Caspian’s eyes widened and he looked down at Sophia.
What?
Sophia was nobility?
Anger burned in him as he turned back to the woman who had kidnapped his Sophia. “We will take you to Riyel to see justice done, and the king will decide your fate. But let me be clear: whatever the king decides, if you ever touch Sophia again, you will face my wrath.”
He looked at his brother and jerked his chin towards the carriage in the distance. “We will continue our journey in the morning. Until then, I want her under guard where we don’t have to see her.”
Kellan nodded and began barking orders to the guards as Caspian turned his attention back to Sophia.
“Is it true?” he asked her,
“I don’t know,” she said quietly, turning to him. “It could be. It could explain why she didn’t want me where she couldn’t see me, and why I always felt a connection to the portrait of Lord Manning when she forced me to clean the gallery. I just assumed it was because he had a kind face.”
“Is there anyone who would know for sure?” Caspian asked gently.
If it was true…it would change everything.
“Rosaleen would know,” she said softly. “But I don’t know that they’ll take her word against a lady’s.” Her voice wobbled at the end, and she closed her eyes.
Caspian wrapped his arms around her and took a deep breath. “We’ll figure it out in the morning,” he said soothingly. “It’s been a long day, and we don’t have to figure everything out tonight. Let me find you a good place to sleep,” he said softly.
But she shook her head and clung to him. “Don’t leave me,” she said.
Caspian wrapped his arms around her even tighter. “I won’t,” he said. “Let’s find a spot near the fire.”
Dietrich approached with a stack of blankets. “Here you go,” he said roughly.
When she heard his voice, Sophia let go of Caspian and whirled around. “Dietrich,” she cried, immediately hugging him. “Thank you for coming for me,” she said, her words muffled by his shoulder.
Caspian resisted the urge to growl at the sight of his girl hugging another man. But she quickly let go of Dietrich and returned to his side as he accepted two blankets from the pile. He would have to get used to her being friends with the man. He didn’t have to like it, but Dietrich seemed like a good man, and he’d helped save them both.
“Thank you,” Caspian said, reaching out to shake Dietrich’s hand. “I appreciate the search party.”
“Of course,” Dietrich said gruffly. “What’s the point of saving her from freezing to death one winter if you let her die the next?”
Sophia smiled at that, reaching over to clasp Caspian’s hand in hers. “I am thankful that I was rescued in both situations.”
Caspian laid out one blanket near the fire and laid down, waiting for Sophia to sit down next to him before pulling the other blanket over their laps. It was entirely improper for them to share, and his brother would surely tell their mother, but she’d asked him not to leave her, and he couldn’t. Not after everything that had happened.
Dietrich laid out his blanket a few feet away on Sophia’s other side and nodded to Caspian, a nod that said he would guard her other side, while somehow also warning him not to push any boundaries.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Dietrich said, standing at the end of his blankets.
“I’ll take second,” Hopkins volunteered.
Caspian hadn’t even noticed he was among the rescue party, but he smiled at the guard.
“I’ll take third,” his brother volunteered.
Sophia looked around the circle of men who had come to rescue her, her eyes welling up with tears. “Thank you all,” she said.
“Of course,” Kellan said. “If you attack one of us, you attack all of us.”
Caspian reached for her hand. “Let’s get some sleep,” he said. “We have a long ride home tomorrow, and we have many things to figure out.” He laid down and she followed him, resting her head on his chest.
It felt so right.
