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“Oh? Not the fate of the realm nor the family you left behind?”
“I didn’t leave my family behind.” I turn toward the direction, expecting to see the dark outline of a man. Only, he’s not there.
Something brushes the back of my neck. The tip of a finger that trails down my exposed spine. I tighten my hold on the fabric.
“You sacrifice so much for him, and he cannot give you nearly what I can.”
“He gives me everything,” I reply as I spin on my heel to face the other direction.
The man is gone.
“Then you are small-minded, Carleah Rossingol, because I can give you the entire realm. A future of ruling side-by-side, of making love in the moonlight, of having children that will topple empires and consume all that we despise.”
A hand grips the back of my neck and yanks me back, pinning me against a solid form. “I can give you everything you desire, Carleah,” he says. “I can grant your every wish. That mindless soldier you share a bed with has no power, but I have all of it.”
“Yet you cannot even show me who you truly are. Fort hides nothing from me.”
The hand releases, and I stumble forward then spin to face it. This time, the shape of him lingers just before me, the dark mist moving constantly as though it’s driven by its own breeze.
“You are not ready to see me for who I am,” he replies. “But soon you will be. And once you look upon my face, I’ve no doubt you will forget your soldier and come be with your king.” The mist vanishes, and I come awake with a gasp.
My hands clutch a blanket, and pain shoots through my abdomen.
With a groan, I fall back down to the bed.
“What is it?” Fort is there, his hands on my face. “Are you okay?”
“He came back,” I say through ragged breaths. “But I’m fine.”
“The Son of Flame?”
I nod.
“We can deal with him later.” He sits up against the stone and pulls me into his lap.
My back rests against his chest, my hands resting on his thighs beneath the blanket. I relax into Fort, letting my nerves dissipate because, regardless of what that bastard said, I will never leave Fort. No force could move me from his side.
“How are you feeling?” Fort asks as he brushes the hair from my shoulder.
“Sore. Where are we?” I look down at the bandages covering my abdomen and legs. “Did we find them?”
“We did,” he tells me. “But they’re not all we found.”
* * *
Dressed in a dress that I managed to makeshift from a sheet on the bed, I step out into the hall. My body aches, each movement pained, but anger fuels me. Fort is beside me, wearing his trousers and boots; though, since he shredded his tunic after I’d been attacked, his chest is bare.
Just outside of our room, an entire village lives. Inside the expansive cavern, homes and pathways have been carved straight into the stone, spiraling up as far as the eye can see. No sunlight reaches us here, just light from torches that line the walls, but it is beautiful. Impressive.
The dwarves are exactly how I picture them, their human-like expressions ranging from annoyance to elation when they pass us. Their shorter than even I am, their bodies crafted perfectly for the life that they live here within the stone. I’m more than ready to speak with them, to get them to join us, but I have one stop to make first.
Someone who I need to face sooner rather than later.
It doesn’t take me long to spot Affree. She stands with her back to me, her hand on Shadow’s long face. She must say something to him because he raises and lowers his head as though he’s nodding.
I gather the bottom of the blanket so it doesn’t drag and cross toward her.
“Carleah, it is so good to see you up and around.” She turns to face us, her golden gaze not at all shying away from Fort’s muscled body.
