Daughter of Ice and Fire

Thirty-Nine

They made it as far as the living room. As soon as the bar dropped, she began struggling, forcing him to put her down. Taking a step back, she put up her hands when he moved forward.

"No Averit. We can't."

"We can, Lihleih. For one night, nothing but you and I exist."

"Exactly," she said. "It's only one night. Tomorrow, I'll kill a Noble, adding another crime to the extensive list the King already claims I've committed. There is very little chance I will see another day after I do so. I refuse to condemn you as well."

"Who will know?"

Lihleih moved to the window and stared out of it. Instead of answering his question, she asked him one herself. "Could you stand to watch him hurt me again? Could you stand to watch him let his men have at me? Watch him beat me within an inch of my life? Stand by as he tortures me for days, weeks, months? Could you?"

"Of course not." Averit's voice had gone flat, and she felt the air thicken between them. Turning away from the window, she stared at him sadly.

"What do you think will happen if you try to intervene? What do you think he will do if he even suspects you care for me? If he somehow discovers we spent the night together?"

The color drained from his face, and he remained very still as she continued.

"You hadn't considered that, had you? Maybe you should have.

"You may be a Prince, but this is not a fairy tale. The King hates me. Possibly more than anything else in his life. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to spend years making me pay for what he believes I did to him. For believing I humiliated him and made him look incompetent.

"But if he ever found out we care for each other, he will use it to destroy us both. Your status as Prince may protect you from death, but it won't protect you from the cruelty he'll inflict on you for embarrassing him."

"I don't care," he said softly.

"You say that now. But you know your father better than anyone. You yourself told me you believe he killed a girl you loved simply because you challenged him. That he did the same to your favorite hound. Imagine what he would do if he discovered you fell in love with a criminal. Not just any criminal, but the one he hates above all others."

Averit sucked in his breath and dropped onto the sofa. "You should leave, Lihleih. Run and never look back. For then, and only then, could I rest easy, knowing you were safe."

Lihleih dropped into a chair as well. "I'll never be safe, Averit. I'll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Wondering if the person watching me from across the way is one of his spies. Wondering if the man who asks me to dance will stab me as we do. Somehow, I think you already knew that."

"You have a much better chance if you go now and let Sir Rillson live. My father has no idea where you are. You could slip out of Crusseria without him ever knowing."

Lihleih could feel her temper rising. His stubbornness was more than frustrating, it was infuriating. "Did you not hear what I just said? He will never stop looking. I will never be free, no matter how far I run. My life was over the day my bindings slipped. Better I end it now by doing something good for a change."

Averit flinched at the reminder that he was the cause of all this. "I will not let him catch you. I'll kill him before I let him hurt you again."

"Again, easy enough to say now. But you can't be everywhere at once. If I leave Crusseria, you can't protect me at all."

"Then I'll leave also. I'll renounce everything and go with you."

"Don't be an ass," she snapped. "First of all, you're the heir. I'd never respect you if you abandoned the kingdom, especially with Sir Rillson waiting for just such an opportunity.