“Ami, I’m serious.”
“Oh really? I thought you were serious when you apologized for treating me like a helpless child.”
I press my lips together. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Again.”
“My bed. My business.”
I reach toward her and lay a feeble punch on her arm. “Not while I’m in it. Dirty harlot.”
She giggles and punches me back. “Haggard prude.” Before I can muster the energy to lay another blow, a knock sounds on the door. I expect it to be Lorelei returning, which means she’ll barge in any moment. When the door remains closed, Amelie springs from the bed to see who’s there.
“Your Highness,” Amelie says. My heart races as Cobalt enters and approaches the bed. I find myself suddenly self-conscious, knowing I couldn’t possibly be pleasant to look at after surviving a near-drowning and sleeping for three days. I do my best to summon an air of confidence and meet his smile with my own. “You’ll forgive me for not standing to curtsy, I hope. I don’t think my aching head would allow it.”
“Only if you’ll forgive me for not better protecting you on our picnic.” There’s remorse in his eyes, hesitation in his voice. He looks like he’s worried I might be angry with him.
It gives me pause, and I choose my words with careful consideration as I navigate the best way to assuage his guilt. “Of course, I forgive you. Besides, if the rumors are to be believed, you did valiantly rescue me.”
“Barely. If I had taken any longer…well, I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”
I blush beneath his gaze and turn away, looking instead at Amelie. She, however, isn’t looking at me at all. Instead she’s swooning over Cobalt. When she finally meets my eyes, she arches a brow. I can almost hear her thoughts.See? So romantic.
Cobalt shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Anyhow, I’d hoped you’d be well enough to join us for dinner, but you still seem out of sorts.”
I cringe at the thought of leaving the bed. “I’ll have to decline tonight, Your Highness. But I thank you for the invitation. And for your concern.”
He turns to Amelie. “You’ll join us, though, won’t you? I’m sure my brother would appreciate your presence.”
She beams at him. “Of course I will.”
My eyes bore into Amelie, and I want to tell her she can’t leave me. It takes all my willpower to remain quiet.I have to trust her to protect herself. Especially when I’m in no position to leave my bed.
“Very good,” Cobalt says. “Dinner should be ready by now. I’ll meet you and the others in the dining room. Would you be so kind to give me a minute more to speak with your sister?”
She looks from him to me, then back again, finally understanding his request for privacy. Again, it’s a struggle not to tell her to stay. “Oh, yes! Yes. Of course.” With a curtsy for him and a smile for me, she leaves the room.
As soon as Cobalt and I are alone, he sits at the edge of the bed. He seems suddenly shy, as if he’s too embarrassed to meet my eyes, his gaze instead fixed on my hand. “I came to see you a few times.”
His words spark a memory, his face looking down at me, my hand in his. Other similar memories flash through my mind, of the other faces who’d come to see me. Amelie, Foxglove, Lorelei, and—strangely—King Aspen. “I briefly remember, but I apologize if we exchanged any words. I remember nothing else.”
He shakes his head. “We didn’t speak. The most you produced was an incomprehensible mumble until now.”
Heat rises to my cheeks. “How humiliating.”
“Humiliated was how I felt when I woke up at our picnic and found you missing. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep.” Finally, he meets my eyes and reaches a tentative hand toward mine until he covers my fingers in his.
I flinch at the touch but don’t pull away. “Your hands are cold.”
He grimaces. “Part of being a nix,” he says. “That’s a kind of sea fae. Do you dislike it? The cold, I mean. Or my touch?”
His vulnerability tugs at my lips, pulling them into a smile. “No, I don’t dislike it.”
He grins, keeping his hand in place. “I really am sorry for not protecting you better.”
I want to argue that I don’t need protecting, but the point would be moot. I’ve already proven the opposite to be true, as much as that fact irritates me to no end. “It’s not your job to protect me. I should have protected myself better.”
His brows knit together. “As your fiancé, itismy job. But it isn’t just duty that makes me want to protect you.” He averts his gaze, expression shy again.
I’m at a loss for words. Could Cobalt have actual feelings for me? I knew he was kind when I first met him. At the picnic, I realized he was easy to be around. But could our relationship mean more to him than a forced arrangement? Could he…likeme?
