&n
bsp; “Since when have you paid attention to my notes?”
His worried expression was replaced with a grin, and that was all it took. I ran toward him, reaching for him, his arms folding around me, both of us holding each other like we’d never let go, his fingers sliding through my hair, his faint whisper of Lia in my ear, but when I tried to turn my lips to his, he pulled away, stepped back, grasping my arms and deliberately returning them to my sides.
I looked at him, confused. “Rafe?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” I asked, the panic rising in my voice. “Are you all right? Did something happen to—”
“Lia. Listen to me.” His eyes burned into mine.
“You’re scaring me, Rafe. Just say it.”
He blinked, something shifting in his expression. He shook his head as if his thoughts were racing ahead of him.
“I need to tell you about the circumstance of—The truth is—What I need to tell you is, I’m betrothed.”
My mouth went dry. I waited for him to laugh. To declare it a poor joke.
He didn’t.
I stared at him, still not believing it. My mouth opened to say something, but I couldn’t think what. He loved me. I knew he did. I had just seen it in his eyes.
At least I thought I had. Yes, we had parted ways weeks ago, but was that all it took to forget? Less than a season of days? I searched for something to say. “You found someone so soon? Which kingdom?” I asked, the words numb on my tongue.
He nodded. “She’s from Dalbreck. The assembly wanted me to marry right away. They thought it would add the stability that was needed.”
I turned away, blinking, trying to focus, trying to make sense of this. “Your kingdom is in such terrible straits?”
“Both of my parents were dead for weeks. I was missing. The kingdom was without a ruler. It created problems. More than we expected.”
“The general who challenged you?”
“He’s been one of them. I had to—”
I spun around to face him.
“Do you love her?”
He looked at me, stunned. “I don’t even know her.”
“You didn’t know me before our wedding either.”
“You mean our wedding that didn’t happen.”
I stared at him. He meant this. He was going to marry someone else. On the assembly’s advice. He was meeting his duty, just as he had when he came to Morrighan once to marry me. Was that all marriage was to him? Duty? In the same breath, I hated myself for disparaging his motives. What had I done but leave him behind because of my duty?
I heard Jeb’s words again: His word is true. I didn’t want it to be, but I said things to fill the painful silence. Things I didn’t mean or even hope for. “Perhaps it will work out better for you two.”
He nodded. “Maybe so.”
We stood there looking at each other. My insides were jumbled, as though everything had been kicked loose and shaken. Strangely, he looked exactly how I felt.
“So where does this leave us?” I asked.
He paused as if trying to figure it out himself, but his gaze still remained locked on mine. “It leaves us as two people—three—who need to stop the Komizar.”