I leaned back on his broad chest and rested my cheek on his arm. We stood like that for a few minutes, not saying anything, just looking out at the vast sea.
Finally Rafe broke the silence.
“I am sorry about last night.” His voice was gentle and sincere. “I shouldn’t have left you in the gardens and walked off.”
“It’s all right,” I said, still not looking at him. “It’s better this way anyway. You and I can never be together. In a few days, I will be going to Elfi, you will get married, and we will probably never see each other again.”
He turned me around to face him. “I wish I could change the way things are, but I cannot. Do you have any idea how many nights I have thought of you and wished that our circumstances were different?” He gazed into my eyes. “I have tried to stay away from you, but I can’t. I even went away for a while, hoping that I would be able to forget about you, but all I could think about when I was gone was when I would see you again.”
I hugged him and rested my head on his chest. His strong arms wrapped me in their warmth, and I closed my eyes and wished that Rafe and I could be together always.
“It was just not meant to be,” I whispered, choking on the words as I said them.
His embrace tightened as he gathered me closer to him, kissed me on the head, and smoothed my hair. “I don’t believe that.”
He let go of me and held out his hand. “Come,” he said gently as I intertwined my fingers through his. “I will walk you back to your room.”
“Thank you, but I had a pair of guards following me around. I don’t know where they went.” I looked around. The scruffy guards had miraculously disappeared.
“I sent them away when I came to see you.” Rafe grinned.
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you would still be at the council meeting.”
Rafe shrugged. “I will find out what I need to know when I speak with your granduncle later today.”
“So Uncle Gabriel knows who you really are?” I asked, quietly glancing around to make sure no one heard me.
Rafe nodded. “He knows the real identity of the Black Wolf, yes.”
“Why does your father think you are running around in brothels and taverns and wasting your life away?”
Rafe laughed. He came closer and spoke softly. “My father had refused to send an army to help the fae against Morgana, so I do what I can for the ones who are left in Illiador.”
“Then why are you letting him and the rest of the court think you are some wastrel, some spoiled prince with too much time on his hands?” It upset me whenever anyone spoke badly about him.
Rafe winced at that as we walked into the palace through the east wing entrance to the gardens. I followed him down a long gallery lined with gold-framed portraits of the kings of old. He still held onto my hand, and I didn’t want to let go. “Is that what they are saying about me?”
“Yes,” I said, looking at one particularly large king who appeared too big to fit on the throne. “And what’s more, some think that after the king, you will be too weak to rule this kingdom, and the Blackwaters will take over.”
Rafe laughed out loud at that. “Just let them try.” He had a twinkle in his eyes.
“So why don’t you tell them what you’re doing?”
“And go openly against my father’s wishes?” he said, shaking his head. “People would see that as dissension in the family. My father does not want to break the treaty and send troops into Illiador. Morgana may see it as an act of war. No! It’s better they all think of me as a rich prince with a head full of fluff and no ambition. It will serve me better for now. The Blackwaters will never see me coming.”
He led me to my room and hugged me close. “I will see you tomorrow.”
I nodded, and Rafe left.
I sighed, opened the door to my room, and went inside. It was no use thinking about Rafe again and again. There was no hope and no future for us. If I continued like this, I would never be able to wipe him from my mind. But I loved spending time with him, and I couldn’t seem to stay away. My heart yearned for him, but soon I would leave for Elfi, and maybe it would get easier. Although, from the constant ache in my heart, I wasn’t entirely sure I would ever get over him.
I was so engrossed in my world of Rafe that at first, I didn’t notice that all the candles except one had gone out. Someone had left the window open, and a chilly wind was blowing the curtains astray. I went over and closed the windows before my last candle blew out. I looked at the woods beyond my window. Twilight was setting in, and dark shadows seemed to have entered my room.
The shadows moved.
I whirled around. “Who’s there?” I called out.
But there was no answer, only silence and the elevated beat of my heart. My breath caught in my chest as shadows started moving toward me from the corners of the darkened room.
I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I was rooted to the spot, and a cold dread washed over me as I saw what
