She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I know. Me, too.” She was nineteen, the same age Sashe had been when she and Seth had gotten engaged. She took Evan’s hand in hers. She couldn’t lose him, too. “I’m scared, Evan.”
“Hey.” He pulled away and tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. “I promise I’ll talk care of you, okay?”
“What about you?” she whispered. “What about that meeting you had with the elders last week?” Alastor and the elders, Jeshro and Lisbeth, had called the Avialies to the manor, and Evan hadn’t been allowed to tell Sierra what they talked about. Seth hadn’t told Sashe, either, and Sierra could wiggle it out of Dar or Natalia, no matter what she bribed them with.
He frowned a little bit. “That was nothing. We’re just. . .we’re trying to find a way to break the curse. But you’ll always come first. Always. I promise.”
She nodded, smiling a little bit. She kissed him softly on the lips, and he pulled her into a hug. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
***
The moon was full: a perfect orb glowing eerily, surrounded by stars. Dar reached out and took Matilda’s hand. They lay next to the river in peaceful silence. He started playing with her fingers. “Listen, Matilda. . .” he trailed off.
She turned her head towards him. It was so dark he could only see the outline of her face, but he had it memorized: her round cheeks, the freckles over the bridge of her nose. “What?”
“We’ve been together on and off for, what, two years now?”
“We kissed in the barn a couple weeks after my sixteenth birthday, so a little more than three.”
Dar leaned closer to her and kissed her lips, then her cheeks. He took in a shaky breath. “I love you.”
Matilda touched the side of his face. “Really?”
He frowned. “That wasn’t exactly the response I was looking for.”
She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him softly. “I love you, too.” Her arms wrapped around his neck, and he kissed her again. She wove her fingers through his hair, sending chills down his spine.
After a few moments, he pulled away. “What do you think the future holds for us?”
She traced her finger along his jaw. “I don’t know.”
He swallowed, trying to decide how to word what he wanted to say. “Would you ever. . .marry me?”
Her finger stilled, and she dropped her hand. Her eyes met his, her lips pursing. “I don’t know, Dar. What about the curse and the Protectors?”
He didn’t say anything. Sierra and Sashe had been willing to brave those things for Evan and Seth, but he’d never ask Matilda to. Maybe he just assumed she loved him enough to face anything, but would she even have said she loved him if he hadn’t? He thought of what his father said about not pulling anyone innocent into this war. His father didn’t even know about him and Matilda.
He kissed her nose softly. “You’d probably be safer without me in your life.”
“Let’s not talk about it.” She kissed him again.
***
Evan came in from the orchard, wiping sweat off his brow. Alastor and his father were standing by the door, talking and laughing about something.
His stomach lurched. He needed to speak with Alastor, and there was no point in putting it off any longer. “Alastor,” he said, “can I speak with you before you leave?”
Alastor nodded. “Sure.”
Damon pointed towards the door. “Should I go?”
“You can stay.” Maybe with his father there, Alastor would be more reasonable. Evan motioned to the chairs in the living room. “Can we sit?”
As the men sat, Evan took a long drink of water from his skin and wiped his face again. “I’m sorry I’m like this. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Alastor crossed his hands in front of him, pursing his lips. He nodded for Evan to go on.
Evan took a deep breath. Might as well just get it out there. “I want to marry Sierra.”
Alastor’s eyes narrowed, and he let out a long breath. “Evan, I haven’t approved of your courtship for the past three years. What makes you think I’d approve of your marriage?”
Evan swallowed. Alastor was one of the only men who could make him so nervous. “I hoped you might change your mind. I love Sierra and—”
“And your love is going to keep her safe from the Protectors.”
“Yes, it will.”
Alastor scoffed. He looked at Damon. “Don’t you agree with me?”
Evan glanced at his father. The younger and smaller of the two brothers, Damon still had the iron will of their genes. He didn’t respond at first, glancing at Evan and then Alastor. “I’m not sure. Evan, I think you should be completely aware of the consequences of something like this.”
“I am,” Evan replied.
“Really? You’ve considered every possibility? What if the Protectors hunt the two of you down when they hear about it? What if they try to kill you or Sierra?”
“They’re not going to do that.”
“You have no idea what they’re going to do,” Damon said evenly.
Evan sighed. “Fine. If they hunted us down, then we’d fight them and protect ourselves. We’d leave the country if we had to. I’ll do anything to be with her.”
“What about what she wants?” Alastor asked.
“She wants to be with me. Three years has shown that.”
“What about her future? What about the fact she can never have children?”
“We can adopt children.”
Alastor’s jaw twitched. “I know you’re not going to change your mind, Evan. I’m not going to change mine, either. I would hope Sierra is smarter than to give up her life and freedom to be with someone like you.”
“Alastor, you don’t need to be insulting,” Damon said. “Evan’s a fine man.”
Alastor stood. “I know you’re going to do whatever you want, so I don’t know why you even asked.”
Evan got to his feet. “I want your blessing. I want you to want this for us.”
“I will never want it, Evan. I wish Sierra and Sashe had left as soon as Seth moved to Rahuda.” His voice was low and threatening. “I would do anything to keep them safe—”
“Even sacrificing their happiness?”
Alastor shook his head and walked to the door. “They can’t be happy if they’re dead.”
Evan gritted his teeth. “Please, Alastor, I’m asking you for your favor and blessing.”
“I already said no!” Alastor rose his voice. “Leave me be, and if you know what’s good for Sierra, you’ll leave her be, too.” He left, slamming the door behind him.
Evan collapsed on the couch and shook his head. “Why does he fight it so much? The Protectors haven’t contacted Sierra or Sashe for years. They probably don’t even remember them.” In fact, the Protectors seemed to be content as long as the Avialies weren’t in their state or fighting against the laws or seeking to break the curse. Those who had done any of those things over the past couple years and had been caught were killed. Many of them hadn’t been caught: the elders still searched for a way to break the curse; men like Alastor still lobbied the king; Evan and other Avialies in Rahuda worked to keep each other safe from the predatory Protectors.
Damon patted Evan on the shoulder. “It’s natural for a father to feel that way. I imagine if I had a daughter, I’d be the same way.”
Evan raised his eyebrows at his father, smirking. “You don’t worry about me?”
Damon stood as he smiled. “It’s different for a woman in society, especially with the curse. . .” He shook his head. “If you’re sure, Evan, completely sure, then marry her. But you need to know what could happen. If she dies because of you—”
“That will never happen,” Evan snapped.
“I hope not.” Damon patted his shoulder once more before walking away.
Evan looked at the fireplace. Was this the right choice? Did Sierra truly belong with him? He tried to ima
gine a future without her, but it was bleak, empty, and lonely. He’d been in love with her for nearly six years now, and he would ask her to marry him. After that, it was up to her.
***
Sierra knew what was coming, and her stomach was twisting itself into knots. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so nervous.
She and Evan sat on a rock jutting out over the river. They’d come here for years to swim with their friends. The main time she remembered was the night he’d caught her changing. They lay on their backs, looking up at the stars. The rock was barely large enough for the two of them, and their shoulders were pushed together.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Evan said, taking her hand in his.
“I know.” She leaned her head on his shoulder and inhaled his scent, cherries and soap from Rahuda.
“Sierra,” Evan said quietly, “I love you.”
“I love you.” She turned on her side and put her hand on his chest. It slowly rose as he took in a deep breath.
“Yesterday, I asked your father for his blessing if I were to ask you to marry me.”
She smirked. “How did that go?”
“He wasn’t happy. He knew I’d go through with it anyway.”
“Really?” she whispered.
He nodded. “I just can’t imagine life without you, Sierra. I can’t remember a time without you in my life. I mean, other than little memories, things that don’t really make sense. You’re my best friend.”
“And you’re mine.”
“But your father’s right. Anything could happen if we got married. The Protectors could come after us for an unholy alliance. . .they could kill us. . .”
“I don’t know if I’m that important to them.” A chill went up her spine. “They didn’t care when Seth married Sashe.”
“I know, but both of you could be worse.” He turned, leaning on his elbow. “I want you to be safe. I know that the safest way would be for you to leave me behind completely. Leave the Avialies behind.”
“I’d never do that.”
He smiled. “So, the next thing would be. . .marrying someone who would protect you no matter what. Protect you against anything and everyone who would try to hurt you.”
She smiled, too. “And that would be you.”
He shrugged. “Ideally.”
“So. . .are you asking me to marry you?”
He nodded, taking her hand in his again. “Yes. I’m asking you, and if you say no, I’ll ask again tomorrow.”
“What if I said no tomorrow?”
He paused. She held back a giggle, wondering what his face would look like in the light. Was he annoyed or amused? “I’d probably ask about ten more times before I got the hint. Then if you fell in love with someone else, I’d make sure he would die for you. But I’d always love you and protect you.”
“Okay, this is cruel. Of course I’ll marry you.”
He let out a shaky breath and put his hand on her neck. She kissed him, closing her eyes. He pulled her closer, and she lay against him as he wrapped his arms around her. Warmth spread through her, and she knew she’d face anything to spend her life with him.
CHAPTER SEVEN: AWAY
Sierra knew Alastor wouldn’t be happy, but she hadn’t expected this. When she and Evan went to his study to speak to him and Natalia, he’d sat in stony silence as they announced it. Then he stood, walked to the door, and left.
Sierra stared at the open door with her mouth open. She looked at Natalia. “What. . .” she trailed off.
Natalia stood. “I’ll go talk to him.” She squeezed Sierra’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Sierra. Please be careful.” She walked out.
Sierra and Evan exchanged glances, their eyebrows raised. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.
“Me, neither. I thought he’d yell at us for an hour like that dinner with Lionel.”
“Lionel. I haven’t thought about him for months.”
They waited for a little while, but neither of them returned. “It could have been worse, I suppose,” Evan said. “I’m going to go talk to my father about our land.”
“I want to come!” Sierra exclaimed, grinning.
She didn’t see Alastor for the rest of the day. When she saw Natalia at dinner, she simply said he needed time to be by himself. Sierra shrugged and turned to Dar. “Dar, Evan and I are engaged.”
He grinned. “It’s about time. Congratulations!”
“When are you and Matilda going to get engaged?” Natalia asked.
Dar’s cheeks went pink. “Um. . .I don’t know that we are.”
“But you’ve courted for so long!” Natalia said.
Dar shrugged, his gaze fixed to his plate. “I don’t know.”
Sierra said nothing, but she couldn’t help her satisfied smile. Of course Matilda wasn’t the right woman for Dar in the long term. She was glad he was finally seeing it. But why did he keep playing around with her? She shook her head. It wasn’t her business unless Matilda started to hurt him, too, along with everyone else she hurt.
She was getting ready for bed when there was a knock at her door. She pulled on her robe and called, “Come in.”
The door opened, and Alastor stood in the hallway. He cleared his throat.
She folded her hands in front of her. “You’ve disappeared all day.”
“I wish there was a way I could convince you not to marry Evan.”
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Alastor. . .”
“Do you have any idea what could happen? Don’t you have any regard for your personal safety?”
“Of course I do, but that’s not what’s important to me.”
“No, only Evan is important. Not me, not your mother, not Dar—”
“Why is me marrying Evan forsaking you?” she asked.
“Because if you die, we’ll be without you, and if you marry Evan—”
“Even if I didn’t marry Evan, I’d still be here in Rahuda with you and the other Avialies. I’d still be here with you. I don’t understand how it’s that much different.”
“You’re marrying him! You’re going to spend the rest of your life with him. You’re going to live with him, sleep with him, work with him. You could marry someone normal, someone outside of the magical families. Someone who isn’t as bloodthirsty as Evan.”
Sierra gasped. “He’s not bloodthirsty!”
“What does he talk about when he thinks of the future? Breaking the curse. Killing Protectors. Finding that Thieran. Why would getting married to you change any of that?”
She gritted her teeth. “Maybe I want someone who will fight for our future.” Her voice didn’t sound as strong as she’d wanted to.
“Someone who will get killed trying to fight the Protectors?”
“Why are you so afraid of them?” she asked. “You’re an Avialie, and you have so much political power, but you bend to their every will!”
He glared at her, raising a finger to point at her. “I’m protecting this family. They have the ear of the king and the allegiance of the most powerful magical folk.”
“So, you’re giving up! You’re letting them win with the curse. We’ll die out—”
“You don’t have to be apart of this family, Sierra.” His voice was pleading. “You don’t have to say ‘we’. You could be safe if you just left, if you didn’t look back.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she hurried to blink them away. “Why do you think I could do that? I love this family.”
“I know, and I wish you didn’t. I wish we’d sent you away when Seth showed up. We could have avoided so much.”
She crossed her arms, staring at the ground. A few tears slipped down her cheeks and she wiped her face, hoping he didn’t see.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Sierra, I just—”
“You just want to push your daughters away because we’re not Avialies.”
“Do not put those words into my mouth! This has nothing to do with you, it’s us and our family and the danger of th
e Protectors.”
“I’m here, okay? I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m marrying Evan.” She glared at him. “If you wanted us to leave, you should have sent us away years ago. You can’t suddenly change the way you treat me because you’re suddenly realizing this is your fault.”
His jaw clenched. “You’re right. It is my fault. And I won’t stop regretting it until you leave.” He left, slamming the door behind her.
She collapsed on the edge of her bed and put her head in her hands. Her throat burned as she tried to fight back sobs, but they spilled from her, shaking her body. He said it was for her protection, but couldn’t he see how much it hurt? The man who’d been like a father to her now wanted to keep her from the man she loved so much. It wasn’t going to push her away from the Avialies. It was only going to make her resent him.
***
About a week after Sierra and Evan announced their engagement, Dar attended a meeting in town with his father and other nobles in town. He rode home from the meeting and stopped by Evan’s house on the way. He saw Sierra’s horse tied up in the stables and smirked. She was over here all the time.
When Dar walked in, Sierra and Evan fell silent. He raised his eyebrows at them. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No,” Evan said.
They made small talk for a few minutes, then Evan said he had to get back to work. He left, and Sierra cleared her throat. She folded her hands in front of her on the table, then unfolded them. “Dar. . .”
He laughed. “What is it?”
“Well. . .yesterday, I saw. . .” Sierra took a deep breath and exhaled it. “I saw Matilda and Chad by Kale Saven’s apple orchard the other day. They were holding hands and kissing and. . .”
Dar stared at her. “What? Who’s Chad?”
“He’s the Boren a couple years older than us. He has a beard—”
“All Borens have beards.”
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