Page 5 of Wed to the Dark Elf

I shrug against her shoulders. “A timid mouse. You looked near fainting during the ceremony. Yet you have borne up this journey well."

Pink flush colors her cheeks. “I have endured worse trials. Don’t underestimate me.”

I arch an eyebrow at the challenge in her tone. My little human wife has thorns after all. How intriguing. Perhaps she will find reserves of courage when she faces my people and sees the harsh world she is now part of. She will need such strength, married to me.

Night falls heavy, and a bitter wind kicks up. I search the moonlit hills for a suitable place to camp. Finding a sheltered overhang nestled against a ridge, I dismount and lift Iris down. She rubs her legs gingerly, wincing.

“Forgive the discomfort. You will grow accustomed to the saddle.”

She nods, eyes darting about nervously. I lead her beneath the rock outcrop and gather brush for a fire. Soon flames crackle, casting warmth and light over our stark camp. Iris looks ready to collapse. She watches me over the fire, twisting the rose ring around her finger. I feel its motions on my own hand, like the flutter of butterfly wings.

"Will you tell me about where we go? I know so little of your lands." Her tone holds a childlike wish for stories. It pricks at my guard.

I stay silent a long moment, weighing how much I wish to share with this stranger called wife. But the firelight softens her youthful features, and I find myself saying, "The mountains can be harsh, but there is beauty if you know where to look. Caverns glittering with quartz veins. Ice storms that coat the high peaks in silver. The lights of our fortress flickering beneath the moon."

Her expression grows wistful at my descriptions. Perhaps I can help ease her transition to this new realm. Our realms, now shared.

I clear my throat gruffly, realizing I've revealed more gentleness tonight than intended. She does not comment, merely nods her thanks for the meager knowledge. We bed down on opposite sides of the fire, our marriage still strange and tenuous threads between us. I listen until her breathing steadies into sleep, gloves off and arms wrapped tight against the cold. Vulnerable.

As I watch her, the runes on my ring occasionally flare brighter when she stirs. Our souls knitted together by forces beyond my grasp. I close my fist, concealing the strange magic. All my life I have stood vigilant, master of my domain. Now this human has slipped past my guard in unforeseen ways.

Teeth chattering compels me to move to her. With ease, I lie at her back and pull her into my arms, if only to warm her body. A deep awakening stirs within me, my loins burn with desire. But it’s took frigid here to take my wife. For now, I offer her my warmth and protection. My eyes don’t shut full, but my body relaxes with her slight frame melting into my steely muscles. Could I fall in love with such a creature?

I ponder these revelations as I keep watch through the long night.

CHAPTER4

Iris

I wake just before dawn, my breath clouding the frigid air. Every muscle aches from yesterday’s endless ride and the unforgiving ground I’d slept on. I peel my eyes open reluctantly.

Across the smoldering campfire, the dark elf lord stands with his back to me, saddling his horse. Vamen. My husband. The word still feels foreign. He moves with easy grace, his warrior's body perfect for this harsh land he calls home.

Home. I will never again see the only home I’ve ever known. Yet I feel no longing for the temple that raised me like a lamb for slaughter. Still, trepidation knots my stomach at the thought of what awaits me in those distant mountains.

Vamen turns, catching my gaze. "Did you sleep well, mistress?"

The courteous inquiry surprises me. "Well enough, my lord. Thank you."

He nods shortly and returns to securing bags on his stallion. I rise and fold my cloak and blanket, feeling awkward and unsure how to act around this strange man fate has bound me to. We are strangers shaped by different worlds. Can either of us truly belong in the other’s life?

My eyes drift to the rose band glinting on my finger, unchanged despite the long ride yesterday. A reminder of the forces that now tether us. I wonder if Vamen feels the same disquiet I do about our union. His stoic demeanor reveals little. I know so little of him at all. He stayed away from me all night, our union as of yet unconsummated.

Soon we are mounted and riding again beneath the gloomy dawn light. I keep my eyes straight ahead, watching the terrain grow ever steeper and more treacherous. We cross narrow stone bridges over plunging ravines, navigate sharp switchbacks, and skirt sheer cliffs. The air bites my cheeks and chaps my lips.

I shudder every time the stallion leaps some new obstacle, but Vamen’s arm braces me securely. His body is a wall of warmth at my back, and I find myself leaning into him reflexively as the temperatures plummet. He mercifully does not comment on my need to cling to him like a burr. In truth, his closeness brings some small sense of comfort in this strange place. His muscles flex and move with grace as I lean into his strength.

By mid-morning, snowflakes swirl through the gray sky. I gasp at their delicate beauty, having seen very little snow before. But my wonder quickly turns to alarm as the flurries blur into a howling blizzard.

“Just a little longer!” Vamen’s voice carries over the screaming wind. I huddle into my sodden cloak, hands numb inside my gloves. Each snowflake bites my cheeks like an icy insect. I am lost, adrift in a world of white and wind. A cry threatens to peal from my lips, but I keep it at bay.

At last stone walls emerge from the curtains of snow ahead. Vamen’s fortress. He dismounts inside the gatehouse, then reaches up to lift me down. My legs buckle as I collapse into his arms.

“Forgive me,” I sputter through clacking teeth. But he only steadies me until I regain my footing. His face softens slightly.

“Let us get you inside by the fire.”

He leads me through the courtyard where dark elf soldiers stare and whisper at my passing. Their sharp eyes and alien faces send prickles of unease across my skin. I know their kinds have been enemies of humanity since the early dark times after the Shift. What must they think, seeing their liege return with a human bride?

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