Chapter 48

There were muffled voices on the other side of the door, but the worst of the aggressive edge was gone, and Annalise breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Soren? Are you still there?” 

A beat of silence, then a sigh. “Yes, Annalise, I am. The men guarding your door have my sword and won’t let me through to speak with you in person, but thanks to Captain Risebach’s timely intervention, they’ve at least retreated to the stairs to give us some privacy.”

“Who would have ever thought that shadow of yours would come in handy?” Annalise said, her eyes strangely moist. Her legs trembled, and she sank to the floor. 

Elsabeth gave a cry of alarm at her change in position, but Annalise shook her head and waved her away. With a small nod, Elsabeth disappeared back into her bedroom, where she was helping Priscilla with Annalise’s things, which had been dumped unceremoniously on the floor during their hasty move.  

“Not I, but perhaps he feels guilty for the nuisance he’s been for my entire stay here.” A shuffle and scrape on the other side that echoed her own made her think Soren had taken a seat, and she took comfort in being so close to him even if they were still technically separated. “How are you doing? I take it that your talk with King Nelan didn’t go as well as we’d hoped?” he asked.  

“What gave it away? My being locked in a tower like a criminal?” Her laugh was dry and humorless. 

“Something like that. Are you okay? How are Priscilla and Elsabeth?” 

“I’m fine, just worried.” Annalise bit her lip as she weighed what else to tell Soren. When the guards had escorted her from Nelan’s office, she’d gone willingly, hoping to regroup with Soren and the others and figure out a suitable backup plan. She’d been so engrossed in trying to puzzle through the best action to take that by the time she’d realized they weren’t taking her back to her room, it was far too late. There, after several flights of cold stone stairs, she’d found her lady’s maids waiting for her in the circular main room of the tower—Elsabeth spitting mad and Priscilla dabbing a cold handkerchief to a blacked eye and cut above her eyebrow.

From what the women told her, the guards had burst into Annalise’s former chambers without warning, demanding that all her things be packed and moved with haste. When Priscilla had asked what authority they possessed to order such things, one guard had backhanded her and told her to stop asking questions or the next hit would be harder. 

To Annalise, King Nelan’s intent was clear: any disobedience would be punished swiftly and with prejudice.

When she told Soren about Priscilla, he drew in a great shaky breath and then spoke with a fury that chilled her far more than the cold stone of the floor. “Just say the word, Annalise, and as soon as I get my sword back I’ll break down the door and fight every single guard here until none are left standing. It doesn’t matter if there are ten men or ten hundred. I’ll rescue you, and Priscilla, and Elsabeth, and we’ll return to Dovea for you to take your rightful place on the throne.” 

The words painted a beautiful picture in her head, but she knew it wasn’t a future she could have, considering the great risks involved. Annalise hiccuped, and when she spoke her voice wavered. “No, don’t. I couldn’t bear it if you were hurt. King Nelan wouldn’t let me leave, and he said that if I defied him he will murder everyone I care about. Soren, the things he said… the plans he has… it’s evil.” She told him the bare details of Nelan’s plans so he could understand what they were up against before pausing, and then continuing on in a rush. “I’ve decided to marry him, on the condition that he allows you and the others to return to Dovea safely. I may be cursed, but if I have your blood on my hands, I fear it will break me.” 

A thud on the door startled her. Soren spoke then, his voice low and tense. “No, Annalise, don’t you dare even think of marrying that foul toad. You can’t do this. You can’t sacrifice yourself like this.” He hit the door again for extra emphasis, and Annalise smiled through the tears gathering in her eyes at the passion in his voice and imagined that he was wishing he could break down the door and take her in his arms. 

“I have no other choice. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you.” It was so close to the truth, so close to what she actually wanted to say, but Annalise couldn’t bring herself to say the exact words. She swallowed before continuing on. “Knowing that you’re alive and well will give me the strength to do what needs to be done. You’re the High General’s son, Soren. You’re far too valuable to remain with me. Return home and tell your father what happened here. King Nelan wants to use my claim to take over Dovea’s throne, but I refuse to let that happen. Our country will need you and your information if it is to survive the months ahead. Go, Soren. Don’t worry about me.” 

“How can you say that after all we’ve been through?” 

Even as the first tears traced down her face, Annalise felt the faint thud of heavy footsteps vibrating through the door and heard the deep voice of a man, although she couldn’t make out the exact words. 

“Annalise, I can’t leave you here,” Soren said.

“Yes, you can. You must. If you don’t, all will be lost,” she pleaded. She needed him to understand how important he was. She needed him to be safe, so she could take the necessary steps to protect her country. “It’s too risky if you stay here. In three days’ time I’ll be married and you’ll have fulfilled your mission. Go back to Dovea and tell the others of what happened here, of how I am a prisoner. I am a lost cause; I always have been. As soon as I marry King Nelan, I will renounce my claim to the throne.” Her voice was so soft she wondered if he’d even be able to hear it through the door. 

Somehow he did. “I swore I’d protect you. Don’t ask me to break my oath,” his voice broke, as if he was fighting back tears. 

She smiled and leaned her head against the door, knowing that if she had the option, she’d give all of her worldly possessions to see him and feel his hand in hers one last time. “Don’t break it…just amend it. You told my father you would protect the Crown Princess; keep doing that. One of my cousins is next in line for the throne, then Larkin’s child. Please, Soren, protect them so that I can know I left my country in good hands.” 

“Then who will protect you?” 

“No one. Maybe I was never meant to have a happy ending.” Annalise closed her eyes and let the tears run freely for the first time in years. 

“No, Annalise–” the rest of Soren’s response was cut off by the shouts of guards and scuffling broke out on the other side of the door.

“Annalise. Annalise! I’m coming for you, no matter what. Don’t you dare give up!” Soren’s roar was just barely audible over the din of voices and clang of metal. 

Suddenly, there was silence.

“Goodbye, my love,” Annalise whispered into the door.