ArcKnight (The ArcKnight Chronicles #1)

Chapter Sixteen

Ephrem

"The Elders of the ArcKnight and MarkTier packs have convened, and we have come to a settlement on the matter of Lilliana ArcKnight and Ephrem MarkTier. Under each pack's laws, both parties are to be executed for espionage and traitorous actions that have endangered the leaders of both packs."

The crowded room echoed with a rush of whispers and gasps. Lily refused to look at them and focused on a faraway wall with her chin held high. Her recovery had taken days, and I hadn't seen her since the night Etan had shot her. She couldn't even look at me now, for she wasn't allowed to turn to get a glimpse of my face. Her face burned scarlet as she listened to the words the magistrate spoke. She didn't seem aware of it at all. At least I'd gotten to meet her before we died. That was all that mattered.

We would die together, like lovers should. There was something poetic about it.

"However...." the Elder magistrate cleared his throat as he stood at the podium, looking older than dirt and quite possibly giving his last speech. His wrinkled face looked punched in, which scrunched up his eyes and nose into little holes on his wide face. Lily hated him. He was the one who'd advised Gil to banish her.

After making sure his dramatic pause had made the appropriate impression, he continued. "Given the malicious nature of the deceased, Elise ValKot, whose plan to dominate both packs with stolen royal talismans, both parties have been pardoned and must return to their previous states of servitude or banishment as detailed in previous judgements. That is all."

Relief poured into me, but neither I nor Lily could celebrate the verdict. The crowd appeared pleased, but hushed whispers still echoed, leaving the mood somber. Dismissed, Lily turned toward me where our eyes met. Mine had never left her the entire time the court was in session, despite being told not to look at her.

It wasn't the verdict we'd wanted, but we'd been spared and could move forward with our lives. Still, I couldn't feel too overjoyed. Lily was still banished. She would never be able to return home now. There was no overturning the Elder's wishes.

Lily lowered her gaze from mine.

She can never go home....

The room felt stifling, and I could see tears already filling her eyes, yet she refused to cry. As soon as most of the crowd had left the room, she stepped down from the platform and rushed out the doors, avoiding everyone, including her sister Rafaela, who called desperately after her.

I hurried to follow but ran right into Etan, who held me at arm's length and shook his head. "Let her go."

"Get out of the way. I have to find her."

"She's banished. You can never marry her now."

I stopped struggling and gave my brother an icy glare. "It doesn't matter to me. I love her. You'd never understand, anyway. You don't know what love is."

Etan frowned and let me pass. I felt his eyes on me as I raced toward the door, shoving past the stragglers until I stepped out into Paladin Square. It was the only place where both wolf packs were allowed to mingle, to hold dual councils such as what had just occurred. Even so, both packs remained divided, ArcKnights on one side of the square, MarkTiers on the other. Some things never changed.

I ran, overtaking Rafaela, who had given up chasing her sister, and made my way into the Outlands of the City of Temple. There I scanned the streets and alleyways, trying to find the girl who owned my soul. She was the only one I'd fight for, the only one I'd never let go.

"Lily?" I found her sitting in the middle of the busy diner we'd eaten at. She sat staring at the polished veneer of the table, tears dripping down her flushed cheeks. She was immune to MarkTier and ArcKnight rule now, so therefore safe from any harm from either side. No one would hunt her. She would be a standard citizen of Temple. Nothing more.

It was bittersweet. She'd never be able to return home now.

I slid in next to her, my lungs burning from the long chase. I exhaled and waited, letting her collect her thoughts.

"You can stay with me," I offered.

"We could never marry." Her voice shook.

I took her hands into mine and held them to chest.

"I don't care. Feel that? My heart is yours. We are one. We don't have to marry. That doesn't matter to me. All I want is to be with you. Say you want that too."

She shook her head and peered up at me. Her sadness broke my heart, but I couldn't let her go through it alone. I wanted her to know she was safe with me. Always.

"I love you," I whispered and placed my talisman into her palm. She stared down at the stone, and it shone like moonlight and shuddered with a tiny jolt of power as it touched her skin. She smiled and curled her fingers over it.

"I love you too." She pulled off her talisman and placed it in my hands. "Forever. You and me. Okay?"

Those words were all I needed to hear, and I couldn't have smiled any wider. "Yes. Forever."