It was clear in the way dismissed all of us that he’d needed some time alone to cool down and process that interaction with his parents, but something wasn’t sitting right within me. Anxiety and worry twisted around inside of me, yet I knew if I told the others what I wanted to do, they’d never let me go alone. My eyes darted to the bathroom where Ronan had just disappeared. I’d opted to go last, so it would be awhile until my turn.
“I’m going to go check on Niz, I know today hasn’t been easy on him,” I admitted as I stood from my nook and took quick steps toward the door, not wanting to give anyone time to disagree. Thankfully, Ronan was the most overbearing one, so my words were simply met with a suspicious look from Steele and a nod from Gabe and Bash.
I didn’t like the way I could feel Steele’s heavy gaze on my back as I pushed our doors open. I needed to be quick. Shutting them behind me, I turned to look at the two guards standing stoically on either side of me, staring at the wall in front of us. They wore thick armor, the material unknown to my eye, with the black and green wyvern emblem from the flags etched into their chest pieces.
“Can one of you tell me which direction…” I stumbled on my words as I thought of how to address Niz. “Which way did the crown prince go?”
That was going to take some getting used to. Honestly, I still wasn’t completely surehowI felt about Niz being a future king. The only experience I’d had with someone in power was my father and that had been far from a good experience.
Still, I couldn’t deny that our arrival here had changed him—even if it was only in the presence of others.
The guards’ heads swiveled toward one another, seeming to have a conversation with their eyes as I waited awkwardly. Their heads swiveled back, training their attention on the empty wall ahead of them.
So that’s how it would be.
Trying to appear confident, I dropped my hands to my sides so I couldn’t fidget with them and lifted my chin. “I’m supposed to meet him, and he won’t take kindly to knowing I was late due to either of you. Let’s avoid that, shall we? Or we can wait until he undoubtedly comes looking for me, and I’ll let you explain my tardiness.”
The haughty words tasted like ash on my tongue, but it was clear from the king’s warning, and the suspicious nature of everyone around us, that playing nice wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I needed to exude confidence and a sureness in my plans that I lacked naturally.
It took a few more awkward seconds of me literally fiddling my thumbs before one of them relented. “I will escort you to his royal chamber. Do not leave my side or I will be forced to take action.”
Though his words were matter-of-fact, the threat was clear: I wasn’t trusted and would be dealt with accordingly, no matter my connection to the prince.
I couldn’t blame them. We were strangers, and clearly not wyverns.
I offered a tight nod and held my hand out. “Lead the way. I promise to stay on your heels.”
Despite trying my best to remember the turns and number of stairs we climbed, I was certain I’d never be able to find my way back to our suite without help. This definitely wouldn’t be a quick trip. My lips twisted into a grimace at the scene the guys would likely make once they grew weary of waiting for me.
I actually felt a little bad for the lone guard who would bear their wrath.
After a walk that took several minutes, we approached a long corridor that was lined with five guards on either side. What took me by surprise was a woman pleading with a guard near the lone door at the far end. Her words were loud enough to carry down to us as we approached.
“How dare you not let me enter!” she spat while tossing her wavy, lavender hair over her shoulder. Her head tilted up as her hand, held down at her side, tightened into a fist. “I am his betrothed. Since when am I denied access to his chambers?”
Instantly, I stalled, feet sticking to the smooth floor as her words washed over me like an ice-cold waterfall plunging me beneath its depths. I was a prisoner at the bottom of the unrelenting water, constantly being tossed around as she continued on.
“This isn’t new information, Captain Soliel,” she practically purred, raising a hand to rest on the man’s armored chest. “This engagement has been on-going for the past five years, chosen and endorsed by the king and queen themselves. Are you suddenly denying their will?”
None of this made sense. Niz was…engaged?
The guard’s eyes narrowed on her hand before taking a step back and closer to the door. “Illia, you know as well as I do that the prince lives by his own rules. I’m under his command in this post, and his instructions are that no one—” He paused, eyes darting to me and the guard approaching.
His gaze slid over me in an almost clinical way, noting my features from head to toe. Recognition sparked in his eyes before the stony look returned to his face once more. He nodded in my direction before calmly stating, “No one except for her is allowed to enter.”
I gasped, as if coming up for air for the first time since hearing this woman’s words. Her head snapped in my direction, and her glowing silver eyes speared through my chest, directly to my soul. The hatred radiating from her felt as hot as the intensity of the sun reaching its peak during the day, scorching everything beneath it. Her beauty and rage were equally undeniable, yet I couldn’t focus on her.
Her words dipped in and out, yelling at the guard, “Youmustlet me in, now!”
I tried to focus on her, but Instead, my mind was flooded with all of my memories with Niz, the small and big moments with him as a wyvern and now in his true form. The snout kisses,the gentle caresses, the gravitational pull between us. My brow knitted together. He couldn’t have made all of that up…right? I deflated at the thought, my shoulders rolling forward as I lost all the confidence I’d been clinging to.
Did it even matter if this was real between us? If he was truly engaged to this woman, we couldn’t act upon our feelings.
Footsteps stomped toward me, snapping me out of my thoughts just in time to see a hand raised back as she stopped in front of me. I didn’t have time to think, reacting on instinct instead. My hand closed around her wrist just before her fingers could make contact with my cheek.
“Absolutely not.” I bit out, proud of myself for intercepting her attack.
Our gazes clashed as I gritted my teeth, trembling at the force in which she was still exerting to move her hand to hit me.
