Hyacinth paused, her wrinkles pressed tightly together across her face as she put her hands on her hips. “I best meet with Maud. I recall her training many years ago. Perhaps there is something to Savine’s suspicions of the woman.” She seemed to be speaking to herself before she turned to look back at Avery, still soaking in the dirty bath water. “You can have that shower now. I’ll leave you to it.”
Avery found the shower behind a stone wall. Built to fit an army, the shower had a cedar bench around the edge and multiple shower heads. A shower for a king, she guessed as she washed up. Avery began feeling slightly lightheaded as she showered, needing to sit on the bench to rest between soaping her hair. Her body must still be weak, even if she was feeling better.
Savine
Savine couldn’t form words for the relief he felt when he entered his bedchamber to find Avery dressed and eating a hearty bowl of forager’s soup. A smile parted her lips when she looked up at him from the table.
“Thanks for letting me get cleaned up. Are you hungry? Hyacinth got enough soup for both of us.”
Savine closed the space between them and knelt beside her, pulling Avery close. His lips crashed into hers, and he kissed her with an intensity that bordered on pain.
As he pulled away, he scanned Avery, making sure he hadn’t hurt her too much. He hadn’t meant to. Just all the fear, all the concern about her was getting to him. Savine needed Avery to be safe, and he’d kept botching that up.
Avery grinned at him, she was unharmed and looking healthy again. “Wow. That’s a hello. I’m going to need you to greet me like that from now on.”
Savine chuckled as he sat in the chair beside hers. “Goddess help me, I’m just so thankful that you’re alright.”
Avery’s smile diminished. “I’m really sorry for what I did the other day. I shouldn’t have gone after Morgan like that.”
“The thing that matters most to me, Avery, will always be keeping you safe.”
She stretched out her hand to his, squeezing it tight, and Savine felt the warmth of her touch fill him. “No more reckless decisions, I promise. You’ve got enough to deal with. Also, I’m sorry I ruined the first few days I was in Orofine. I’d love a tour, but is it even safe for me to go out?”
Savine thought about the executions he’d ordered over the last few days. Those directly involved in her attack had paid with their lives after Raikin had interviewed them. That had been the only time Savine left Avery’s side. To serve out justice against those who tried to kill his soulmate. He wouldn’t tolerate it. His people would learn to accept Avery, or would pay if they threatened her.
“You’re safe now, Little Flower.”
Avery wrinkled her nose at him. “Did youkillthem?”
Savine tried to make his expression blank, but the raw rage still pumped through him.
“You did, didn’t you? It’s written all over your face.” Avery gave him a teasing smack on the arm. “I’m never going to get used to youkillingpeople to keep me safe. You know it’s not normal.”
Savine frowned. Was Avery lying? Did she not want him to protect her? “Harming you will never be tolerated in this nation. Not with me as king.”
Avery raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m going to be honest, and don’t think too much into it, but, it’s kind of a turn on. I’m not backing down that it’s not normal, at least not for humans, to have this insane level of protectiveness. But there’s something very sexy knowing the extent you’d go to keep me safe. Moving forward, let’s just try to avoid any unnecessary killings.”
“There will be no more threats to you here. The rebels are back from Bayberry, and the city and the King's Residence are secure. The Night of Feasts is just two days away, and there will be a celebration in our honor.” There was so much more they needed to discuss. So much that they’d left unresolved back in Nephel. Avery had shown up, just like she promised, but did that mean she wanted to be bound to him? Would she accept the role that being his soulmate would put her in? It felt better to not know than ask.
But just as if she read his mind, Avery said, “Before we have a celebration to honor both of us, maybe we can discuss where this is going?”
Savine felt his essence wriggle beneath his skin as he sat rigid in his chair. Here it came, the rejection he’d feared for weeks now.
Avery sighed and squeezed his hand. “I’ve had a few weeks to think about it. Between training and hanging out in Nephel, it’s all I’ve been thinking about. You know I’m adverse to responsibility. I always have been, and had no plans on changing my lifestyle at home. It’s been tough for me, seeing myself as a queen, or consort, or whatever we choose to call it. Plus you need to win your people over, and that’s not going to happen if you have to keep killing them on my account.”
Savine’s heart rattled against his rib cage. “What are you trying to say?”
Avery laced her fingers through his, looking at him with a kind of longing that made him dread her next words.
“I can’t be Latiah’s queen. It’s like the assassin thing again. I’m not ready for the role, and I feel like it’s an insult to your folk if I take that role.”
Savine pulled his hand from hers and pushed himself out of his chair. He was across the room in seconds, looking out over the city below. His hands shook as he grasped the windowsill.
Avery was rejecting him. She came back just to tell him this news in person. There was no denying that he’d worried for weeks over this, knowing that she couldn’t possibly choose him.
His own heart was beating so wildly that it was all he could hear, and Avery’s touch on his shoulder made him flinch. She tugged at him, turning him to face her.
“Savine, just listen. Please. I can’t be queen, but I want to be with you. All I could think about when I was away from you was how alive you make me feel. How you make me feel more at home than I’ve ever felt in my life. Nobody is going to take that from me, because, well, I love you. I love you, Savine, and I don’t want to spend another day without you. Now that I know you, now that I’ve met you, I can’t imagine living my life without you in it.” She looked up at him, and he was beyond words. Never did he think this was what she was about to confess to him.
