His chest straightened at my back, his single-handed grip on the reins making his knuckles turn white. The tip of his nose grazed my ear and, without thinking, I tilted my head to the left, an open challenge to see what he would do.
I didn’t even know what Iwantedhim to do. I’d once thought of him as a distraction—someone who just so happened to be around when my world was caving in, an easy way to distance myself from memories too unbearable to face. Maybe that’s what I needed again.
But he knew it, too. He let out a long breath and pressed his forehead into the back of my head before pulling away. “I won’t be a way for you to ignore your problems, Rose,” he whispered. Not accusatory, but tenderly. With a hint of strain, as if he were refraining from doing exactly that. “You need to rest. I promise, we can talk later.”
Instead of the sting of rejection, his words left me surprisingly…at peace. Full instead of hollow. I settled against him, and as his hand splayed protectively across my stomach, I felt like something cherished. Something precious worth holding as opposed to wielding.
And just for this moment, I pretended it was true.
When we reached the cottage,I’d calmed enough for exhaustion to creep in. Every inch of me was tired. My eyelids were barely able to stay open as Leo helped me dismount. I slumped against him, nearly falling over my own feet while he guided me through the doors.
“What’s wrong with her?” I heard him ask, but it sounded distant and muffled, my brain already halfway asleep.
“It’s that potion,” Rissa answered. “Lark said it had side effects. That’s why she wanted her to see a healer when she woke up, but…”
My neck rolled onto my shoulder. Leo put a hand behind my knees and easily swept me off the floor. I inhaled the scent of sandalwood and vanilla mixed with the night’s wind and leaves.
“You saw how she reacted,” he said, charged and defensive. “I wasn’t about to force her back to the palace. Lark will get over it.”
Rissa gave an exasperated sigh, one I recognized all too well as the sound of an older sibling resisting the urge to throttle their little brother. “You don’t have to snap at me, Leo. I’m not arguing with you. Just take care of her, alright?”
“I can still hear you, you know,” I mumbled into Leo’s chest.Big hands cradled me closer as he carried me across the living room. I peeked out from my fortress to see us entering a narrow hallway, one I hadn’t noticed the last times I’d been here. Three doors lined the path, and when he carefully kicked one of them open, it revealed a small, neat bedroom.
A large bed rested against the center of the back wall, black sheets and a slate gray blanket folded on top. In the corner beneath a window stood a desk and wooden chair, and next to it, a waist-high bookshelf with a handful of books stacked on the shelves. I would bet anything they were in alphabetical order—unlike my own collection at home, which was organized by whatever mood I’d been in at the time. There were hardly any personal items or pieces of decor, besides a framed photo of Leo, Rissa, and what I assumed were his parents atop the desk.
The sight of Branock Aris sent a pang through me—he looked so much like Leo, with their strong jaws, sharp eyes, and dark hair. I turned away, too weary to give that man any more of my attention.
“Room could use a bit of color, Aris,” I taunted weakly, covering my yawn with the back of my hand as he set me on the edge of his bed.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He lowered to his knees before me, and suddenly, my exhaustion slipped away.
“What are you doing?”
He glanced up with a smirk that sent a horde of butterflies loose in my stomach. Silently, he reached for my right ankle, gripping my calf as he slowly pulled my boot off. Even through my leggings, the heat of his touch was searing. He moved to my other boot and repeated the process without taking his eyes off me, his fingers lingering on the inside of my leg.
I bit my bottom lip. He was toying with me, as I’d often done to him. Helping take my mind off the terrors pressing against me.
It was working.
He stood and made his way to the head of the bed. Pulling the sheets back, he beckoned me to climb under them. The soft fabricbeneath my fingers was a welcoming embrace, making my eyelids grow heavy as he positioned the blanket around me. The bed shifted when he eased himself off, and I threw out my arm to grab his hand.
“Wait—where are you going?” I asked sleepily.
“To talk with my sister. Go to sleep, little wolf. It’s late.”
My limbs felt like lead and I couldn’t pry my eyes open, but I held onto his fingers for a moment longer. “Will you come back?”
He paused, then asked, “Do you want me to?”
The effects of the potion, my own sleep-deprived mind, and the security of finally being somewhere safe seemed to have completely erased my filter for the night. “Yes,” I slurred, my arm falling and tucking beneath me as I curled under the blanket. “I want you to come back.”
The only response was something soft skimming my cheek as sleep dragged me below the surface.
42
Rose
Iwas in the middle of a bloody battlefield.
