The city remained asleep as Isla padded through the halls of the palace like a shadow in silk. Her heart pounded, each step ringing with a combination of fear and excitement. One misstep would cost her everything—her name, her freedom, perhaps even her life.
Her heart, however, was no longer hers to defend. It was his.
She had wrapped up just the necessities in a satchel—a compact dagger concealed under her skirts, a water flask, money she'd pilfered from the steward's desk, and a map she'd committed to memory as a child, never dreaming she'd need it to escape her own kingdom.
Beyond the palace gates, the sky was a dirty blue, the stars dissolving as dawn broke. She walked quickly, hooded and unseen through the servants' lanes and back streets, her breath misting in the cold morning air.
She had instructed Tristan to wait for her at the stables on the edge of the eastern woods. An old post once occupied by scouting parties—now a decaying barn and weeds.
As she got closer, her heart tightened with the view of him already seated.
Tristan stood next to two horses, saddled and fidgeting. He was different in his plain leathers, without the royal crest and the shining armor that normally labeled him as a captain of the guard.
He seemed freer.
And as crushingly gorgeous as ever.
When their gazes met, she forgot how to breathe.
"You came," he said in a whisper near silence.
"I told you I would."
In two strides, he was before her, sweeping her into his arms and planting a kiss on her lips so hard and urgent it sent her knees turning to jelly.
"I've been holding my breath all night," he whispered against her hair. "Feared you'd change your mind."
"I didn't," she breathed. "I never would."
He drew back just far enough to see her face, stroking his fingers along her cheek. "This… this is madness."
Isla smiled softly. "It's love."
And so they climbed the horses and rode.
They followed the eastern route at first, then broke south through the underbrush, staying off the main roads and following deer trails and shallow gullies. They spoke little—not because of distance, but need. Sound traveled on the wind, and they both knew that guards could already be following them.
But their silence was not empty. It was packed with glances, furtive touches, the reassuring rhythm of shared breathing as their horses thundered along side by side.
By the time the sun rose into the sky, they were deep in the woods and out of sight of the court.
It was not until they came to a hollowed-out glade, where a ruined stone shrine stood among moss-clad roots, that Tristan motioned for them to halt.
"This land is holy," he told him, as he slid from his horse. "Forgotten by most. But it's safe. No patrols venture this far."
Isla fell from her horse, her legs trembling with fatigue. She gazed around her, the uncultivated beauty of the area strange and lovely. Leaves carpeted the ground of the forest, and the sun lighted the trees in rays of gold.
Tristan moved beside her, sweeping her whipped hair out of her face. "We'll rest here. Tonight, we camp."
She nodded. "I never imagined freedom would be like this."
"Terrifying?"
"Exhilarating.
He smiled, pulling her into a slow, gentle kiss—one with no hurry now, only the soft reality of two hearts finally free to touch, to desire, to feel.
They started a small fire close to the ruins, breaking dried bread and berries from her satchel. The night descended softly over them, and for the first time, they slept beside each other without fear of discovery.
Tristan had his arms around her as they huddled under a pilfered blanket.
"Do you regret it?" he whispered.
Isla kissed his collarbone. "No. You?"
He clutched her closer. "Never."
And under the stars, knotted together in heat and mad hope, they let slumber take them.
But far from them, in the palace, turmoil had started to brew.
A woman lost. A captain lost. A guard saying a lock on the east gate is broken.
And the king, in the council room, had a flattened flower in his hand—the same type Isla had worn in her hair so many times.
His voice was icy as he gave the command:
"Find them. Bring her home. And kill him."