Earnest eyes met mine. “This is more important.”
I watched him leave the room, still stunned that he’d given me his trust. It was over a trivial matter, but the implication behind it wassomuch more. And I felt it in the weight that lifted from my shoulders, the way relief and something else feathered through my chest.
“So,” Merelda said, thankfully waiting for the door to close before asking, “have you two kissed?”
Chapter 13
I’d always labeled Marsik as a drunk. Now, I knew that only applied to one version of him.
The other version, the one I’d never seen before in my life, was a skilled warrior with survival instincts that hadn’t faded with age. It was that version that brought him and Merelda to the Citadel.
As they ate their meal, they told me the tale, one I wouldn’t have believed if they weren’t right before me. Not long after I was taken, armed men came to our village, asking for Merelda. Our neighbors warned them, and they snuck away unnoticed. In Marsik’s words, which he’d delivered with a smirk,young soldiers always underestimate us old dogs.
From there, they moved further into Second Territory, relying on Marsik’s acquaintances from his army days to house them. Two weeks into their flight, they saw a scroll posted to a village wall asking for their whereabouts, signed with Princeps Theo’s royal seal. That same night, as they dined in the corner of a tavern, their hoods pulled high, they overheard rumors of themagvis, a young woman with gold and violet eyes in Princeps Harthon’s possession. Merelda claimed it was motherly instinct, and they came, evading Koerlyn’s patrols in Third and even Harthon’s in Fourth until they arrived. The battle had madeit easier, distracting both Princepes’ forces so they could slip through unnoticed, even at their slow pace.
I’d stared at Marsik when they finished, a new image of him forming in my mind. It helped that he hadn’t requested wine with his meal.
After hearing their story, I explained how I came to be in the Citadel, the events of the past few weeks, and what I was going to do. I hid no truths. But I also didn’t get very detailed about, well, thefeelingsandbetrayalspart of what’d happened. That wasn’t a conversation I was about to have in front of Marsik.
Merelda gave me a knowing smile as she patted my leg, saying, “There is much more to talk about, I’d imagine. But we have tomorrow, and it would be wise for us to rest.”
I wanted to tell her to share the bed with me, but that would be selfish. After all they’d been through, she needed to bathe and have the comfort of her own space.
I retrieved Harthon from the hallway, who personally escorted us to their guest quarters. Once more, stairs were involved, and he saved Merelda the pain of taking them herself. And once more, she nearly swooned, much to my embarrassment.
After a hug I never wanted to end, I stood in the hallway with Harthon, unable to turn away from her closed door.
All this time, I’d thought I might feel some semblance of peace when we were reunited. It was all I’d wanted. But now that she was actually here, I couldn’t stop myself from worrying. About her leg, or whether the next person who threatened me would target her, or the state of her health after she’d spent weeks journeying through the Territories.
I might as well have spoken my thoughts out loud, because Harthon reassured, “Their rooms will be guarded, and the healer is already on his way.”
I nodded, but I still couldn’t pull myself away.
Fingers slid beneath my chin and guided it away from the door. His thumb smoothed across my jaw as our eyes met. “There’s nothing you can do for her right now. She’s safe. And you need rest.”
There were no more noises coming from the Conquering Day celebration. The event had started late to begin with, and hours had passed since we left. It felt like I’d lived another entire day since Merelda arrived.
Harthon must have sensed my acceptance, because his hand skated to my back and nudged me alongside him. I stole a glance at him as we climbed the stairs, considering all he’d just done for Merelda. Forme.
He’d left his celebration to take care of us. Skies, he’d stood in my hallway,staring at the wallfor hours while we’d talked, the celebration continuing without him.
I struggled to find the right words.
Icouldn’tfind them, but I needed to express them, so as we halted outside my room, words became impulse. My hands landed on his shoulders, and I went to my toes, bringing my lips to his.
He met me halfway. Just like after my attack, it was a simple brush of lips, a short and tender gesture. But unlike before, there was a tightening in my belly when it ended. Because now I was remembering our dance. Remembering that I wasfeeling, and that all my prior excuses were no longer relevant.
Harthon stilled as he read the message in my eyes. One I wasn’t trying at all to hide.
No, Iwantedhim to see it.
I wanted him to do something about it.
His arm snaked around me to open the door, the knob in his throat bobbing. “Let me help you with the crown. It can get snared easily.”
Always taking care of me.
As he followed me inside, I was aware of every movement he made, his presence like a physical caress along my back. I stopped before the mirror, entranced as he came up behind me, leashed power in every step. I was no weak, delicate woman, and with his capable form looming over me, I didn’t feel like one, either.
