Rowan fumed with anger. He had let his guard down for a minute and had become a mockery in this kingdom. He glared at the princess, who was sitting on the bed, covering her body, trembling with fear.

Lirien raised her tear-filled eyes. "I didn’t want to do this... I swear, my mother forced me."

Rowan ignored the girl’s sobs as he searched around for his shirt. When he found it, he threw it over his shoulder, looking at his palm, which was covered in blood. He sighed and looked around for something to wrap it with.

Lirien, thinking Rowan was searching for something to kill her with, jumped down from the bed. "You shouldn’t be doing this right now. My mother sent some people to the palace to hold Freya. You should be on your way now. I wouldn’t have done this; I don’t even like men—"

"What?" Rowan’s frown deepened.

Lirien nodded, picking up her gown to cover her nakedness. "Y-yes... I only did what I did earlier because of my mother. Actually, I don’t like—"

"Lady, I don’t care about who you do or don’t like. What happened to Freya?" Rowan cut her off, not waiting for her reply. He stomped out of the room.

Lirien slumped to the ground, holding her chest as she felt her heart race with fear. Earlier, she had almost betrayed Freya, and the princess knew she owed her new friend an apology. If Freya decided not to forgive her, there was nothing she could do about it.

Rowan made his way out of the temple. He would return later to have a talk with these people who had lost their minds, forcing their own daughter on a drunk man but for now, he knew where he needed to be. It was with Freya. The girl might have stayed outside the whole night waiting for him. Stepping outside into the dark night, Rowan felt the chilly mountain wind freeze his bones. He looked around, searching for a horse to leave with, when he heard someone call his name.

"Rowan!" Conrad ran out of the temple. "Won’t you close your eyes just once and marry my sister?"

Rowan ignored the young man. When he spotted a horse, he walked straight to it. Untying the reins that were fastened to a tree, he rubbed the horse’s mane gently, trying to calm it.

"If you leave now, there might be another war between the kingdoms," Conrad said, attempting to threaten Rowan.

Rowan paused, turning with a grin like a madman. "Even if a war doesn’t start, I’ll begin one myself. You think King Adric would be pleased to hear that his people were treated with such contempt?" His gaze shifted from the young man and settled on his mother.

"And be sure to stay hidden when the war starts. You’ll be the first to die," he said, pointing at the Queen.

The woman cleared her throat, moving her shoulders gently. "I did what had to be done, and if you had stayed calm, things would have gone smoothly."

"You must’ve read too many bad books. It makes me wonder how you managed to rule as Queen..." Rowan’s voice trailed off. He had snapped out of the concussion but still felt lightheaded. Shaking his head violently, he jumped onto the horse and left the temple.

. . .

Back at the palace, Louis gathered his things and loaded them into one of the carriages. He didn’t ask his daughter any questions. This was the first time he had seen Freya heartbroken to the point of trembling as she spoke. The man worried that it was because of the argument they’d had earlier, but looking at his daughter’s eyes, he knew it was more than that. His little girl was hurting, and he didn’t know why. The only thing he could do was take her back home. It seemed that the source of her hurt was in Eridor.

"Freya... I’ve packed our things. Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for—"

Freya stood up from where she was sitting. Her eyes dull and tired, she walked past her father and climbed into the carriage. She slumped onto the carriage couch, her eyes fixed on the window. Freya had never truly understood the concept of betrayal because she had never experienced it, until now. She felt like her heart was being torn into small pieces and stabbed with numerous pins. The tightness in her chest made it impossible to cry, as she had already cried herself out earlier.

There were so many things that didn’t make sense to her, but how was she supposed to explain it? Rowan had been so sure he wanted to marry her. He had even proposed to her in front of everyone. Her father liked him, trusted him, and... he had even been her first. Then there was Lirien. The princess had been nothing but friendly to her. And she didn’t even like men, so why was she suddenly accepting marriage to Rowan?

Freya couldn’t help but feel that she had been used, a tool for others’ pleasure and entertainment. While she had warmed Rowan’s bed and laughed with the princess, they were probably laughing at her as they prepared to marry behind her back. Who was she, really? Foolish, to think that Rowan would choose her over a princess? For a minute, she had been riding high on that pedestal, and now she had been pushed off harshly. Her fragile heart was paying the price. Freya sobbed quietly.

"We’ll be moving now," Louis announced, entering the carriage. He sat opposite his daughter, hearing her silent sobs but feeling powerless to help.

As their carriage moved slowly out of the palace, Freya turned to look at the receding palace in the distance, a place where she had lost her innocence, smiled, made new friends, and also cried. She was leaving it now, heartbroken. Freya closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears, but at that moment, she hated herself for still thinking about Rowan. The way he would touch her face, tease her, and look at her with that mischievous smile on his lips.

She should have known. Freya thought to herself, this was what Rowan was capable of leaving her sweating and screaming for more, only to disappear like a phantom in the night. Or did she know but tried to erase it? Freya’s mind toppled with countless thoughts. Most of all, she wished Rowan would show up right then and explain everything.

Just as their carriage was moving, a horse galloped past them. Freya sighed. She could still remember riding with Rowan. How vivid it was, feeling his warm breath on her shoulder. Now, Rowan belonged to another woman. Freya wished she had never started anything with Rowan. She wanted to erase every memory of him, starting with the day she first began falling for him.

Their carriage suddenly came to a halt, and Louis stepped down to see what was going on.

"Rowan?" The man’s voice echoed.

Freya raised her head when she heard the name of the man she didn’t know whether to love or hate. Before she could look through the window, the carriage door opened, and there stood Rowan, with her father behind him, both staring at her.

Rowan stared at the girl with such intensity that he could see she had been crying. He didn’t know what they had told her, but when he felt the dizziness return, he staggered.

"Rowan! Are you okay?" Louis asked, trying to help the young man stand.

Rowan nodded and turned to Freya. "Freya, get down. Now."

Louis’s eyes moved from his daughter to Rowan. He noticed the tension between the two. "I’ll get some for you. It’s with our bags." The man left to search for water.

"Why did you cry?" Rowan asked the moment Louis was away.

Freya raised her eyes. When she moved her gaze back to Rowan, she noticed his torn shirt and blood-covered hand.

"I don’t know what you were told, but it didn’t happen. Nothing happened between the princess and me," Rowan explained, looking at Freya’s face, but it gave nothing away.

Freya nodded. "I don’t care if anything happened between you two. I never claimed you as mine. You belong to everyone, and what we shared was just—"

"Shut up... don’t finish that," Rowan’s voice was low, and if listened to closely, it cracked at the end. "Freya... Get down now, let’s go back to the palace."

Freya quickly raised her hand to wipe the tears that were threatening to slip down her face. She decided to be the one to move on first and not let Rowan break her heart. Even if he wasn’t with the princess, she needed to wake up. There was never going to be love between them. Her relationship with Rowan was based purely on lust, an untamed lust.

"Rowan..." Freya started, "I was going to tell you today... that I had fun here in Eridor. It was good while it lasted, but now I’m returning to Avon. Let’s forget everything that ever happened- no, nothing ever happened between us." The girl sniffled back her tears, squeezing her hands.

Rowan’s eyes quickly noticed the girl’s attempt to stop crying.

"Let’s go back to ho—ah!" Before Freya could finish her sentence, Rowan swiftly lifted her out of the carriage.

"What are you doing right now?" Freya asked, glaring at him angrily.

Rowan stood in front of her, making sure to hold her gaze with his intense eyes. His grip on her arm was tight, and with emotions swirling, Rowan didn’t realize he was hurting her. "Freya, I won’t let you go... I can’t let you go thinking I didn’t want to come for you."

Freya winced, pulling her hand away from Rowan forcefully. "It’s always about you, is it not? You don’t even know how you hurt the people around you, and then yourself. You’re too rough for me, Rowan."

Rowan’s eyes dropped to her hand, which had turned red from his strong grip. "I didn’t mean to—"

"It’s fine. I don’t care about anything that happened here in Eridor," Freya said, waving her hand dismissively. "Let’s go back to how everything was before we let our selfish pleasures destroy us. Whatever we shared was just for the thrill of it. Please, stop showing your face in front of me." She turned to her father, who had just arrived. "Let’s go, Pa."

She climbed back into the carriage. Louis, without saying a word, joined his daughter. As the carriage started moving, Louis looked at Rowan through the small window. The young man stood there, all alone, watching as the carriage left.

Rowan watched the carriage roll away, the sound of the wheels creaking on the cobblestones. Once again, he was left behind by a family; one afraid of him, fearing he would bring ruin to them.