“Finnick.” She called his name and rushed forward. If he was going to go down defending their home, so would she.
Her stepfather turned to see who shouted his name and the giant took advantage of the distraction. The brute brought his fist down onto Finnick’s head and Rainne screamed as if she felt the blow. Her stepfather cried out and slumped to the ground. He staggered to stand, using his sword for balance.
Stay down. Please, Finnick, stay down.
The stubborn man didn’t do as she hoped and stood to his full height. He raised his sword in challenge.
She was twenty paces from them and closing fast.
“This isn’t your fight, Dela. I promised your mother I’d protect you and the castle. That’s what I aim to do.”
Tears stung her eyes and she swiped at them with the back of her hand.
“Then we fight together.” She pulled up beside him and nodded. “This is our home.”
“She’s an ogress.” Mumblings went through the group of attackers.
“Kill her.”
“She’s mine.”
A blade caught the moonlight and Rainne ducked to avoid it. Barefoot, in a dress that didn’t fit, and weaponless, she was going to die. What the hell had she been thinking? She knew better than to leave the castle unprepared.
She’d left because Theo was driving her insane with his scent and those lips and…ugh, she had to focus on the fight and not the elf.
Her gaze slid to the side of the castle, but she didn’t see him coming after her. Finnick grunted beside her and she pulled her attention to the men ringing her and her stepfather. Two swords, three pikes, a mace, and a giant. Bloody hell, she wasn’t just going to die—she was going to be slaughtered.
A blow caught Finnick from the side and he staggered forward. A dark stain covered his forehead. The giant lumbered close enough to pick up Finnick and toss him to the ground. An ominous crack sounded and Rainne’s stomach twisted.
The ogress sat quietly, waiting for Rainne to come to the only conclusion she could that would save all of their lives.
With a last glance toward the corner of the castle, she said a silent prayer and let the ogress loose.
She became a whirling maelstrom of green and crimson. The giddiness of the ogress infused her veins, filling her with bloodlust. The giant turned, his features screwed into surprise. She ran up his leg and jumped around to his back. The ogress contemplated ripping his arms out first, but decided to make it a quick death. She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and squeezed. The giant roared and swatted at her with huge hands, but she clung on as if her life depended on it. Which it did.
He wheezed and chuffed, his flailing becoming less erratic. Finally, he dropped to his knees and careened over. Rainne rolled off him and looked to her next victim. The other four chuckled nervously, but didn’t run away. The giant had been weaponless, like her. They all held vicious tools that could impale or bludgeon.
Her gown had ripped at some point and she tore the seams higher to give her more flexibility.
“Who wants to play?” She beckoned them forth, but no one advanced. “Guess I’ll have to choose.” She turned to face each one. “You.” She pointed at a man with a pike.
She leapt in the air and grabbed the end of his stick. He pulled against her and she lost her footing. A mace swung toward her head and she ducked, but not soon enough. It clocked her above the ear. A dull ringing blocked sound and her head throbbed.
Not to be deterred, she yanked on the pike and smashed the man’s face with her fist. His grip loosened and she snatched the weapon from him, spinning it to impale him upon the tip. He cried out and clasped his chest where she withdrew the pike. A sucking sound followed.
Metal clashed behind her and she pivoted to see Theo fighting one of the men. Rainne’s heart leapt at the sight of him. Pora slid beneath a man’s legs and cut the muscles on the backs of his ankles with two curved daggers.
Four men either wounded or fighting, meant only one was left.
He approached with a wide grin on his dirty face. A rivulet of blood dripped into her eye, blinding her for a moment. She held the pike out to protect her, but didn’t see the man’s blade come from above until it was nearly to her skull.
It swerved at the last moment and missed her by a breath. Surprise shone from the man’s face and he slumped forward. She slid to the side to avoid him crashing into her. Finnick stood, shaking, his sword tip stained with the man’s blood.
He dropped the sword and grabbed Rainne in a hug that stole her breath. She supported both of their weight as he embraced her. His labored breathing rasped against her ear.
Behind her, she heard the death rattles from the men Pora and Theo fought. It was done. For tonight, at least, the castle was safe.
Finnick pulled away, his face a mixture of pain and regret. “I’m sorry, Dela. I never wanted any of this. I have to protect your mother.”
She shook her head against his protestations. She didn’t need to hear them again.
“I know.” She took his hands in hers. “I know.”
He’d stood alone against the raiders to protect their home and her mother. She’d been so busy hating him to see that he loved not only the duchess, but Duir. And, she admitted, her.
Theo joined them, his face streaked with blood. “Are either of you hurt?”
“Finnick is. We need to get him inside.” Rainne lifted him into her arms as if he were a child.
“What about them?” Pora flicked a dagger at the dead men.
“We’ll see to them later.” Theo avoided looking at the carnage.
They took Finnick to her mother’s rooms and lay him on the bed beside the sleeping duchess. His hand reached for Fleur’s and even the ogress sighed at the sight. Rainne sat beside her mother and held one of her hands in hers. Pora jumped onto the bed and Theo stood beside her with his hand on her shoulder. They formed a strange little family, but they were all she had.
“We need a healer.”
“No.” Finnick wheezed. “Everything I need is right here.”
Rainne shared a glance with Theo, and he left the room to find a servant. Despite what Finnick said, they could use Egritte’s healing.
The ogress stayed in the background and Rainne marveled that she’d not lost control given that she was doing what the ogress loved—killing. Except, that wasn’t true. The ogress loved a challenge and to spar, yes. But to kill without reason? No. She cycled through the mix of emotions, sorting where the ogress’s desires verged from her own.
The ogress was lusty and not afraid of a fight, it was true. And those were qualities Rainne didn’t particularly seek, but she didn’t hate them, either. It wasn’t until Rainne met Theo that the ogress went overboard with the aggression. She delved into her feelings deeper and unpacked them into tidy little portions of lust, anger, betrayal, fear, and acceptance. The last caused Rainne the most distress. She’d been so focused on what she thought the ogress was trying to steal from her, she never saw the ogress as an asset.
Theo returned and gave a quick nod to let her know Egritte was on her way. He stood beside her, a hand on her shoulder. That small connection gave her strength.
If the ogress was an asset, then why was she so vulgar to Theo? A sharp pain twisted her heart and she gasped. Theo’s grip tightened, and she rubbed her cheek along the back of his hand. The ogress did what she had to do so that Rainne would see the prince as a man. As someone to love. Everything that had happened settled like bricks in a pathway, leading to this moment. Rainne saw it all clearly now.
She couldn’t break the curse, but she could accept who she was—and that included the ogress. They both had strengths and weaknesses, the elf and ogress. If she could find a way to meld them together, then she could live with them both harmoniously. Perhaps even in time learn to love herself.
She looked first to her mother and then to Finnick. So many years had been wasted, waiting for something to happen. Too many years locked inside t
he castle, afraid of her own shadow. It was time to stop hiding.
“Finnick,” she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, “I’m so sorry. For all the times I was cruel to you, for the hate I’ve shown, and the forgiveness I’ve withheld. I forgive you. From the bottom of my heart, I bear you no ill will. I hope you can forgive me for being such a horrid stepdaughter.” And she meant the words. Meant them as surely as she sat before him. It was the only kindness she’d ever shown him and far too long in coming, but she truly did forgive him.
“Dela,” Finnick croaked.
“Rainne. My friends call me Rainne.”
Finnick blinked several times and his eyes shimmered in the dim light. “I only ever wanted what was best for you and your mother.” He turned his head toward the sleeping woman. “She was kinder to me than I ever deserved. She loved me unconditionally, and I her. I hope you’ve found that with the prince.”
A sob stuck in her throat and she nodded. “I believe I did.” Theo rubbed her back to let her know he was there, supporting her.
Finnick squeezed her hand, a wan smile on his face. “All is forgiven, Rainne. I have always loved her and I welcome your love in return.”
“You’ve been good to my mother and to this castle. You’ve been good to me when I didn’t deserve it.” She leaned across the bed and kissed him on the cheek.
Her heart seized and she wheezed against the pain in her chest. Finnick’s grip tightened on her hand and she bent over her mother’s body as convulsions and spasms rocked her core.
“What is it, darling?” Finnick struggled to sit up. His worried gaze bored into her. “Do you need a healer?”
“I don’t know.” The ogress wailed and lashed out at Rainne’s mind. Her thoughts shredded and her skin felt like a thousand daggers sliced her open. She looked at her hands to be sure she wasn’t in fact bleeding. “Finnick!”
She held out her arms and trembled at the sight of the green slipping away to leave her pale, almost translucent. Where their hands touched, she saw the jade slide up his arm to disappear beneath his sleeve.
“What’s happening?” She stared in horror as the color crept up his neck. His head enlarged and tusks protruded from his bottom teeth. “I didn’t mean to, I swear.” Her pleas were a cruel mockery of the objections Finnick had made hundreds of times to her.
“It isn’t you, Rainne.” Her stepfather sat up and cracked his neck. The hair on his head stood out in all directions like coarse wires.
Pora leapt to Finnick’s lap and rubbed along his frockcoat.
“I don’t understand.” Theo echoed her thoughts.
Her mother’s chest rose and lowered and she heard the faintest of inhales. Rainne scrambled to sit up and blinked in disbelief at her mother’s open eyes. Confused delight crashed through her thoughts and she put a hand on her mother’s warm cheek.
“My darling girl.” Her mother took Rainne’s hand in her own and kissed her palm. Then her gaze slid to Finnick. “My love.”
Rainne’s heart stopped beating. The air stilled. Life paused.
She searched for the ogress, but there was nothing left. Not even the slightest essence. She put a hand to her heart and tapped her fingertips along her breastbone. She’d lived with the ogress for so long, she’d lost hope of ever living without her. And now that the time had come, she didn’t know what to make of the situation. A part of her held back any sort of sadness or joy because she didn’t believe the ogress was truly gone. Or she hoped she wasn’t. She put her hand on her forehead to stop the dizzying thoughts.
Theo placed a pillow behind the duchess to prop her up. She closed her eyes and breathed in. “You must be Theo.”
He put his hand over his heart and bowed. “I am.”
Fleur’s eyes narrowed. “You loved my daughter as an ogress?”
“I did. I do.” He reached for Rainne and took her hand.
Rainne’s gaze went from Theo to her mother, then to Finnick and back. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together, but not quick enough.
“We’ve missed you.” Finnick reached across the bed to stroke her mother’s cheek.
He reached for her hand and she flinched out of habit. He pulled away, but she slid her fingers between his, feeling lighter and freer than she had in ages. His tusks didn’t frighten her, nor did the green of his skin. She knew him. Had been him. From now on, she would love him. Just as he was.
Her mother watched the interplay between them with a quiet smile.
“Finnick is an ogre, dear. Not a halfling like when you became one at night, but full ogre. He came here as a spy, but we fell in love.” Her eyes shone with adoration as she looked at her husband. “We chose to keep it a secret so that he could live in our world. Every morning, I would cast a spell that would keep him looking like an elf, and every night he’d revert to his true form. When I was injured, it scrambled my brain a little. I didn’t know how long I’d have and tried to make the spell permanent, but something went wrong.”
Rainne glanced at their hands. They each held one of the other’s, just as they’d done the night she’d been cursed.
“So, Finnick didn’t curse me? It was you?”
“Not cursed, my love. The spell must’ve transferred to you and since it was my spell, there was nothing anyone could do. It’s a miracle you’ve broken it.”
Her mouth went dry and she raked a hand through her hair. A mistake. That’s all it was. So Finnick had been telling the truth. She turned to him with profound sadness in her heart.
“I’m so sorry I blamed you.”
“I would’ve done the same in your position.” Even through the green and the tusks, he sounded like her stepfather.
“What happens now? Will you spell him to look like an elf again?”
Her mother patted Finnick on the hand and sighed. “We can discuss the future tomorrow.”
She glanced out the conservatory windows. The sky was beginning to lighten. It was almost daybreak and they all needed rest. They’d get the full story later, but for now, she’d let her mother and Finnick have their privacy.
She led Theo through the quiet halls to her rooms.
He touched her forehead and then the rest of her face. “Is the ogress truly gone?”
“The ogress is gone.” She still wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Strangely, she missed having the ogress’s presence. In a way, she was never alone with the ogress.
“Are you disappointed?” It had been her fear that he’d prefer the ogress to her. As much as she needed to know, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the answer.
“I love you, Rainne. If that’s with an ogress, or without, it’s you I love.” He inhaled, skimming his nose over her face. “You smell divine. Like honeysuckle and sunshine. Like an elf, all elf. Like Rainne.”
Hearing him say the words both calmed her heart and made it quicken. She believed him. After everything that had happened that night, she knew three things for certain: she would never take someone for granted again; she wasn’t quite yet, but would be, at peace with everything the ogress was and was not; and she loved Theo with all her heart.
It would take some time to process, but as long as she had his support, she knew they would be the stronger for their experiences.
20
No one was more surprised than Theo when he blurted out at breakfast that he’d like to marry Rainne and live at Duir Castle. After last night, seeing Rainne fight as the ogress and then discovering it was actually Finnick who was the ogre, all because of a mishap with a spell, well, it got him thinking about the fragility of life. There weren’t any guarantees for any of them. Therron might die from his curse, or he might—even at that very moment—meet the woman who would break the curse.
It wasn’t for Theo to bemoan the past, but to embrace the future. He hadn’t lied to Rainne when he said he loved all of her, including the ogress. The thing was—and Rainne had yet to see it—she was the ogress and the elf maiden. The fighting skills the ogress had, Rainne had as well. Th
e kindness and gentle nature Rainne embraced was also evident in the ogress. It wasn’t until Pora had asked him if he could accept Rainne, ogress and all, that he knew he didn’t want to live without her. Couldn’t live without her. And now, he looked forward to their future together.
They dined in the duchess’s rooms because she was still recovering and too weak to sit up for long periods. Fleur was cautiously excited by Theo’s declaration, to which he attributed her recent wakening from the dreamless sleep. She watched him from the corner of her eye and made little tsking noises whenever Theo touched Rainne or held her hand.
“Do you have much experience in love, Your Highness?” The duchess looked directly at him.
His pulse quickened and his face grew warm. “Not at all, Your Grace. Until I met Rainne, I had despaired of ever finding someone who would love me in return.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Mother, please. You only just met him. Please don’t scare him off.”
Fleur turned toward her daughter. “You’ve only just met him too, my darling.”
Rainne flushed and looked at the table.
“We have news as well,” Finnick interjected, breaking the awkward moment. He held Fleur’s hand and grinned, although it was hard to tell whether he was grinning because his tusks protruded over his upper lip. “We’re going to retire to the country, where we can live in peace and not be burdened by society’s judgments.”
“What? No. Mother, we only just got you back and you’re leaving?”
“This isn’t the country?” Theo hadn’t meant to say the words aloud, but he honestly thought they were as far from civilization as could be.
Finnick chuckled. “Believe it or not, there are places even more remote than Duir.”
“We’ll stay here a month or so to see you settled,” the duchess said. “With His Highness’s blessing, I would like to retire my title to Rainne.” She looked at her daughter fondly. “You’ll be duchess then, and can run the castle how you see fit. Finnick tells me you have a head for numbers and will be a more than adequate caretaker of our duchy.” Fleur’s gaze slid to Theo. “Soon you’ll have a family to look after. And you can always visit us.”
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