“But then he could rebuild faster.”
“Yes, but it’s not about rebuilding. It’s not about cost.”
“Then what is it about? Please. I’ll do anything he needs,” I said.
“Svana, relax. If your Sword loves you, this will pass. In the meantime, if he’s feeling uneasy, and you trulylovehim? Your role is to reassure him. That’s it.”
“How do I do that?”I asked.
“You won’t like it,” he said.
“I don’t care! Tell me,” I said. “Tell me, I will reassure him however I must.”
“You respect his space. You let him process his grief, and only when you’re prompted, you reassure him he is more than the material. More than he could ever give you physically. That all things physical pass and that your affection, your attraction to him exceeds the constructs of the physical.”
“How do I reassure him of that if he won’t speak to me?” I asked. “What if he does not prompt me to speak?”
“If his affection matches yours, he will,” he said. “Give it time.”
“But-”
“When you spoke to him, you were in the corridor with the Prince, correct? The man you’ll be marrying in a month’s time?” he asked.
I nodded.
“The man who also happens to be the man who employs him, yes? Who lives in the Palace he is staying in, and who owns what… endless amounts of clothes and jewels?” he asked. “Who will make you Queen?”
“Those things don’t matter to me,” I said. “And I am Queen regardless of if I marry Sameer or not. That is my birth right.”
“You don’t care for these things because you’ve never had to want for them,” he said. “For the rest of us, for those of us who were born poor or orphans or less, they matter. They remain a clear indicator of where a man stands in the world of ladies and kings. If I were in a similar position, I’d fear a comparison between myself to the Crown, and I would react to that, for better or for worse. It’s human nature.”
“But,” I huffed. “But I don’tlovethe Prince,” I said. “I love Mr. Evergreen.”
“Regardless of if you love the Prince, you’re going to marry him,” he said. “Believe me. Mr. Evergreen is well aware of that fact. I’d wager he spends little time thinking of much else.”
“Fine. But that still does not answer the question, Eli. How do I quell his insecurities if he won’ttalkto me?” I asked.
“He will.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“I don’t know. I suppose if he takes his time, you’ll do what you always do. Talkathim. Eliminate the choice in the matter. If you are as matched as you believe, he’ll expect it.”
“Well,” I started. “Well, that’s actually– Icouldactually do that. Nevermind the commentary in there somewhere, Lord Commander.”
He grinned slowly.
“Fine,” I said more confidently. “Then escort me to–”
“No,”he said. He scowled, picking up his book again. “It’s nearly midnight. Go to sleep.”
I groaned, collapsing back into the bed. A moment later, I asked. “Why does it matter if we slept together?”
He turned another page. “Because. If he had taken advantage of you and then ignored you, I would have had to have a nice conversation with him.”
I squinted, processing. “…So if we had been intimate and he was acting this way, then what would that mean?” I asked. “And is that… all intimacy or just sex?”
Elías looked up at me. He looked back down at his book. “Men who change their interests after intimacy are womanizers,” he said. “Rakes.”
