Heart of Embers (Thorin Oakenshield Love Story)

Chapter 59

The wind moaned as it rose and fell on the silent battlefield. Thorin stood motionless, staring at the bodies that littered the rock, the blood that had already congealed. His kin. They were all dead. He would not see or talk to them again.

He swallowed, blinking as for a second he was staring at the main gate of Erebor, the bodies of his soldiers scattered throughout the hallway. Pain and grief speared his heart, his very soul. He knew he would never forget this. Any of it. Knew it would haunt him for as long as he lived. He wished there was a way to honour them, the dwarves who had given their lives for this useless battle. Wished there was a way to honour his beloved dead, the mother and grandfather and perhaps father that he had lost.

"Thorin."

His breath pushed from his body as he heard that voice, gentle and understanding and full of pity and her own grief. As he knew that when he turned he would see his queen, the one person he could not live without, who would always be there for him.

"Arien," he murmured, his voice slightly choked as he faced her, scanning her body for injury. There were scratches and grazes all over her, but apart from that... nothing.

She was alive. Alive. She was safe.

He had not lost her.

Relief threatened to buckle his knees. She was alive.

She reached for him, burying her head in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, breathing her in.

"Are you all right?" she murmured.

On a physical level –– yes, he was fine. But he was grief-stricken, and filled with anger at his grandfather for letting this happen. But he rested his chin on her head and replied

"I'm fine. What about you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm..." She pushed away from him, looking up, searching his face. "Thorin, I... Someone came to me, toward the end of the battle. He warned me not to enter Moria. That Durin's Bane still dwells within its walls. He said if we entered those mines, we would be destroyed."

Thorin stared at her in slight shock. "Who? Who was he, Arien?"

"I don't know," she replied. "But... Thorin, I think he's right. If Durin's Bane really is still there, then we will be destroyed."

She was right, Thorin thought. But if Durin's Bane was not there...

He took a deep breath.

"I will go," he told her. "I will check myself."

"You can't do that," she objected. "You could be killed. I can't lose you now."

He smiled gently. "I love you, Arien," he murmured.

"Thorin," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tip-toe to kiss him. He closed his eyes as he put his arms around her, pulling her against him, deepening the kiss.

After what seemed like a long time, she drew back, running her fingers over his face. For a second he let himself savour her touch, the knowledge that she was alive. That she was his. Would always be.

She brushed her thumb over his cheek and smiled. His eyes drifted shut.

"I should..." He gritted his teeth as her fingers slid into his hair. "I should go check if there is... anything there."

She nodded, but brushed a kiss to his lips.

"Please be careful," she murmured.

He smiled, squeezing her hand. "I will, Arien. I'm not going to die."