Gerard’s eyes caught hers. “Now partner up and practice lunging and blocking, but be careful not to hurt your opponent.”
He placed his own sword into the scabbard at his waist and walked toward her, bowing. “Your Majesty.”
Elea said the first thing that popped into her head. “You weren’t in the barracks.”
“The soldiers need all the help they can training the recruits.”
“Might I have a quick word with you?” she asked, tugging at her skirt. “I promise that I won’t keep you very long.”
He bowed again to her. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Elea,” she said, and walked toward the city wall. She wanted a little privacy as she was about to bear her heart to him.
He followed her into a little alley inside the wall. There was scattered hay on the cobblestones, and it smelled of horses. It wasn’t the most romantic spot, but she didn’t have time to be picky.
“Gerard, I have made many choices and many mistakes,” she began, and then cleared her throat. “But I do care for you. And I know that I have hurt you and that you don’t want to forgive me or have anything to do with me. But I need you to know that I will always choose you in the future. You saved my life. And I hope, someday, that you will be able to forgive me and care for me again too. Maybe what’s between us can grow into a love worthy of the goddess.”
“You want me to be your lover,” he said bitterly. “A dirty secret that you hide from your court.”
“No, no,” Elea said, jerkily shaking her head. “I want you by my side. As my equal. As my companion. Mayhap someday as my husband. The other half of my soul.”
Gerard fiddled with the hilt of his sword and looked down at the cobblestones. “I have no royal title. I am not a king or a prince.”
“I have come to realize that titles do not matter. Besides, most people will probably call you the seer, and there could be no greater position in all of Urka.”
“I thought that you didn’t want me to be the seer. That you didn’t want me to be a part of the Trigon Prophecy.”
Elea blushed remembering her behavior on the boat. “I was wrong. I was in great pain and shock. I had wrongfully assumed that the trigon would be made by all members of my family. I should have realized, when you started having visions, that you were Aine’s heir. I was a narrow-minded fool.”
A small smile curled at the ends of his lips and she wished to kiss them again. “But we aren’t closely related.”
A laugh escaped her throat. “Thank the three Eternal Kingdoms, no!”
He laughed too and her heart lifted a little.
A voice behind them cleared their throat. They both turned to see Laird Donnelly. He bowed to her. “My queen, your and the seer’s presence have been requested for a planning meeting. If you will both follow me.”
Elea bowed her head. “Of course, Laird Donnelly.”
Gerard walked by her side as they winded through the streets until they reached the drawbridge of the castle. She longed to take his hand but didn’t know if it would make him uncomfortable. Or worse, for her outward sign of affection to be unwanted.
Laird Donnelly led them into the main building of the castle to a sumptuous dining room with an oval table. There were several men dressed in armor, her grandmother, and Nora and Matteo sat at the head of the table. She was no longer wearing the golden armor, but her cousin looked no less deadly. Matteo, at her side, wore nothing to proclaim he was a king, but he was kingly, nonetheless. They were an auspicious pair. Perfectly matched. Completely attune to each other’s every move.
She felt a stirring in her own soul, but it wasn’t hers. It was Gerard’s. It was more a feeling than anything else, but it was as if his soul was telling hers that they too could be like that. An extension of the other. Bound together in all possible ways.
Gerard stepped away from her as if to take a seat at the opposite side of the table. Elea’s hand reached out and took his. His beautiful blue eyes, as dark and as deep as the sea, looked into hers.
A question.
Elea pulled him by the hand closer to her and knew that every eye in the room was on them. But she didn’t care. She was claiming him as her own if he’d let her. If he’d give her a second chance.
“Please sit by me.”
He nodded and pulled back his hand, only to help her into a chair. Gerard took the seat by her side. She placed her hand on her lap by his. This time waiting for him to take it. After a few painful moments, he did, his rough hand warm against her cold one.
“Thank you all for coming,” Elea said, her voice a little shaky. “Before we can form our strategy, we need to understand our enemies. How many soldiers should we expect?”
“Seven thousand, Your Majesty,” a man with a red beard answered.