“Oh, my dear,” he says, taking my hand in his. He feels even colder than my own foot when I stepped outside. “This has nothing to do with you. I have not been well, that is sure, but over the course of the past day I’ve worsened. I had hoped to at least see you wed to the elf king, but alas I fear that may not be possible.” He shakes his head when I open my mouth to speak. “Do not be troubled. Death doesn’t frighten me the way it once did. I’ve seen many years, and I’ve watched many people die. And it’s not why I’m here anyway.”
“Zacharias,” I begin, wondering what to say. I’ve disappointed him by turning down the elf king’s proposal, but when he knows about Rian…when he knows about the cellar…he’ll understand. I know he will. “You’ve been like a father to me. I’ve loved you so much.”
“I know. And I hate to be the one to cause you to mourn the loss of two such fathers in such short years. But, there are things not in our control. Now, this letter you sent to King Custevale.” He frowns. “Along with our injured messenger, he sent a reply. You need to know, he’s still on his way here.”
I sigh. So that’s it. The king has rejected my dismissal. “Zacharias, there’s something—”
He begins to cough violently, and I fall silent, waiting for the fit to cease. The attendant hands him a glass of water, and he gulps it like a man who’s been dying of thirst for days.
When he is finally able to speak again, his voice is weaker. Barely a whisper, fighting to be heard.
“The king has threatened to kill me,” he says with a grin. “Rather an empty threat, under the circumstances. But,” he frowns, “he has also threatened to kill one child from each family in Aramoth. Then he will begin executing women. Our men will be dragged off to Lainsfair to serve as slaves in their mines. And if you still refuse to marry him, he will kill you last of all.”
I glare. “He wouldn’t dare. Our people would fight him.”
I want to tell him Rian would stand with us. His people would bear arms beside us. The thought of him astride one of the giant, wild Dennith steeds, descendants of the horses the orcs once rode into battle, makes me shiver. Surely, even the elves would quake at the sight, magic or not.
“And they would die,” Zacharias says. “And he would still have his way. The elves have many tricks, magic we can’t even begin to defend against. Peace between our kingdoms has always been maintained by their reluctance to lose too many of their soldiers, as well, we never had anything the king wanted. It’s true, that’s changed and the king is serious. He’ll risk his men’s lives if it comes to it. It’s pride, my child. Ego. The elves have always been ripe with it. Your rejection… We can’t possibly hope to win a war with them, only to make them pay for starting it. I don’t want that.”
“Zacharias, please…none of this matters. There’s something I must tell you…if we come together with the—”
He holds up a shaking hand. “It matters to me, my dear. I cannot leave this world and go on to the next, knowing that our men, women and children are in peril. Knowing that you are at risk. Promise me, Calliope. Promise me…I need this one promise from you. Nothing matters now but this, say it. Say I promise—”
He falls silent, a long exhale, eyes closing as I lean forward. “Zacharias?”
A single wheezing breath inflates his chest one last time as I start to cry. I grip his shoulder, his unseeing eyes flutter open and I tighten my hold as though I can keep him here, but it’s no use. The light in his eyes dims, and I see his body deflate with the loss of his soul.
I sob, trying to control myself but failing. “Zacharias!” I murmur. “Please, don’t leave me. Not now. Not like this.”
As the attendant leans in and gently pulls me away, I rock back, my thoughts raging and spinning. That poor messenger, losing his hand over a stupid letter. Zacharias, dead. And for what? For me? For my selfishness?
And what of Rian? Didn’t he say it wasn’t enough? Living below in an earthen tunnel. That he wants a family, a life beyond some cellar?
“What have I done?” I mutter and feel Meina’s hand on my shoulder.
“Your highness, I…”
I pull myself up and fling my arms around her, needing someone to hold on to. I’ve been a fool. Sobs rip from my throat, tears burn down my cheeks. Thinking I could have happiness? That’s not for princesses. Our duty comes first, and my duty is to marry and bear the elf king a child, to ensure peace for our land for time eternal, protected by the elf kingdom. That’s what I must do, it’s what I should have done from the beginning.