Chapter 29
He leaned forward.
“When she chose to come with me, I swore I would never let her cry again.”
Nicholas looked like a man being flayed alive.
He fell to his knees.
“Please,” he said. “Let me see her. Just once. Let me speak to her once.”
Elijah studied him for a long time.
Then he said, “Fine. Kneel here for twelve hours. If you’re still conscious after that, I’ll let you see her.”
Nicholas dropped to the floor without hesitation.
That night, the first freezing storm of the season swept through the city.
Rain blew in through the open hall. Cold sank into bone. Nicholas knelt straight-backed like a penitent statue, lips blue, body shaking, but he did not move.
Inside the warm house, Katherine sat reading by lamplight when Elijah entered, carrying the damp scent of rain.
“You were outside in that?” she asked, standing to hand him a towel.
He took it and set it aside unused, then stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
“He’s still kneeling,” Elijah said quietly.
Katherine was silent for a moment.
“Will you feel sorry for him?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No.”
Only then did Elijah relax.
“Good,” he murmured, kissing her hair. “Then sleep.”
By morning, Nicholas could no longer stand. He collapsed and had to be dragged to another room. Someone changed his clothes, forced medicine down his throat, and left him to recover.
He woke to wedding drums and music.
Today was the day.
He stumbled from bed and made it to the hall just in time to see Katherine in red.
She was breathtaking.
Gold thread shimmered across her gown. Her face beneath the bridal veil was luminous, calm, untouchable.
When the officiant called for the first bow, something in Nicholas snapped.
“Stop!”