The Man Who Came to Save Me

Ronan's hand closed over mine.

"Put that away, Mara."

The woman did not lower her sword. "She is wearing Isolde's colors."

"I have had a difficult week. Do not make me repeat myself."

Her eyes returned to his face. Whatever she saw there finally made her sheath the blade.

"What has she done to you?"

"Kept me from falling off a horse. Recently, that has been useful."

I wanted to thank him. Instead, I said, "I am Elara."

"I know the Ashford face."

It was the first time anyone had recognized me for something other than the queen's kindness in raising me. I wished it had sounded more welcoming.

Ronan dismounted. His knee buckled before his boots were firmly on the ground.

Mara caught him. Her anger vanished beneath practiced attention.

"Bring a litter," she ordered.

"Bring a horse that has not carried two people across a kingdom," he replied.

She ignored him. I liked her a little for that.

They took us through the gates of Blackthorn Keep. People came out of doorways, stared, and moved toward him. Some stopped when they saw me. Others did not notice me at all. A boy carrying a basket began to cry.

Ronan touched his shoulder as he passed.

"I see you have grown without permission, Tavin."

The boy laughed through his tears.

I followed the litter into the keep, holding my torn skirt clear of the stairs. A woman near the entrance looked at the embroidery along my hem and turned her face away.

Inside, Mara took Ronan into a room smelling of herbs. When I tried to follow, she blocked the doorway.

"I can manage his wounds."

"I wasn't questioning that."

"Then you have no reason to come in."

"She stays," Ronan said from inside.

Mara looked at him, then at me.

I shook my head. "You should have someone you trust. I need to wash."

He held my gaze before nodding toward a waiting servant.

"The rooms beside mine. Have the connecting door repaired before nightfall. The latch is broken."

The servant hesitated.

"She will need to be able to lock it," he added.

I had not realized how much I wanted a lock until then.

The servant's name was Nell. She gave me hot water, a plain blue dress, and the careful courtesy of someone instructed to be civil to a poisonous plant.

When she reached for my ruined wedding dress, I caught the sleeve.

"Can the silk be used?"

"For bandages, perhaps."

"Please do."

She looked at the blood on the skirt and softened by a fraction.

Alone, I scrubbed until the water turned gray. Beneath the place where the necklace had rested, a broken red ring marked my skin.

I covered it with my hand.

There was no bell summoning me to the queen. No maid reminding me to smile. On the other side of the wall, a man I had married was being treated for wounds my people had given him.

I sat in the cooling bath until Nell knocked and threatened to fetch another tub by herself.

Ronan came to my door that evening wearing a loose black shirt, his hair still damp. He looked exhausted and considerably more dangerous now that he was clean.

He held a tray.

"Mara believes I should lie down. I have chosen to interpret that as a suggestion."

"What did she do?"

"Threatened to sew me to the bed. May I come in before she finds me?"

I stepped aside.

He set the tray on the table: broth, bread, cheese, and an apple cut into uneven quarters.

"Did you cut that with a sword?"

"You are welcome to remain hungry."

I sat. He took the chair opposite me with enough care to reveal the pain he was hiding.

"Your people hate me."

"They know the crest on your dress. They do not know you."

"Mara knew my name."

He was quiet for a moment.

"Your father signed the treaty that brought me into Isolde's court under safe conduct."

My spoon stopped halfway to my mouth.

"I was told he died negotiating peace."

"He did. He objected when the doors were barred. Isolde's guards killed him first."

I set down the spoon carefully. There was no room in me yet for another loss to become a lie.

"How do you know?"

"I was there. I cannot give you more than that tonight."

He neither softened the story nor asked me to believe it. Somehow that made it harder to dismiss.

"I will ask Mara," I said.

"You should."

He stayed until I ate. At the door, he paused.

"The oath protects you here. Anyone who frightens you on purpose answers to me."

"Does that include you?"

His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth.

"I suspect you will make certain it does."

For the next four days, I learned the keep by getting lost in it. Its corridors had been built for people who occasionally needed a great deal more space. Doors opened onto terraces without railings. One staircase ended in an arch overlooking a sheer drop.

"For flying," Nell explained when she found me staring.

I began paying closer attention to directions.

In the library, I found translations whose errors made me itch for a pen. In the kitchens, I discovered Ronan had asked for apples after hearing me complain about the sweet porridge served at court.

I did not know what to do with such small attentions. They slipped beneath defenses prepared for threats.

On the fifth morning, Mara found me sorting books beside an open window.

"Your former bridegroom is at the border hall."

The volume slid from my lap.

"How many soldiers?"

"An escort of twelve. An army would have received a different welcome."

Ronan was already in the courtyard when I arrived. He looked at my face and dismissed the servant adjusting his cloak.

"You are not required to see him."

"Is he asking for me?"

"He is demanding you."

I remembered the weight of Cedric's hand on my shoulder.

"Then he should hear my answer."

The border hall stood halfway down the mountain, its long table divided by a line of pale stone. Cedric waited on the southern side in polished armor. Seeing him there hurt with a familiarity I resented.

He crossed toward me.

Ronan stepped into his path.

"Elara," Cedric said. "Thank the saints. I have come to take you home."

"I am staying."

His eyes moved to Ronan, then back to me.

"You can speak freely. The queen has forgiven your distress."

"Has she forgiven my bleeding on the flowers? I worried about that."

He flushed. "You don't understand what happened."

"Then tell me which