I thought to go to my chambers but quickly crushed the thought. I no longer had chambers in Hollowhold, nor even servants. Therefore, despite my weariness, my next port of call would be Alum's chambers. I needed to feel the warmth of his touch, and for him to tell me that everything was going to turn out alright. He’d already pledged a significant portion of his personal guard to defending Haelling Cove, but I needed him to commit the rest of his housecarls to the city's defence to free me to marry him. Even then, it might not be enough.

I trudged the familiar road to the men's quarter, feeling claustrophic under the uneven stone room. It shamed me that my short absence from the capital was sufficient to render me almost a stranger to it. Alum's gold and red pennant denoted his house, and I smiled despite my hunger and my exhaustion. I was still clad in my new riding habit, though I was significantly less ashamed of my appearance than I had been in my tattered childhood riding trousers and blouse, but I did not think to change: though I had always taken care to look my best for Alum, he’d never said a word about how I looked. He had seen me more deeply than that, and it was such thoughts that gifted me with overwhelming anticipation as I knocked on his door.

My heart was pounding away within my chest like a drum as I waited for him to answer the door. After a moment I decided that he must not be home, and I was startled nearly into a seizure when he appeared in the doorway.

'Saemara?' he asked, his voice a whisper, as if he couldn't believe that it was me. His light hair had grown past his ears since I had last seen him, making him seem more rogueish.

‘Alum,' was all I could breathe as I threw myself into his embrace. I feared that he had found someone else and would not reciprocate, but I felt his arms pulling me tight and making me feel at home. This was all I had ever wanted.

Sadly, it couldn’t last forever. We were still in his doorway. 'Come inside,' he suggested, and I stepped into his hearth.

A fire was crackling, and I pocketed my gloves to warm my fingers, taking a seat beside Alum. I didn’t mind that we had not yet kissed. It lingered between us, another anticipation to be enjoyed, as though it would be our very first kiss.

'Saemara, I am so very delighted that you are here,' Alum began. His eyes glistened in the firelight as he spoke. 'Yet I did not expect you to return so soon.'

'Nor did I,' I replied. 'Oh Alum. There’s so much I need to tell you! So much we must discuss.'

'And we will,' he said. 'But first, let us enjoy this moment together.'

I was only too happy to acquiesce. He shuffled closer to me and I leaned against him in contentment. Several minutes passed before we turned and shared a long moment of eye contact. Then we kissed, a sweet yet passionate rendezvous of our lips. We sat in the most comfortable of silences as the time ticked by, but my stomach conspired to ruin the tranquility of the scene with a conspicuous rumbling.

Alum raised an eyebrow and said, 'I'll get my servants to prepare a meal.'

I nodded gratefully. 'Travelling can be a very hungy experience,' I confessed.

'I wouldn't know. I've never travelled beyond the Mountain Duchy.'

'You haven't?' I asked in genuine surprise. For some reason, I felt it natural that a Prince would have travelled to every corner of the Kingdom. 'You will have to come back home with me upon my return.'

I spoke without thinking, and inadvertently dragged reality back into our midst. Alum instructed a servant to prepare dinner and rubbed his brow. 'I suppose we had better discuss affairs of state or they will hang between us like a foul odour.'

'I think you’re right,' I said. We relocated to the dining table and one of his servants poured me a glass of bloodberry wine. I drank half if it in almost one gulp.

'I've been having it imported. It reminds me of you,' Alum said, noticing my joy in partaking.

'Thank you for sharing it,' I said to him. Then, 'Perhaps you should speak first, for my tale is long and may tell easier with a full stomach.'

Alum nodded gently, sipping his own wine. 'There is precious little to say on my part. I have withdrawn somewhat in your absence. When the Tokuans attacked my brother pushed me aside, insisting that I leave him to handle things. When the Borderlands collapsed and he pulled Father's men out of Haelling Cove, he would not listen to my protests. Always, his wife would whisper words against me. Or Highfather Ioran. I do not trust them.'

'Nor I,' I said, sharing his thoughts.

'I have been diminished. I thought to ride out and make my presence felt in the rest of Halivaara, but I was afraid that none remaining in the capital had the will to oppose Milos. For what good it has done.'

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I nodded, understanding his story. A part of me had been hoping that he might have seized more power for himself, but I now recognised that as naivety. I noticed that he had not offered an opinion on whether we should wed. That showed a careful intelligence on his part, as for all he knew I might have information that would change the situation.

And with that thought I began my own story. While I spoke, dinner was served and I revitalised myself with the expensive food. My recount began with the ambush in Trent, and Alum was horrified at what had befallen me. When I told him that Timoth had managed to subdue all of the highwaymen almost single-handedly, he smiled knowingly.

'I am not surprised. He was the only man who could best me consistently in the arena,' Alum said, and I fondly recalled my time watching them spar. Nevertheless, I continued recounting my exploits. I refrained from sobbing, but tears trickled down my cheeks as I spoke of the losses I’d suffered. Then pride stirred within me as I explained how Timoth had rallied to spare Trackford from the same fate, and begun to rebuild Haelling Cove.

I watched Alum's face carefully when I spoke of my coming of age ceremony but it betrayed nothing. I detailed Baron Steib's trial and then my latest orders from Timoth. I also mentioned the Vizonian refugee centres that had been established in Trent, and he frowned at the news.

'I have heard nothing of what you speak,' Alum said. 'I do not know what to make of it.'

'Nor do I.' I did not tell him of the Vizonian tattoo borne by the Trent highwaymen, nor the necklace found on the beach. The evidence was too tenuous, too circumstantial. I concluded my tale by describing my brief meeting with Prince Milos, and Alum shook his head.

'You should have come to me first, I could have warned you of his inevitable refusal,' he said.

'I had to try for myself or else I would have been lax in my duties,' I said, and I meant it. I think that I had always cared about duty, but that my conceptualisation of it had changed. Previously, I felt that it was my duty to marry well to bring wealth and prestige to Ebonreach. Now, as heir and Timoth's only family, my duties were broader and more complex.

'I understand. So you have come to me to request that the remainder of my Guard man the walls at Haelling Cove?' Alum asked. He seemed almost hurt.

My eyes widened in horror. 'No! I came to Hollowhold to summon any available men to the defence of the Reach. And I came to your chambers because… I missed you.' I said, speaking my mind. Our eyes met briefly and I felt heat rising to my cheeks.

'And I missed you,' he reciprocated. 'Truly I was diminished by your absence. I… I hope I am not too bold, but…'

'But you want to continue where we left off?' I cut in, unable to bear the suspense. It was almost too good to be true.

'I do,' he said, his face a mix of determination and passion. I was overwhelmed by the notion that such intense desires were affixed upon me. My body ached to touch him, but, I had to be careful. We were not wed yet, in fact we weren't even sure if we were properly compatible. It would not do for me to come begging to his bed as he had once done with me.

Still, I did not think that a wedding seemed too far-fetched after this reception.

'I will put my mind to your cause tomorrow. Perhaps we will uncover some fresh, untapped reserve of manpower.' I doubted it. Duke Wilbern was the only nobleman with a scrap of sympathy for Ebonreach's predicament.

'Perhaps,' I replied evenly. My meal was finished. 'Shall I meet you here for dinner tomorrow?'

Alum's eyes darkened. 'You want to leave?'

I shook my head repeatedly to dispel the notion, perhaps too eagerly. 'No! Of course not!'

Then I held my tongue. I couldn't exactly tell him that I didn't trust myself in his chambers drinking wine after our long separation. It would have been improper, and I was afraid that I'd lose his respect if I admitted that I was anything less than perfect. 'I'm just tired from riding all day.'

'I understand,' he said, though he was clearly saddened. Alum, too, was trying to be proper and hide his disappointment.

'Except, I fear I have nowhere to sleep.' My mind drifted through the options available to me. Though I’d only ever stayed in my chambers during my years in Hollowhold, it was a city like any other. 'Perhaps there's an inexpensive inn with a vacancy.'

'No!' Alum said, surprising me with his ferocity. 'I would not see you in some vagrant’s tavern. I have a spare bedroom, and would be honoured if you would stay there tonight.'

I hesitated, knowing that the proximity would be a temptation. I considered sleeping in my portal, but the temptation of sleeping so close to Alum was too strong. I told myself that I would go to bed as soon as I had finished the glass of wine, and not speak to him again until the morning, but a small, mischievous part of my mind was already looking for a technicality on which to break my pledge.

'I accept, gratefully,' I told Alum, and he grinned from ear to ear.

'In that case, would you like some more wine?' he asked. I hadn’t noticed that I’d been sipping it as I considered his offer.

'No thank you. I should be going to bed.' 1846

'It'll take a few minutes for the servants to prepare your room,' he said, gesturing to one of them to take up the task. 'What wil you do if you do not find the men you need?'

His question told me that he was more cognisant of my circumstances than I had credited him, for if too few came to the assistance of Haelling Cove then I would be forced to consider marrying Duke Wilbern. I almost retched in distaste at the prospect.

'I will re-evaluate… I think that the spare bedroom has been prepared. Goodnight, Alum, and thank you for the meal and the delightful conversation,' I said.

It was formal, yes but some part of me knew that if I had to pursue Wilbern in Alum's stead, it'd be easier for me emotionally if I kept Alum at arm's length. It was the opposite to what I'd been thinking on the road from Trackford.

'Goodnight, Saemara,' he said, and I ascended the stone staircase and closed the door to my room. It was small and barren, with its sole furnishing a freshly-made bed. It was all I could do to discard my riding habit before I collapsed into the bed asleep.