“If they understood what was good for you, they would’ve ignored it,” he retorted, and the statement made my knights flinch.
“Why do you even want to be left alone?” Amos groaned with a look of confusion and desperation, as if he himself hadn't benefitted from it at one point.
“Does anybody here know what happened to me?” I snapped, deflecting his question. Why should I answer him? They were too busy chastising my knightsandme to even address the actual event.
Prince Winston, who had been sitting on his throne-like chair and had been quiet the entire time, finally spoke up. “I tried to get Uriel to read your memories, but we soon found out you have a block on Psychic magic.” He gave me his sweet, ire-filled smile. “When are you planning to tell us, princess?”
What — “You told them without consulting me first? It’s my issue!” I screeched at Uriel, who had been observing too, seated in one corner of a couch. Before he could respond, I turned to Winston. “And you wanted to read my memories while I’m asleep? How messed up is that?”
“It was my suggestion,” Vincent admitted, brushing his hair with his fingers. “I knew Strom can read minds, and if it’s the only way to know … for the sake of information, Bea.”
I shot up from the floor, my anger rising. “And nobody spoke out against it? Not any of you?”
A few seconds passed, but nobody declined. My blood boiled much hotter, and it must be so blatant since some of them actually look ashamed. My shaking hands only added to the effect when I swung them around, gesturing to the entire room. “You could’ve just asked me when I woke up! Ever thought of that?”
I couldn’t believe these men. What made them think they were entitled to my mind, to my memories? I already had a lot going on inhere. I didn’t want to think about what could happen if they started messing with it too.
Glancing back down at my knights, the wild anger coursing through me clenched my heart at the sight of them looking so defeated. I needed the whole situation cleared up, or else I might just explode. “Who beat them up?”
“My lady, we offered ourselves for punishment,” Robin quickly cut in.
“It’s what we deserve for failing to protect you,” Reuben added with a choked sound of pain.
“My bodyguard unit did the punishing astheyrequested,” the Prince informed me with a smile. “Six men per knight. Hardly a fair fight, but we weren’t looking for that, anyway.”
And once again, not one of them thought how fucked up it was and stopped it. Was I out of my depth in this situation? This whole shebang was normal in this universe?
It was normal for men, maybe. Stupid, stupid men.
“Heal them,” I said to no one in particular.
Samuel scoffed. “What’s the point of a punishment if they’re going to get healed only a few hours later?”
I didn’t care! I wanted my knights healed!
I wouldn’t have pulled this card, but they left me no choice. “If my knights won’t be healed, it will be a personal offense to me. I hope you men understand that.”
“They were punished for their negligence,” Theodore growled, my threat taking hold. “They deserved this.”
Glancing at the other men in the room, who didn’t protest at Theodore’s statement, only proved they agreed with him. They might look sad or hurt about it; their inaction might make them less guilty, but guilty all the same.
And again, it dawned on me they still didn’t know what had happened to me. They were so focused on punishing my knights; they neglected to ask how I was doing or what the hell I went through. Even the method they chose to find out didn’t involve me awake, when they could have easily gotten first-hand information from me.
I could weep at the absurdity of it all, but my anger was preventing me. I didn’t even get why this was such a big deal to them that they had to punish my bodyguards for me. If anything, I should’ve been the one who decided what to do with them.
This feeling of my autonomy being taken away felt very much like the kidnapping. How fucking sad was that?
I had had enough of this. My brother could heal my knights for me. “Get up, Robin, Reuben. We’re leaving.” They struggled to stand, but they managed.
“You’re not leaving yet,” Claude exclaimed, alarmed. “You haven’t told us what happened to you!”
Nowthey were curious. I laughed, because clearly, I was losing my mind. All I really wanted was to go backhomeas neatly as possible. But everything involving these men was making the endeavor more challenging as the days passed. Why must everything be so complicated?
“I want to go home,” I voiced out my thought after a good laugh.
“You are home,” the Prince stated, gesturing to the room. “You are free to claim any part of this mansion as yours, as the Caregiver of the Champions.”
He didn’t understand. Nobody in this realm could. “I want to gohome,” I repeated. I held each of my knights’ hands to help them walk, heading for the door. The anger in my body thrummed with magic, and I held on to that, too.
