14 Welcome Home

ELIA

When he'd said they were going to the caves, Elia had envisioned cold, hard rock and a yawning, black mouth, with cobwebs and crawling things.

Instead, she walked into a city that looked like it had grown there naturally.

Her mouth dropped open as they emerged from the trees, directly into a large clearing, surrounded on one half by an almost sheer, rocky mountainside, peppered with brightly lit cavemouths and pathways, and on the other by trees so tall, they had to be hundreds of years old. They were widely space, but their branches twisted long and low, thicker than a man's waist, and only curving up to the sky after running alongside the ground for feet at a time.

If Elia had been brought to this place as a child, she would have thought she was in heaven.

People were everywhere, and yet somehow they blended into the environment, their movements blending into the nighttime shadows. Despite the late hour, there were people walking the paths through the forest and mountain face, and even children crawling in the trees, running along the lowest branches, and swinging from vines that twisted between them.

And as Reth appeared in the clearing, everyone in sight turned and began to call to him—some in greeting, some clapping or cheering, others howling or making noises that to Elia sounded like nothing more than animals. Though he kept his face calm, she felt the pride swell in him—and the tension. Because even as his people celebrated him, they also saw her. It was impossible to miss the shock on their faces, how much of the applause died quickly—and that the people from the circle began to circulate among the others, leaning into their ears, whispering, turning to look at her.

Reth's eyes narrowed, but he led her through the clearing, raising his hand or nodding to many who still called his name, or blessings to him, then directed her to a path that wound past the main clearing and into the trees, but followed the face of the mountain.

They continued to walk as the noise and bustle of the cave city was swallowed up behind them by the forest. The guards hadn't left them, Elia noticed, even though they were now apparently in his city. She looked up at him. His eyes were flat, piercing, and fixed on the path ahead of them, his jaw twitching with his tension.

Elia was torn. She wanted to point out that the people clearly didn't want her, and perhaps he should just let her go. She didn't want to marry—or mate—a stranger. Let alone this man—King, or not—in this foreign place. But she was desperately aware that without him she was surrounded by a brutal people who would kill her without thought.

"Ignore them," Reth said quietly as they took a turn in the path and the moonlight began to trickle through the trees ahead, painting the ground in silver and white. "They are surprised. They thought the outcome was decided before we even entered the Rite. It will take very little time for them to adjust."

"Is there any chance they would… hurt you, because of me?" she asked.

He cut her a dark look that spoke volumes about his opinions of anyone who might try.

They continued walking and soon broke through the trees again, into another, much smaller clearing, but this one was breathtaking.

While the central clearing had been vast and functional, beaten smooth by all the feet of the city's people, this one was a small meadow of thick grass, flowers, and peppered with small bushes that became trees at its edge.

Lanterns shone in the tree branches where the path met the open space, and around it as well, casting the whole area in a warm glow.

It was beautiful. Breathtaking, if Elia was honest. The whole place made her want to just lay in the grass and stare at the sky. But the fear and disbelief in her wouldn't allow her to enjoy it. She just turned her head to look in every direction as they walked through it. "It's beautiful," she breathed.

Reth grunted. "It's my home," he said, but she could tell he was pleased that she liked it.

The clearing was a wide bowl that was hugged on one side by the forest, but tapered at the other end to a V-shaped crevice in the rock mountainside. At its peak, there was an open cave mouth—but rather than a black hole, it too glowed with warm light that turned the dark rock walls into smooth, warm stone.

As they moved through the clearing, towards the cave, the Guards spread out around and behind them, taking positions around the clearing, facing out into the trees.

Elia looked over her shoulder as they walked inside and from this angle, with the moonlight overhead, and the lanterns under the trees, the place looked magical.

How could just a massive and ruthless man live in such a beautiful place?

"This is my sanctuary," Reth said quietly as they took the first steps into the cave. "On a normal day, no one would interrupt us here unless we asked them to."

"But today isn't normal," Elia said, her voice shaking. The cave mouth led to a corridor that turned to the right so the opening couldn't be seen from inside. And as the rock closed in around her, she became aware of the scars on his skin, his massive size, the way he'd beaten that other man in a heartbeat…

"I will never harm you, Elia. Do not fear me," he said softly, almost tenderly.

They reached a door at the end of the corridor, somehow made from raw wood that seemed to have grown into a shape to perfectly fit the arch of the rock walls and ceiling. Reth dropped his arm to reach for a massive, iron ring on the door and even though the lanterns here were bright, the cave seemed to darken as Elia found herself suddenly cold without his steel arm to steady her.

He pulled the door open easily, then stepped back, swinging it wide and smiling at her as he bowed his head slightly. "Welcome home, Queen Elia."