Chapter 196 - Strange Day

ETAN

It was a strangely beautiful day. They slept and held each other. Waking to find each other and reassure themselves that the other was still there—sometimes making love, sometimes only holding tight before sliding back down into dreamless sleep.

Falek and Borsche didn't disturb them, taking turns at guarding and watching, but also sleeping themselves.

Etan knew he should have invited them into the shade of the barn, but he couldn't bear for Ayleth to cover up. And the men were… sensitive, leaving the two of them to rest. Or not.

They had first slept at dawn, but by mid-afternoon, Etan found himself laying awake, staring at the blue patches of sky that could be seen through the roof, Ayleth curled into his side, breathing slow and even, her head on his shoulder.

He kept his arm curled around her, holding her tight to him, loving being near her. He knew there was danger and there would be plenty of time to fight it and defend both himself and her against it in the coming months. So he allowed himself that time to simply be.

He hoped they could be fairly certain no one had followed them since they hadn't been disturbed yet. And that meant if they were careful they could make it all the way to Summitras before he had to reveal his wife to anyone.

He prayed, for her sake, that was so.

He wasn't so naïve to believe that her parents weren't already in pursuit of him and his people, already believing she was with them. He just prayed they'd been successful in hiding her identity while they were in camp so that no amount of searching would reveal her whereabouts.

He prayed that the Peace Accord would hold them back from outright attack until they could confirm Ayleth's presence among them. But he didn't bank on it.

He needed to talk to Borsche. In the cold, hard light of day, their position was very precarious—even if her mother couldn't kill her from a distance.

And deep down, Etan still believed that she could. He prayed desperately that Ayleth was right and that she either didn't hold the power, or wouldn't use it.

But the Queen's face, twisted with fury, eyes sparking with sheer rage, flashed in his head.

No. That was not the face of a woman making idle threats in an attempt to manipulated.

He pulled Ayleth closer to his side and her breathing shortened. But he didn't move, barely breathed, and soon she had relaxed once again, her breathing deep and slow and even.

He would need to wake her if she didn't wake herself within an hour. But for now… for now he was content to sit with her and hold her and be certain she was safe.

*****

Travel for the following two nights was exhausting, and dirty, though the summer evenings were more pleasant than the heated days. Especially as they drew further and further south.

Everyone was tense, uneasy. Falek hovered beside Ayleth like a first time mother, while Borsche's horse covered almost twice as much ground as the rest of them while he scouted, ensuring they stayed as far clear of settlements and people as possible.

Ayleth didn't complain, but Etan could feel her tension in the small lines at the sides of her mouth, and the desperation with which she grabbed him each morning when they lay together. But whenever he asked her if she was well, she always brushed him off. She was tired. She was anxious. But she was fine, he shouldn't worry.

Then she would smile. "Falek has enough worry for both of you. Leave it to him."

Etan had snorted, but he didn't miss that the pretty smile fell from her face as soon as she turned her head.

It was coming home to her, he thought, that she had left her family. Left her people. That she fled her own Kingdom with the heir of her parent's bloodsworn enemy. And no matter the love they had… their union would not be met favorably by most.

Etan felt that tension himself. He'd hoped and prayed that they would enter Summitras with both parents at least publicly at peace. Instead, they rode with a guillotine hanging over their heads. 

When they stopped at the base of the Anvor Pass on the third night, Etan had made a decision. They would be forced to travel in daylight the following afternoon because they had to pass through the Fortress City—any other route through the pass was at best, exceedingly lengthy and difficult, and at worst deadly. But if they were to risk being seen, they would do so with open hearts and smiles on their faces.

As they drew up in the clearing Borsche had found, Etan sighed with relief. They'd passed through this area on their way with the Cavalry. A small brook ran along the base of the mountain and he knew there was a waterfall nearby.

When Ayleth dismounted, sighing heavily, giving her reins to Falek to groom and unsaddle the horses, Etan leaped from his own, dug into the bundle tied to the back of his saddle for a small bag, then handed his reins off to Borsche, who gave him a skeptical brow. Etan was normally fastidious about caring for his own mount.

"I seek a favor," he said quietly, with a pointed look.

Borsche glanced at Ayleth who had tugged the braid from her hair and was shaking it out, her face weary. Etan's stomach clenched at the beauty of her—even like this, in three day old leathers, her hair dull with dust from travel, and her face smudged where she had rubbed sweat away with the dirt.

"We'll visit the waterfall and bathe," Etan said. "And we won't be disturbed."

"That may not be within my control," Borsche chuckled. "Falek clucks like a mother hen."

Etan sighed. "You take care of yourself and our animals. I'll deal with Falek."

"May the power of the Father of Lights be at your back," Borsche grinned.

Etan snorted, but turned from him and stalked to Ayleth's side, taking her hand as he continued towards Falek.