But she could feel the chest rising and falling at her back, the soft lips that pressed to the back of her neck and then her shoulder, causing a deliberate chill to run down her spine… And as much as she wanted to turn around and see his face, she fell deeply back asleep before she could.
The most peaceful slumber she’d ever experienced wrapped around her consciousness, and she fell into a darkness she didn’t want to pull herself out of.
He was not in her bed when she woke up.
The sun had not yet risen.
But she smelled the smoke of his herb in the air.
She pulled herself out of bed and grasped one of the crutches in her hand. Draven was sitting on the lounge chair on the deck, one leg bent into his chest, the other laying lazily flopped down at the side. His back was leaned against the wood of it, pipe between his fingers as he exhaled the smoke into the air.
She sat herself down on the floor of the deck and leaned her back against the doorframe. The noises of crickets filled her ears along with the final noises of the Noctuans as they relished their final night of hunting. She sighed, feeling a smile rise on her lips, as she heard the sound of the Wyverdraki song echoing in the still air.
“You should come back during another,” Draven said without looking to her.
She watched him puff on the pipe and exhale again. “I think it’d be hard to keep me away,” she heard herself say.
The look he gave her beneath his brows made her heart warm in her chest. “The sun will rise soon. We should get you packed.”
He rose from the chair and tucked his pipe on the table by the chair.
He helped her pack her things with few words, making sure she had all her dresses and shirts, making fun of the smell of her dirty clothes upon gathering them from the floor.
“I didn’t realize queens were capable of smelling so…ripe,” he mocked, picking up one of her dresses.
She resisted the urge to throw something at his face. “The stench, if there is one, is your fault—”
“You were crippled. Did you think I would have my people wash your pretty dresses for you?” he asked, brow raised at her. “What if they’d ruined the lace on one?”
She felt a smile on her face at his banter, and she shook her head. “You could have shown me where the wash was. I would have washed them.”
A great laugh left him. “That I should have liked to see. A Promised Queen doing her own laundry. Next time you’re here, I’ll show you.”
The smile spread full across her lips then, and she folded the shirt neatly in her hands. “I’d like that.”
It wasn’t long before she was all packed, and Draven sat her bags on the lounge chair outside, before he turned to face her. His hands were shoved in his pockets, hair falling over his arms as his shoulders rounded at her.
She watched him as he rubbed his neck, words sitting on his tongue but not flowing out his mouth. Her heart was in her throat. She didn’t know what to say, how to act...
“You’ll let me know if something arrives on the shores, not my brother. I am in charge of security of our kingdom. Not him,” she finally decided to say.
He nodded. “Of course.”
She swallowed hard as she stared at him. “Draven, I—”
He started to lean down, and she knew he meant to kiss her, but she pushed on his chest, pulling back before he could reach her. His eyes narrowed slightly, and she shook her head at him as an emptiness filled her core.
“I’m not sure we should… whatever this is… I don’t know that it’s a good idea,” she managed.
“Since when do you care what others think?” he asked in a low voice.
She felt her jaw clench. “Since it is you and I’d rather you not be beheaded by someone that isn’t me.”
His eyes flickered something she didn’t expect - a sadness she did not ever think she would see expressed on him. But it was gone within the second that he blinked, and the stern, arrogant stare she was accustomed to covered his features once more. His nostrils flared, and he avoided her eyes.
“Your brother will be expecting you with your Second before lunch,” he said coldly. “Keep him waiting and he’ll think I’ve kidnapped you again.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. She paused at the rope, her hand resting on the threads as she faced him again. “Goodbye, Draven.”
