Kingdom of Ash

ahead. “No.”
That gentle quiet flowed around him,
clearing the fog of pain and battle. “You have
to. You have to, Elide. I’m too heavy—and
without my weight, you might make it to the
keep in time.”
“No.” The salt of her tears filled his nose.
Lorcan brushed his mouth over her damp
cheek, ignoring the roaring pain in his body.
The horse galloped and galloped, as if she
might outrace death itself.
“I love you,” he whispered in Elide’s ear.
“I have loved you from the moment you
picked up that axe to slay the ilken.” Her tears
flowed past him in the wind. “And I will be
with you ...” His voice broke, but he made
himself say the words, the truth in his heart. “I
will be with you always.”
He was not frightened of what would come
for him once he tumbled off the horse. He was