I swallow a bitter knot down as I nod my head. “And on paper, it’s less so for you to marry a supposed commoner.”
His head tilts to the side, a concerned look drawing his brows together. “You know I don’t care about that. I don’t love you because you happen to be a princess, and the council can do nothing about it but annoy me with their questions. I don’t want to subject you to that. They will not be kind about it.” He speaks as if from experience, and my stomach sinks at the thought of him enduring their tongue lashings at my expense. He forces a smirk to lift the corner of his mouth as he glides his fingers down my arm. “Don’t give me that look, Sunshine. It’s not anything I’m not used to, nor is it anything that keeps me up at night.”
“But it makes sense for them to want to question me, doesn’t it? For safety? You could help prepare me for it. I just— I don’t like having to lie more than we already do. If interviewing me gets the council off your back and makes them feel more comfortable about ourarrangement, then I don’t see why I shouldn’t do it.”
His smirk falls slowly as he studies me, likely trying to think of a reason that will convince me that it’s better to let him carry the weight of this invisible burden. But I can’t let him do that, not after what we promised to each other.
Rising up onto my toes, I cradle his face in my hands. “Nox, I’m not interested in standing by and letting life happentome anymore. I know you want to bear this responsibility on your own, but you can’t ask me to let you in to help if you aren’t willing to do the same for me.”
I had already done so much in the weeks since I woke up from my time in the Middle that I never thought I would. I felt bolder than ever,strongerthan ever. Which wasn’t exactly saying much when the bar of measurement for those things was so low, but it felt like it could be enough to do this too.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers as he wraps his arms tightly around me, squeezing me to his chest.
“You are more deserving than anyone in this existence. There isonlyyou.” I repeat his words back to him before grazing his lips with my own. Our kiss is gentle and sweet, a language spoken and understood that is all our own.
When we separate, Nox nods his head in concession. “Okay. I will help prepare you to meet with the council.”
Cassius meets us on the training grounds, and we spend the rest of the day working on my Forms. I’m waiting for that moment where I feel as good as Nox looks after one of his own sparring sessions with Cassius, but so far, all I’ve managed to feel is exhaustion.
After a ten minute cool down, which mostly involves Nox rubbing my sore muscles and infusing his magic into them to take the pain away, I’m led towards a table of different weapons that Cassius set up before Nox and I arrived.
“Okay, Blondie,” he says, clapping his hands out in front of him. “Everyone in the Mage Kingdom goes through basicweapons training where they learn to handle each of these with beginner-level skill. However, many choose to hone in on a specialty. Bahira’s is the spear, while Nox is a master swordsman. I, myself, am not too bad with daggers.” He slips a short dagger from its sheath on the broad dark leather strap going across his chest. Most of what Cassius wears is leather armor, the material covering all the major points of contact on his body—shoulders, torso, and thighs. He also has leather vambraces that lace up from his wrist to his elbows. Beneath the leather, he wears tunics of varying colors—today’s is dark green—and black trousers. He flips the dagger across his knuckles before catching it by its metal tip and then extending it out hilt first to me. “See how it feels in your hand.”
Impressed, I wrap my fingers around the silver and black stone handle, the slender dagger uniquely beautiful.
“I could teach you the art of slashing your enemies up close. It’s an intimate way to watch the light leave someone’s eyes.” His eyebrows tip inward towards his nose, a feline expression pulling the corners of his mouth up.
My eyes widen as I stare at him until Nox barks out a laugh and shoves Cassius in the shoulder. “The only thing Cass has ever witnessed dying is his own pride every time he fails to woo a potential partner.”
“Hey!” his best friend shouts, throwing his arms out to the side.
I laugh, holding his dagger back out to him. “Maybe something a little lessintimate,” I suggest, turning back to the table. There are swords of all sizes—some so long that they might be two-thirds of my own height.
“Shortswords might be a good place to start,” Nox states, seeing where my eyes have gone.
But those don’t exactly feel right either, the glistening blades too similar to the weapons used by the King’s Guard. DespiteCassius’ teasing, I don’t want to train with a weapon purely for the ability to kill someone. I want to learn so that I can defend myself. Maybe it is stupid to think of those things as being distinctly different, but to me, they are. I take note of the many intricate daggers, some have pommels filled with sparkling multicolored jewels and swirling designs in different hues of metal. There are wooden clubs that look like they weigh more than I do, short axes and hammers, and even a spiked metal ball attached to a wooden handle by a chain. I am drawn to none of them, and it isn’t until I reach the very end of the table that I find something that sparks my interest.
My fingers brush against the feathered end of an arrow as Cassius leans his hip against the table’s edge, his eyes dancing with glee. “A bow? I like it,” he says with a playful nod, picking up the large curved bow and handing it to me. “Yes, I think this is a very good choice. Don’t you, Nox?”
My gaze lifts to his as he dips his chin, a glorious smile on his handsome face. “An archer. It’s perfect, Sunshine.”
They spend the remaining daylight hours teaching me all about how to nock an arrow, swapping the larger bow for one that looks like it’s fit for a child. My feeble arms are still too weak to draw it back very far. Despite how poorly my attempts start, there is a sense of rightness within me at learning to wield this weapon. Maybe it is intuition, or perhaps even Selene guiding me somehow, but as we pack up the weapons, the sun now resting for the day and the moon high in the nighttime sky, I can’t help but feel a trickle of pride work its way into my heart.
Chapter Forty-Nine: Rhea
SUNSHINE,
LEAVING YOU THIS MORNING WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. I’VE FOUND THAT WAKING UP TO YOUR KNEE DIGGING INTO MY SIDE AND YOUR HAIR SPLAYED ACROSS MY FACE IS MY FAVORITE THING. I’LL BE WITH MY FATHER MOST OF THE DAY TODAY, BUT IF YOU NEED ME, LET BARRON KNOW. HAVE FUN TRAINING, AND I’LL SEE YOU LATER TONIGHT.
I LOVE YOU.
ONLY YOURS,
NOX
Smiling, I lay the letter back on the table at the side of the bed and stretch my arms overhead. The council’s reprieve did not last more than a few days before they proclaimed that Nox should return to his duties as heir. Apparently, there is a lot to catch up on from the four years he was gone and the advisors are eager to make sure Nox does so.
Moving from the bed, I walk into the sitting room, grabbing some stationery from one of the bookcases and taking a seat at the larger square table. Tapping my pen on the corner of the paper, I smile as I remember all of the notes we passed when he was still a nameless guard and I was a lonely prisoner.
