Page 19 of Lord of the Castle
I dropped my blade, and it sunk into the ground.
The Queen of the Wildwood turned her back on me and knelt beside Lord Cedric. I hissed as she touched his lame leg. Closing her eyes, she whispered under her breath. A flash of light came and went, like lightning.
“There,” the Queen of the Wildwood stood. “Last year during the Festival of Yule, a healer came to me for help, and I took some of her magic. Now it seems that the Lord of Darkness is worthy of it. The gift of the healer is his and no longer will he be lame.
“Thank you,” I gasped.
Her brown eyes regarded me. “Don’t thank me. One day, the darkness will rise up stronger than before. When it does, I will call upon the Lord of Darkness for help. If you are still with him, you will come fight with us too.”
She stood, her red dress fluttering out behind her as she made her way back to Sir Aelbrin. He put his blade away and took her hand, and then they faded into the wildwood.
Chapter Fourteen
In the weehours of the morning, sometime before dawn, Felix trotted into the glade. Lord Cedric was still passed out, but after struggling with his bulk and some help from Felix, we were able to mount up and rode back to the sprawling dark castle. Exhaustion washed over me, and when we arrived I let Julius take Lord Cedric while Betty bustled me upstairs and into a hot bath. For once her face was drawn and words did not tumble from her lips. While I appreciated the silence, my mind buzzed with unanswered questions while I relaxed in the bath. Betty toweled me off and I let her, too weary to protest as she helped me into a gown and practically carried me to bed.
One by one she blew out the candles and then hovered over me like a mother. “Sleep a dreamless sleep,” she whispered. I detected hints of lavender in the air before I passed out.
I did not dream of monsters, nor the dark beings that came out of the wood to hunt and destroy. I did not dream of Lord Cedric nor his other form and the way he could shift and twist into a deadly beast. Instead, my sleep was dreamless, and when I woke the sun was high in the sky and cast beams of light across the room.
Clarity came to me as I opened my eyes. Soreness made me move stiffly as I stepped out of bed and hunger ate at my insides. It was time. Time to leave. Enough though I did not want to, how could I stay when I man I loved was a monster?
My bag was packed and slumped against the wall by the door, untouched since I’d entered. But my armor was gone, which made sense. It was dirty and needed a cleaning. Instead there was a dark yellow dress laid out for me, with a pattern of roses stitched around the bodice. I pulled it on, struggling for it lay lower on my chest than I expected, showing more hints of cleavage than I was comfortable with. But no matter, I was hungry, and once I found food, I’d come up with a plan and leave without disturbing the Lord of the Castle.
I opened the door and almost slammed it shut, my heart pounding in my chest like a thousand war drums beating endlessly. He sat outside my door, in a straight-back chair. Waiting. His wild hair was brushed back away from his brow, slowing off his high cheek bones and highlighting the scar. When he caught sight of me his face went pale and his lips parted, but his eyes were wide, expectant, almost, desperate.
All the air rushed out of me, and my hand dropped from the doorframe. I willed myself to remain calm as I met his gaze. It was easy to be brave in my room alone, to have thoughts of leaving for good. But even though I knew who he was,whathe was, I wasn’t running. My feet wouldn’t move, and secretly, I did not want them to.
“You did not leave,” he breathed, his voice thick with emotion.
“I wanted to.” I could not look away from him, paralyzed by his gaze. “You did not tell me…” I trailed off.
He stood, wincing, and then walked slowly over to me. My gaze went down to his leg, no longer lame.
“She came,” I went on. “The Queen of the Wildwood, and healed your leg.”
A smile softened his features. “She said she would come, even though there was no need.”
“I thought we would die,” I burst out. “But you are him. Aren’t you? The Lord of Darkness who protects the people? But how can you protect and be a monster? It goes against—”
“Against everything you know, Mariel.” His hands dropped to his side and misery shone of out of his eyes. “It is a burden to bear, and I, alone, will bear it. There must always be a Lord of Darkness, for this land was wrought with evil, and the goddesses cursed it. And while the Queen of the Wildwood fights against evil, she cannot do it alone. I know, all too well, that one who kills the Lord of Darkness becomes the Lord of Darkness. It is why I dwell here, apart from the people, why I have never married and why I keep a loyal staff. Unafraid and trustworthy. This is not a burden everyone can bear. But I am glad you did not leave without saying goodbye.”
Goodbye. Yes. Leaving would be the right course of action, to go on, to go back and forget this dream, this waking nightmare. “But you will be alone,” I protested. “Year after the year, the kingdom will send someone and you must fight the creature of the wood. It is relentless, when will it end?”
He closed the distance between us and one of his rough fingers tilted my chin up, forcing me to stare directly into his eyes. His expression softened. He tucked my hair behind my ears, and when he spoke, my whole being leaned toward him.
“Then stay. Stay here with me. Forget the past, think only of this, of us. It is not wrong to protect those you care about, and it will satisfy your longing to protect others. It is a worthy cause. You can still be my shield-maiden, and protect the village along with me. But remember this, unlike the kingdom, you would be free to come and go as you wish.”
“As your mistress?” I held his gaze, for I would belong to no man as a mistress. I would not be like my mother.
His fingers brushed my cheek and his eyes smoldered. “Not as my mistress.”
“As a free woman then?” My breath caught as he shook his head.
Oh goddess. I would give in if he kept touching me like this. His arm stole around my waist, pressing me against the warmth of his body.
“You are free if you want to be free, but I would have you as my wife because you are strong enough to keep you own counsel, good enough to choose your own actions, and kind, you truly care about others. During the past weeks I’ve seen the way you treat Betty, who talks too much, Sasha, who is frightened and often responds with anger, and even Julius who is cold and unfriendly. But you are patient and generous, and even strong enough to take up the challenge of protecting this town with me. If you would be my wife, I would cherish you, body and soul until our dying day.”
I blinked away the wetness behind my eyes and rested my hands on his chest. Shivers went down my spine as I opened my mouth to respond and closed it again. My voice dropped away to a whisper. “But how can you know this is what you want? We barely know each other.”
