Page 74 of Forgotten Fate

I rolled my eyes. “Of course.”

Elias nodded his head north, urging us forward. “Come on, princess. We’ll need to hurry if we want to make it to the base of the mountain before sundown.”

And so I followed, now thankful that we were nowherenear Sprath.

The good news was, there was a very slim chance that my father or his search parties would be looking for me in the Shadow Peak Mountains. Not many dared to venture through its rough terrain. And with the many caves throughout its ranges, it would not be difficult for us to find shelter, so long as it wasn’t inhabited by a predator.

Per Elias, we should make camp before starting the upward hike, giving us another night of rest from our injuries before starting the climb. We walked for a few hours, and when sundown hit, Elias had us walk some more.

“The closer we get to the mountains, the better,” he stated. I knew he meant that the closer we got to Shadow Peak, the less likely we would be found.

“Lead the way,” I replied, as the sun sank deeper and the darkness grew wider. Again, it almost seemed like Elias could see in the dark. He held my hand as he led me through the forest, until he finally found a spot he deemed good enough to stop and make camp.

The weather was warm and calm, so we did not make a fire. Elias told me to rest and he could take first watch, but I refused. “When is the last time you slept?” I asked accusingly, fairly certain I already knew the answer.

He was quiet for a moment. “Our last night in Monuvia,” he said at last.

My eyes widened. “Elias, that wasthree nights ago,” I remarked sternly. “How are you even still standing?”

In the darkness, I heard him let out a breath. “Good question,” he said quietly, and the exhaustion in his voice was clearer than ever.

My protective instincts took over. “Get some sleep, Elias. I willtake first watch. And if you argue with me, I will punch you right in your wound. If your stitches rupture, that’s on you.”

He laughed at the empty threat. “As you wish, princess,” he beamed. “If you feel tired, wake me,” he ordered.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said as I waved him off. I had heard it all before.

I barely made out his dark silhouette as he laid his head on the ground. I sat myself next to him so he was only an arm’s reach away. I placed my bow and arrows gently at my other side, not that it would do me much good in the dark.

It took less than a minute for his breathing to become deep and even, indicating he was already asleep. I smiled, and gently glided my hand up and down his arm. Even though I knew he was asleep and wouldn’t feel the relaxing sensation, I continued. I was doing it more for me, I realized. Even as he slept, the energy from our skin-to-skin contact ran up my arm through my fingertips.

In that moment, I finally decided to really reflect on what that feeling could be. Is…is that what love feels like? I had never been in love. Maybe there were odd, unspoken sensations that only those in love could experience. If so, did that mean I loved Elias from the moment I met him?

I stared down at him, and couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips. If I didn’t love him then, I most definitely did now. The sound of his laugh. The way his smile filled my heart like nothing else ever had. The way he protected me, but still gave me my freedom. I was falling, and I was falling hard.

I had so many questions about love now, of which I had never even fathomed before I met Elias. The only love I had ever witnessed from an outside perspective was between my parents. Maybe when this whole mess was over, and if it was possible for my father and I to get back on good terms, I would ask him. The love between them was so pure, so deep, so real. Now that I had asomewhat better understanding of it, I could recognize why my dad went a little crazy after my mother’s death.

If I lost Elias… I couldn’t even think about it. But would I go as far as to lock him up so I wouldn’t lose him like my father had done to me?

No. I definitely wouldn’t. I could never do that to someone I loved. That much, I knew.

I shook off the uncomfortable thought, and rested my hand on his arm. The warmth and energy that I felt as I touched him brought me comfort, and relaxed my body and my mind. It also caused the dull ache in my head wound to dissipate once again. Was it possible forloveto do that too, or was there something more at play here?

Elias’s chest rose and fell in a deep rhythm as I watched him, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. I found comfort in knowing he was finally getting the rest he so greatly needed and deserved, because climbing the Shadow Peak Mountains was the heaviest task ahead of us before we finally reached the Forest of Torment. Reached Zolmara.

Zolmara will have the answers you seek. My Uncle Balor spoke those exact words to me the last time I saw him. I pondered what answers I was destined to find. What my father and uncle had been keeping from me my whole life. Maybe I would find out why the memories of my life before my mother’s murder were so few and far between.

I thought back to the one thing that sparked all these questions to begin with.

The dream.

I had the dream fifteen, twenty, maybe even two dozen times. Each time, it was exactly the same – except the last time I had it, where the human that replaced the wolf felt familiar. Elias stood where the wolf had almost either eaten me or pushed me off the cliff. Elias saved me from the wolf.

This got me thinking about all the times in the last few weeks that I thought I saw a giant wolf in the woods with us. The river, where it followed me through the tree line. The bandits, where I thought I heard a howl and a large black beast appeared. Both times, Elias saved me from certain death. Were my dreams foreshadowing Elias as my savior? Were the silhouettes of a wolf I saw just figments of my imagination, brought on by the recurring dream?

I thought for a while longer before Elias started to stir. I looked down at him again, and confirmed by his deep, rhythmic breaths that he was still asleep.

When we finally reached Zolmara, what would become of us? Could I just go back home – go back to being the Princess of Rimor, with Elias at my side? I decided to force the thoughts away. I still had some time to think it over, and tonight I was too tired.