the scraps of her humanity. Vhalla’s chest ached. “I’m tired of fighting,” she sighed. The memory of the Emperor’s boot on her face was fresh. Vhalla hated that the man could make her feel so little. “I would rather he continue to hate me and spend the end of my days as I choose than fight the Emperor in agony until my final moment.”
“No.” A smile spread across Aldrik’s face. It was tired, but it had a hopefulness Vhalla had never quite seen behind it. “I swear with you and Baldair and the Gods as my witnesses that you shall be at my side. I will think of something, I will find an opportunity. I do not know what that is yet, but I will find something that will be worth more to my father than this foolish notion of killing you. Whatever that thing is, I will threaten him with it. I will show him—the world—the astounding woman who has stolen my heart.”
“But how long will it last?” Vhalla hated herself for objecting to the words she had been so longing to hear. “Until you must find something else to barter or sacrifice just for my sake?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Aldrik shook his head. “I will fight to keep you until the end of my days.”
“You’re a fool,” Baldair declared, stealing the words right out of Vhalla’s mouth. He leaned back in his chair, considering his brother. But his words were betrayed by the appreciative gleam in his eyes as he switched his attention between the two lovers. Vhalla was still learning the nuances of the younger prince, but it was easy to guess that he was impressed.
Aldrik chuckled under his breath. “If I am, then the blame falls entirely with my lady here.”
A gentle warmth gave color to Vhalla’s cheeks.
“Well, you won’t be launching any suicidal campaigns if you can’t even get out of bed.” Baldair stood. “I’ll go fetch the clerics.”
“Go, but wait to fetch the clerics.” Aldrik ran his hand up Vhalla’s arm, his attentions returned to her. “Dawn is only an hour away.”
“Then get them in an hour,” Aldrik said as though that should have been obvious.
“You need medical attention,” Baldair insisted. “Your body is mostly healed. You should just need some strengthening potions for you to be close to normal.”
“I don’t need my strength just yet. I’m not leaving this bed,” the crown prince observed. “What I have here now will be far more effective than anything the clerics can bottle.”
Baldair gave a resigned huff of amusement and shook his head. “Gone by dawn,” the younger prince cautioned before leaving them alone.
Vhalla turned back to Aldrik as the door closed, but the man had other intentions as the hand that had been drifting up her arm tugged lightly on her shoulder. The moment the back of her neck was in his reach, his fingers were curled around it, and Vhalla met his lips.
His mouth had the faint traces of herbs, what Vhalla suspected to be remnants of medicine or sustaining potions that had been forced down his throat. The hair on his face tickled her strangely. But nothing could have made that kiss anything less than perfection.
“I love you,” he uttered like a prayer.
“And I you,” she affirmed.
“Don’t give up on me.” Aldrik pressed his eyes closed tightly. “I am not worthy of all you have done for me ... but, you, this is the first thing to make me feel human in almost a decade, to make me want to strive for something more. You are the first person to make me truly happy, to make me want and hope again.”
“I have never given up on you,” Vhalla pointed out gently.
“You are the only one.”
“Larel didn’t either,” she mused.
“No, Larel never did ...” Aldrik tugged on her gently and Vhalla understood his demand. She curled at his side, her head tucked between his chin and his shoulder to barely fit on the small bed. “I can’t believe you rode through the North. Gods, woman, have you no fear?”
“I was terrified,” Vhalla confessed softly. “I was just more terrified of living without you.”
Aldrik laughed, a deep throaty sound. He ran his fingertips over her arm and shoulder. “A terror I know well.”
Vhalla pressed her eyes closed. Her mortality stared down at her from the other side of an abyss. But his arm around her firmly kept her in place, kept her from tumbling down that dark chasm.
She relinquished doubt and embraced hope. Her hand snaked around his waist, and Vhalla listened to his heartbeat while feeling the slow rise and fall of his chest, perfectly in time with hers. They would fight together now.
“Stay with me today.” Aldrik pressed his lips against her hair. “I don’t know if your father ...”
“After the clerics have done their dance, I’ll command that you be brought to me. My father won’t dare reveal our family rift to the world by objecting, not after I’ve made a public command. He won’t undermine me before the subjects he intends I rule,” Aldrik stated with confidence.
“For how long?” she asked.
“All day today, tomorrow.” There were the makings of a deeper current powering his words. There was a plan formulating in his puppet-master mind. “I want the men, women, majors, and nobles alike to continue to see you are under my protection. I want them to see me value your brilliant thoughts. And,” Aldrik paused, as if bracing himself, “I want them to see my compassion for you. Most of all, my father will see that he will not take you from me with mere threats.”
“This is an awful idea.” Vhalla shook her head, pressing closer.
“It is brilliant,” he insisted. “Will you?”
Vhalla’s hand drifted up over the blankets to his exposed collarbone, running her fingers across the firm line in his skin. “I will,” she breathed in reply.
His arm tightened around her, and he hooked a finger under her chin. Aldrik tugged her mouth toward his once more, and Vhalla gripped his shoulder tightly. The world blissfully faded away as his lips parted.
Vhalla could have laughed, she could have cried, as each kiss reaffirmed their madness. A bundle of nerves began to tangle in her stomach. Each kiss undid a knot, each breath added two. Today, they would draw a line in the sand. On one side, they would stand, on the other, the Emperor and her death.
As true as it had ever been, dawn came too soon. Vhalla peeled herself away after they had both reassured themselves of their plans. His arms were hesitant to relinquish her, and Vhalla was reluctant to plunge herself into the suddenly cold world again.
After slipping out of his room, she drifted through camp, not paying attention to where her feet carried her. Doubt traded places with hope, and her thoughts ranged from horror, to cautionary urges, to elation. Somehow, she navigated back to Fritz’s tent.
“What in the sun?” Elecia exclaimed as Vhalla practically collapsed atop her.
She couldn’t say anything; the magical toll of Joining was mixing with lack of sleep, resulting in a potent exhaustion. Vhalla rolled off Fritz and onto her back, staring up at the lightening canvas with a small grin. No matter what happened, he lived.
“You two are so annoying,” Fritz mumbled from Vhalla’s right, still half asleep.
“He’s awake,” she intoned.
“What?” Elecia sat upright.
“He’s awake,” Vhalla repeated, sitting with a foolish grin. She grabbed the other woman’s hands, beaming. “Aldrik’s awake.”
> “You ...” Elecia didn’t even pull away. “You actually did it?” Vhalla nodded and let out a small yelp in surprise as Elecia pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug.
“You’re so infuriating, Vhalla Yarl,” she laughed.
“You’re pretty annoying yourself,” Vhalla responded lightly, and both women shared a moment of sincere elation.
Vhalla had just turned to Fritz, beginning to share with them the broad strokes of what had occurred, when Jax’s voice carried through camp.
“Lady Ci’Dan! Lady Yarl!”
Vhalla exited the tent behind Elecia. “We’re here.”
“Why am I not surprised to find you both together?” the Westerner asked with a smirk.
“You should be.” Elecia placed a fist on her hip, shifting her weight with a familiar grin. “I can’t stand this woman.”
“A new development then?” Jax cocked his head to the side. Elecia hummed, starting in the direction of the camp palace without needing to be told. “I assume our prince has summoned me?”
The Western man nodded. “I’m surprised he brought you out here.”
Vhalla walked curiously behind the two. They spoke like old friends.
“He clearly needs me.” Elecia’s haughty voice sounded hollow to Vhalla’s ears. There was a sense of sorrow there. Elecia didn’t want Aldrik to need her to be there, Vhalla realized. Elecia would rather if he was in a position that didn’t require her expertise as a healer.
“So what is your grandfather up to with this one and her duchessness?” Jax nodded in Vhalla’s direction.
“Far be it from me to know.” Elecia glanced over her shoulder at Vhalla. “I found out after he’d decided to issue the first Crimson Proclamation since the West fell.”
Vhalla avoided the woman’s stare. She really didn’t want to know about the Crimson Proclamation any more than necessary. It made for unwanted attention.
“I doubt he got the Emperor’s permission first,” Jax’s voice dropped.
“He shouldn’t have to.” There was a bite to Elecia’s words that Vhalla liked. “He’s the Lord of the West; he can give them out as he pleases.”
Jax caught Vhalla’s shifting eyes. “Told you some people took it seriously.” He grinned.