My voice caught, and I swallowed. “I told her what I thought of her. She locked me in a dark room and punished me with magic pain.” I tapped my chest. “She just poured it inside of me.”
Bylur stiffened, and his voice came out hard. “A human ten-year old. How close is that to adulthood?”
“About half way.” I rubbed my chest, and he shifted a hand up to hold mine.
“That is terrible. If I knew how to find her, I would stop her from ever hurting another child again.” His voice was low and dark, and I knew he meant every word. “It would be ethical to decimate the entire palace to end such cruelty to children.”
A shiver ran down my back. That was more violent than I’d expected. “They weren’t all like that. I only escaped because another elf broke the magic that she used to punish me and snuck me out of the castle. He took me to the edge of their kingdom and told me to follow a path to Hemlit’s castle. The elf prince therewas supposed to be more helpful, but there was some curse on his palace at the time. I settled into a life of servant work and stealing in the cities around the cursed capital until I grew up.”
“And you were never arrested?”
I smirked into his tunic. “Never properly caught. At least, not until the day I met you.”
He shifted. “Was it my fault they found you?”
I shook my head. “No. I was bound to get caught eventually. Everything just happened to go wrong that day.”
“Not everything.” His hand stilled on my back. “I am glad you ran into my grotto.”
A heat blossomed in my chest. After all the things I’d done that had interrupted and complicated his life, he was glad to have me here. I wrapped both arms around his waist and leaned my face against his chest. “Me too.”
He pressed a kiss into the hair on the top of my head, surrounding me in a warm feeling of perfect bliss. He held me—me and my worst memories and biggest faults and constant fears—wrapped up in the safety between his arms and a sweet kiss.
And I never wanted to leave.
* * *
I woke up with a start when the bed collapsed beneath me.
Morning sunlight streamed in the window. I had fallen asleep leaning against Bylur—in his fae form—in the middle of the night. Now he was a bear. I scrambled away from him and the broken side of the bed.
He groaned and stretched his front legs out in front of him like a dog waking up. “I must have fallen asleep holding you,” he grumbled. “My apologies.”
“Oh no.” I slid off my side of the bed. “Don’t you dare apologize for being amazing.”
“Amazing?” He arched one big, white brow. “Breaking the bed is amazing?”
I shrugged. “It’s not your fault you weigh as much as a house.”
The door to the bedroom slammed open, and Ivodar rushed in from the sitting room with his sword drawn. He saw Bylur and skidded to a stop. Then his gaze skipped to the bed, to me, and finally stayed on his feet as he bowed. “My lady. I heard the crash from my post in the hall and thought you had an intruder. I didn’t realize your pet…”
I grabbed my robe off the chair next to the bed and wrapped it over my night dress. “I appreciate your attention, Ivodar. As you can see, I’m fine. Bylur suggested that the bear come inside the castle.”
“Yes, my lady.” He bowed again and hustled back out. The door from the sitting room to the hall clicked loudly as he returned to his post.
“Bylursuggested?” The bear’s gravelly voice couldn’t hide his humor.
I grinned at him. “You didn’tnotsuggest it.”
“Sometimes,” he growled, “your lies are terribly adorable.”
I threw a pillow at his head. “Turn around so I can change clothes.”
He huffed and batted at the pillow but plopped his rump down on the floor facing away from me. “You let me hold you all night, but now you want privacy?”
I hung the nightdress and robe in the wardrobe, stepped into a day dress, and reached behind me to work on the buttons. “I’m no longer reeling from a nightmare. I’m sure I’ll have all kinds of ideas about modesty now.” Would I, though? My face heated as I realized I would enjoy snuggling up against Bylur any night, whether or not I had nightmares.
He dropped his head to the ground, still facing away from me. “Would that I could enter your mind and slay the demons you’ve carried all these years.”
