“Marry me,” said Ridmark. “Here and now.” Her eyes widened. “Just as we would have done in the Great Cathedral before the sword interrupted us. Caius is a priest, and Third will be the witness.” He looked Calliande in the eyes. “Let us do this now, before the Dragon Knight and the Keeper go to war against the Frostborn.”
“Yes,” whispered Calliande, smiling.
###
It did not take long.
Caius had the marriage rite memorized, and he led them through it as Calliande knelt with Ridmark before the dais. One by one Caius asked them questions, and Calliande and Ridmark answered as they swore their vows. Calliande found herself trembling a little, her heart racing.
She was grateful, so grateful, that they had survived to reach this moment. She knew there would be dark and hard days ahead, that they both might be killed. But they would always have this. She would be Ridmark’s wife, and he would be her husband until the end of their lives.
At last Caius finished, threatened the stern judgment of God upon whoever would tear asunder what God had brought together, and proclaimed them husband and wife.
Ridmark drew her close and kissed her, and Calliande smiled and kissed him back.
A flush of heat went through her, and she belatedly thought about the consummation. She supposed that would have to wait until they returned to Dun Calpurnia. Though she didn’t know where it could take place. A tent would have to serve, though she had never imagined spending the first night of her marriage in a tent.
But so long as she was with Ridmark, it was all right.
Ridmark gestured with his right hand. Fire swirled in his fingers, and the sword of the Dragon Knight appeared, burning with harsh flames.
“What are you doing?” said Calliande.
“Give us a moment,” said Ridmark.
Caius looked puzzled, but then Third smiled.
And then both Third and Caius froze.
“What…what did you do?” said Calliande.
“The sword can’t change the past,” said Ridmark. “But it can change the flow of time, just as the high elves do at Cathair Solas. They’re still breathing and moving. We’re just moving faster than they are.” He considered that. “A lot faster.”
Calliande frowned. “Why did you do that?”
The sword disappeared, and he took both her hands in his.
“Because,” he said. “I can give you this before we go to be the Keeper and the Dragon Knight. A moment just for us, where no one can interrupt us.”
“Oh,” said Calliande, and then she understood. “Oh!” She kissed him hard. “That is a good wedding present.”
He took her hand and led her to a door behind the dais.
###
The room was small, but the ceiling was intact, and no one would disturb them.
Ridmark laid their cloaks down to serve as a bed and removed his armor and clothing. He was a little concerned about his ability to perform. It had been a long and exhausting ordeal of a day, preceded by many exhausting days, and he was tired.
The concern vanished as Calliande undressed and drew her trousers down her legs. He had seen her naked before, of course, on the day they had met, but this was different. Then she had been terrified, and he had been fighting for his life to escape from the Mhalekites. Now she looked nervous, but there was also exhilaration there, mixed with an almost wild joy. His eyes swept her up and down, the shape of her legs, the curve of her hips, the swell of her chest, the blond hair hanging loose against her shoulders.
No, he had no doubts about his ability now.
Ridmark drew her down to their cloaks, her arms tight against his back. He was gentle, knowing it was her first time, and she soon began to shudder and moan against him, her body moving in rhythm with his. Her fingers slid across his back, gripping tighter and tighter, and when she finished, she nearly deafened him with the volume of her cry.
Once they were done Calliande curled on her side next to him, her head resting against his chest, his hand stroking her naked back.
“Oh,” said Calliande in a shaky voice. “Oh. I see why people get so excited about that. I had no idea what I was missing all these years.” She levered up on an elbow, draping herself over him, and kissed him. “Whatever happens next, whatever happens to us…I’m so glad you’re my husband, Ridmark.”
“Yes,” said Ridmark, and he kissed her back. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
Because the future did look grim. He had given the Frostborn a bloody nose, but he knew they would not stop. Worse, the Frostborn were not even their true foe. Imaria was still there, spinning her poisonous webs in the shadows, and she would not stop until the Well was hers and she could free the shadow of Incariel.
But for now, this moment belonged to Ridmark and Calliande and no one else.
Epilogue
The Frostborn, as ever, were undaunted by their defeat. It was one of the things that Imaria Licinius Shadowbearer found useful about them. When they faced setbacks, they did not rage or despair or weep. They simply considered the new facts, recalculated their strategy, and continued their program of conquest.
It was why they made such useful tools. The Weaver had failed her. The Enlightened of Incariel had failed her. Tarrabus had failed her.
The Frostborn would take Tarlion for her.
“Then the appearance of the Dragon Knight makes your course clear, my lords of the Order of the Vanguard,” said Imaria.
She stood with the Frostborn in their camp five miles north of Dun Calpurnia. The Frostborn had withdrawn there after Ridmark and the Keeper had returned, fortifying themselves within walls of ice raised by the khaldjari. That had proven an unnecessary precaution. Arandar’s army was in no shape to pursue, and the dwarves and the manetaurs and the Anathgrimm were still a few days away.
“You must strike for Tarlion at once,” said Imaria. “Leave a force to hold your strongholds in the Northerland, freeze the Moradel, and march south to Tarlion. With the river frozen, you can use it as a highway and reach Tarlion long before anyone can stop you. Once you take the city and the High King’s Citadel, you shall have access to the Well of Tarlion, a mighty source of magical power. With that, you can destroy the kingdoms allied against you one by one.”
The Frostborn shared a look among each other. Imaria knew by now that they could communicate without speech, and no doubt they were debating her plan amongst themselves.
“The Order of the Inquisition agrees with our ally’s assessment of our strategic position,” said Arlmagnava at last.
“Very well,” said Lord Commander Kajaldrakthor. “I shall give the orders. We shall march on Tarlion and cut out the heart of our opposition, and then destroy our foes one by one.”
Imaria inclined her head, keeping her face calm, but her laughter rang inside her head.
The laughter of the shadow of Incariel joined her.
The Frostborn were fools. Powerful, clever, dangerous fools. They had no idea of her true purpose and no idea that their precious world gate was a bomb that would rip open Black Mountain and free Incariel from its prison.
Though it did annoy her very much that Ridmark was still alive.
It annoyed and alarmed her that Ridmark had become the Dragon Knight. Tymandain had underestimated Ridmark, but Imaria would not make the same mistake.
Perhaps the Frostborn would kill Ridmark and the Keeper for her.
But if they didn’t, no matter. Because the Frostborn would give her the Well of Tarlion.
And with the Well of Tarlion, she would free Incariel at last, and humanity would join Incariel in chaos forevermore.
THE END
Thank you for reading FROSTBORN: THE DRAGON KNIGHT. Look for the final chapter of the FROSTBORN series, FROSTBORN: THE SHADOW PRISON, to appear in summer 2017. If you liked the book, please consider leaving a review at your ebook site of choice. To receive immediate notification of new releases, sign up for my newsletter, or watch for news on my Facebook page.
Other books by the author
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Frostborn: The Dragon Knight (Frostborn #14) Page 32