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She gives me a hesitant look. “But, Marvik . . . do you want to see your mother? Before she dies in the morning? I can arrange it. She’s not in this dungeon, but is currently in the execution cell, next to the courtyard. This would be your last chance.”
Immediately, I shake my head. “Whatever she has to say to me will only be lies and manipulations. After she is executed, I will gladly forget that I ever had such a mother.”
My sister nods, accepting my answer before turning and leaving the grate. When I can see her no longer, I turn and see Dura looking at me with an unreadable gaze. Then she hits me in the shoulder.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“You could have warned me about your sister,” she says, glaring at me.
“About what?” I ask, genuinely flabbergasted.
“Her beauty! How can one such as her even exist? It is like trying to stare down and talk to a goddess! Impossible!”
“You knew she was fairy-blessed,” I point out before feeling annoyed as well. “And you could have warned me that the orc king was your cousin. Why did you never tell me?”
Dura frowns, then looks a little embarrassed. “It never came up. Well, I mean, at first you wanted to kill him, but then after that . . .” She trails off into silence and looks away. When she looks back, her expression is vulnerable.
“You are my mate?” she asks. “You truly believe that?”
“Of course I do!” I say, letting her change the subject. “How can you think that I don’t want you? Have I not shown that I choose you? In the woods and now here? Above all else, even my honor be damned.”
I reach into my trouser pocket, pulling out the piece of amethyst I have been carrying all this time. “I will always want you,” I tell her, holding out my hand, “and hope that you want me.”
She takes the stone from me and holds it up with a curious gaze. “What is this?”
“It’s why I went to the foot of the mountain that day I was ambushed. It’s from a cache of amethysts that I found as a boy. I wanted to get you a gift, to begin the Exchanging.”
Her eyes flick to me with surprise. “The Exchanging . . . that’s why you were asking me those questions that night by the fire?”
I nod. “I wanted to know how to get closer to you, to move our relationship forward. Does this . . . is this enough? I have nothing else to give.”
Dura stares at me, her eyes still unfathomable. Without warning, she suddenly unwinds the leather cord from her left arm. Before I can wonder why she wants to tie me up again, she surprises me by putting the cord in my hand.
“I accept your Exchanging, Marvik Grimble,” she says. “Do you accept mine? It is the leather of the dragon Wyrmin, won by my own hands in battle.”
Oh.Oh. So that’s why I could never cut the cords in all those times I tried. I hold up the cord, looking at it closely. I never noticed in all the time that I was bound with it, but it is beautifully braided, definitely a worthy gift, far more worthy than my pathetic stone. I am touched that she is giving it to me. It almost seems like a symbol of her trust in me, to give something that she once used to bind me.
“I accept,” I tell her, giving her a quirked half smile.
Then Dura is kissing me and nothing else matters.
Chapter 25
Rognar
Iwait in the king’s chamber, much troubled. Adalind went to see her brother, “to get the full story,” she said, and I let her go, even though I know that there is nothing to be done. Dura deserted, an admission she made in the courtyard in front of witnesses. I wish I had interrogated her in private, but my shock at the time made me less wise than normal. I should have realized what her sudden reappearance meant, that the only way she could have been still alive is if she had left of her own will. Or happened on a fairy’s trap and fell between worlds, but one of those scenarios is much more likely than the other. Though, knowing Dura as I do, it would almost be more believable to me that she had been taken by the fairies rather than her deserting.
I will have to send her to her death, to theKillikar. I will have to give her a knife to slash her own throat, all the while knowing that Dura will never take the coward’s way out and will die a hot, painful, delirious death. She will know desperation and despair and it will be at my hands. I will have to tell her fate to her parents, my father’s cousin, who was always like an uncle to me, and his mate, and watch as their eyes darken in sorrow and their good opinion of me forever changes.
Why would she do this to me? I find myself angry at Dura for what she is forcing me to do. I cannot give her leniency. It would be blatant favoritism. A righteous outcry would erupt at my corrupt actions and I would be challenged, rightfully so. Even my Axe or Shield might abandon me and take up the challenge, rather than let me fall into the self-serving attitudes of my forebears. It is a no-win situation that I am in and I see no way out.
At that moment, the doors swing open, and Adalind enters, determination gleaming in her eyes. She is flanked by Larek and Turnog, the orc members of her Gold Guard. Theyare Sworn to her service. She doesn’t even look at them as she declares, “You are dismissed.”
The young orcs back out of the room respectfully, closing the doors as they leave. They will wait on the other side until Adalind leaves again to go to the evening meal. But for now, we must be alone to talk.
I feel her emotions through our Mating Bond. She is ready to argue with me. There is hope that I don’t share in her heart. She still thinks to save our loved ones.
I sigh. “There’s nothing I can do, witch-queen. I am backed into a corner.”
