Page 94 of Tristan
He sighs. “Am I going to have to deal with your pouting all night? Or could we put all this energy of yours to other things?”
For once, I do not want sex. “I want to sleep, Bayaden, in my own bed and tomorrow I want to shoot things with arrows.”
“As you wish, Tristan.”
EPILOGUE
I appear calm on the outside as always, but Diekin knows better, he expects I’m going to kill him slowly and painfully. I may just and save him from having to face my sister after such disgrace.
He was returned to us hours ago. I cared little that he was clearly malnourished and paler than is usual for our kind. He is without Tristan—I want to know why—but Ditira forced me to wait and allow the healers to do their work. She didn’t do more than card her fingers through his pasty hair, never asking a question, knowing I would want to ask the first ones. When he was healed, she kissed him, but left us without a word—that’s why I love my sister. She is good to me—too good. I know the anguish she’s suffered not knowing what has become of her mate. But she gave me the time alone with him I needed. After she left, I listened to him a long time as he told me of Aldrien’s plans for war with Mortouge and finally, he forced out the words about my Tristan.
“They are keeping him, Sire. He is alive and well.”
“Keeping him? Was there a note? A ransom demand?”
“Nothing. Just this, from Tristan.”
In his hand is the wedding ring I gave Tristan long before ourwedding day. I snatch it from his hand. “Tristan gave this to you to give to me?” I clarify.
“Yes. And he says …”
“Yes?” I prompt when he stops speaking, the desire to hear any word he might say to me strong and anxious. It’s been months without him—at least I now know he’s alive.Tristan is alive.
“Hi.”
“Hi?”
He gives a firm nod.
It means something specific—I know his heart even if he does not know himself.
“Do you know what it could mean, Corrik?”
“I think so. It means, Goodbye.”
“Hello, means goodbye?”
“Yes. He accepted it as an act of good faith before our wedding; he’s giving it back to tell me to stop having faith because he’s lost faith in us. It can only mean one thing: he has betrayed me.”
“He bartered to save my life, even if he shouldn’t have. He did not betray you, he had little choice.” Diekin’s eyes narrow, but not at me, I think he’s angry with Tristan. I am too.
“I know that Diekin and I agree, but Tristan is a man of great honor, he believes this the honorable thing to do in light of whatever thing he has done. It does not matter that I don’t see it as betrayal, he does.” I don’t care what thing he’s done. I should be the one to decide if he may leave me and I’d never decide that. If he won’t come home willingly, I’ll have to fetch him—somehow. I smolder, growing angrier with him for being so presumptuous over what I might feel that he’d leave me over his own foolishness.
“Corrik?”
Something in the way his voice trembles, I know the accusation that’s coming. “Yes?”
“Where were you? Tristan didn’t voice it much when he would visit me—he wouldn’t, it’s not his style, but I know he wondered—why didn’t you come?”
The assumption itself is preposterous, if only he knew what we’ve been through in these past months. “What makes you think I haven’t tried?”
“I asked Tristan more than once if he’d heard any word of Elves in the area, he seemed able to discover a lot, he never mentioned having heard anything about other Elves. I’m surprised to find you still in Mortouge.”
“I haven’t been in Mortouge long, we’ve been to the place Aldrien lies and it’s not there—it has somehow disappeared!”
“We’ve always known where Aldrien is, it’s right here,” he says pointing at the map. We’re in the large War Room, the only place I am these days. I stare at that deficient map repeating the same thing,but it’s right therebecause it’s the only thing I can do. I have the insatiable need to do something.
“Andothair has figured out a way to hide Aldrien. It’s not there, not anymore. We’ve been in and around the area we know it to be, we remained there for weeks until Father ordered us home when it became nothing more than a camping trip.”
