Page 54

Clarissa

T he ride to the southern shores was silent, save for Thorne’s occasional commentary on the landmarks we passed and our hurried apologies when the carriage would jostle and make our knees knock against each other.

It took about an hour to get from the Penworth Estates to the Aurelia Cliffs, and most of that time was spent traveling up winding mountain paths.

I took my attention off Thorne by staring out the window, catching views on one mountainside of the territory growing smaller and smaller as we ventured higher, and of the rocky coastline and white spray of waves on the other side.

This shore wasn’t like the one I knew in Veridia City, with the dense tree line opening up to a short stretch of sand before it met the ocean, nor the Port of North Pine in the North Territory that we’d arrived at—which had golden sand and palm trees as far as the eye could see.

The shore here at the south was rugged, layered with sharp boulders jutting from dark sand that extended from the base of a long strand of green cliffs and white-capped mountains.

Strong winds coming from the ocean pushed against the carriage, and water formed into waves as it rushed toward the sand, racing and tumbling while the next ones approached .

It was beautiful and wild and dangerous, and somehow, it made my anxious nerves settle.

The carriage rolled to a stop. There was a soft tap on the door before the driver opened it. “We’re here, Your Grace, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing to Thorne and me in turn. He gestured to himself and the two guards in the box with him. “We’ll be waiting here if you need anything.”

I stepped onto the rocky ground and gasped.

We were stopped on a mountain pass overlooking the ocean.

On either side of us stood two mountains that glistened like gold in the light, while before me was a grassy cliffside leading to waves crashing far below.

The midmorning sun hovered on my upper left, shining across the water and making it sparkle like thousands of little diamonds.

Wind whipped through my hair and lifted the skirt of my burgundy dress. I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes to the scent of salt and the feel of the ocean breeze brushing my sun-kissed cheeks.

It was peaceful. No stodgy lords. No stone walls. No masks and forced smiles and secrets. Just…me.

And him .

“He figured you wanted to get away,” Thorne said from behind me. “Galen, that is. Nobody lives up here, and when the weather is nice, it’s a perfect?—”

“Escape,” I finished on an exhale. Grinning, I spun to face him. “Yes, well, he was right. I can finally hear myself think.”

He nodded and then sighed, bracing himself. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I’m not trying to be…overbearing, but I worry about you. I don’t like the way that governor sounds. I?—”

I cut him off with a dramatic groan. “Your apology is accepted as long as we don’t discuss it anymore. We’re coming here to escape , yes? I don’t want to hear about assassins and regent families and governors.” And marriages . “I just want to be here .”

I turned to the cliffs again, taking a few steps forward until I burst into a run. I spun in the grass with my arms flung out to my side and the wind blowing my hair in all directions.

“Forget all of it,” I shouted to the mountains, laughter bubbling in my throat. “Forget you’re Thorne Reaux, Regent Lord of the North Territory. Forget I’m Clarissa Aris—soon-to-be Empress of the Veridian Empire. Let’s just be…us.”

A smile stretched across his face where I’d left him. “And who are we, exactly?” he called out above the wind and waves. “Without all the titles?”

“Whoever we want to be!” I yelled back.

He walked across the grassy terrain toward me, his brown locks swaying in the wind.

As he drew nearer, I saw a sparkle in his blue eyes, the slight upturn of his lips, the smooth skin at his forehead where wrinkles of concern normally lived.

He, too, looked freer out here. As if the weight of what waited for us down below disappeared the higher we climbed.

“How about,” he took one more step forward and pushed back a strand of blonde hair that had gotten stuck on my lips, “we just be Rissa and Thorne.”

I was breathless from running, but perhaps from something else too. My heart picked up speed as the tips of his fingers skimmed my jaw when he pulled his hand away.

“Rissa and Thorne,” I repeated softly. “They sound nice. What are they like?”

He took a moment to think, squinting in mock concentration. “Well, he is charming and smart and very, very handsome.”

“Naturally.”

“And she thinks everything he says is perfectly witty.”

I snorted. “Since we’re pretending, then she is elegant and funny but doesn’t care what people think—in a non-pretentious way, of course.

” I walked across the grass, kicking a stone and leaping from large boulder to large boulder.

“And she’s a wonderful baker. With a cute little bakery—or perhaps a bar, right beside the ocean where she can hear the waves and the seagulls and have an acceptable place to toss rude customers when they annoy her.

” I shot him a wink and jumped off the top of a rock.

“Perhaps he owns a bookshop next door. Where he often sneaks pastries or drinks when she isn’t looking.” Thorne picked up a handful of stones and threw them off the cliffside down into the ocean.

“Oh, a bookworm ,” I teased as I stole several rocks from his grip. “How very studious of him.”

He gazed off into the waters with a small smile on his lips. “Maybe he’d rather read of far-off places where people get their happy endings than open his eyes to his own life.”

I swallowed hard and threw a rock off the side of the cliff, watching it fall and crash into the waves. “He seems like a romantic.”

“I think she is too,” he murmured.

“Maybe she wants to be.” I shrugged. “Maybe she wants to be someone who isn’t so bound to her duty. Someone who can take life into her own hands, snap the reins, and go anywhere it takes her.”

“She could be,” he said.

“Well, of course you think so—we’ve already established you’re a romantic.”

“ He’s a romantic,” he corrected me. “This fictional Thorne with his bookshop and stolen baked goods.”

I chuckled. “Ah, yes, how could I forget?”

He collected more rocks from the ground. “ He’s not the type to boast, but his throwing skills do seem to be far superior.”

With a scoff, I said, “And she definitely doesn’t make everything into a competition, but she may have to prove him wrong.”

“Probably not a good idea.” He stepped closer to me, his gaze roving to the stones clenched in my hand and back to meet my stare. “He would never want a lady to embarrass herself.”

His hair tangled with mine in the fierce wind. He was so close now, I had to angle my head up to take him in, those blue eyes the exact color of the swelling waves below .

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t back down from challenges,” I countered.

“And he’s not falling for the woman destined to save his kingdom,” he said, so quietly I could barely hear him.

The breath left my lungs with a whoosh . My lips parted, but no sound came out.

“Come with me.” He took my hand before I could even think of a response. “I want to show you something.”

I let him lead me, my legs numb as they carried me across the rocks and grass and back to the mountain pass. My curiosity won out over my shock when he didn’t stop at the carriage, instead heading toward the looming mountain to our left.

“It’s not far. Just on the other side here.

” He pointed ahead of us where a path disappeared around the mountainside.

We walked for several minutes in silence, a light layer of sweat forming on my skin.

The closer we got, the louder the wind picked up—it was now rumbling in my ears like someone had dropped us inside a cyclone.

When we followed the thick expanse of trees around the bend, I realized it wasn’t the wind at all.

An enormous waterfall poured from a drop-off on the side of the mountain.

It cascaded from one edge down to the next, rippling over rocks and boulders until it landed with a resounding crash in a pool at its base.

Mist rose from the water in a thick fog.

Sunlight filtered in and caught the haze, making it glow like a rainbow suspended over the pool.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, although I wasn’t sure he could hear me over the noise.

Without a word, he tugged me forward until I felt the cool spray on my skin.

The sound of the tumultuous water was a roar, vibrating all around me with every breath I took.

It was invigorating and mesmerizing at the same time, watching the rush of water freefall from such great heights only to collect itself and slowly, calmly, peacefully wind its way downstream .

Thorne released my hand and strode headfirst into the base of the waterfall.

“Thorne!” I yelled. “What are you?—”

“Do you trust me, Empress?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

I eyed the cliffs above us, with its surging waves that could draw me under and lose me completely.

“Yes,” I replied.

He held out his hand.

I placed my palm in his, and we walked forward.

But he wasn’t leading me into the waterfall—he was leading me behind it, to a hidden alcove invisible from the front.

I rushed beneath a small deluge of water with a squeal and exited into a dark, dank nook on the side of the mountain, both of us spluttering and drenched.

It was like someone had dulled all sound. The pounding of the waterfall on the other side of the rock wall was muted, barely a drumbeat in our little haven. I could still see the trees through the thin cascade we’d walked under, but other than that, it looked as if we’d left everything behind.

I realized why he’d brought me here.

We stood there panting, water dripping from our skin and clothes as we stared at each other.