Thorin’s brows furrow skeptically. “Zeke trusts her now?”
“Not yet,” I say with a shake of my head. Zeke won’t come around that easily. “But I think he’s warming up to the idea.”
“Great,” Thorin spits out like a curse as he wraps clean gauze around my shredded palm.
I shrug, feeling defeated and relieved at the same time. “We have no one to blame but ourselves. We kept pushing them together to make life easier for all of us. We can’t be upset with them now that it’s finally working.”
“He’s being reckless,” Thorin maintains like I hadn’t spoken. “We didn’t know then that Bane could apparently pop up whenever the fuck he wants, and what he seems to want is Aurelia. Seth and Zeke were able to stop him before any damage was done, but what if they can’t next time?”
“We keep training her. Tomorrow, you need to teach her how to use the tranquilizer gun.”
Thorin spits out another string of vicious curses that I take as agreement.
“What are you two girls whispering about?” a soft but dry voice interrupts.
Thorin pauses mid-fuckand the two of us turn toward the kitchen entrance where Aurelia is standing with Zeke hovering close behind her. She takes one look at my bandaged hand, and the suspicious expression fades as she rushes over and takes my hand.
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing. Broke a glass.” The worried pinch between her brows doesn’t ease until I lift her joined hands and kiss the back of hers. “Come on, Goldilocks. I want to show you something.”
I pull her out of the kitchen, and I can feel Thorin and Zeke following as I lead our girl down the stairs and into the basement. The outward trepidation she used to feel when coming down here is long gone, but I know she still feels it sometimes, inside where she hides it from us. The knowledge that I can never fully erase that feeling or redo that first night claws at the inside of my chest with sharp, vicious talons until nothing is left but tattered shreds that I hide behind an easy expression once we reach the bottom of the stairs and Aurelia glances up at me.
The room has been habitable for days now, but I couldn’t stop working to make it perfect.
She doesn’tneeda bed. She has mine and Thorin’s to share. But I know firsthand after living in a one-room hut with my best friends for years how important it is to have a space for yourself. The loft offers little comfort or privacy if she needs space from us, and even though the idea of being separated from her fills me with dread, she should have that.
The four of us pause in front of the door, but no one speaks as they all wait for me to open it. I grapple for the right words to say until it becomes awkward, and then I expel a breath and rub the back of my neck before meeting her soft gaze. “I hope you like it,” I say simply but earnestly.
I grab and turn the handle and push open the door before I can lose my nerve.
Stepping back, I allow Aurelia to step inside the room first so that I can give myself a few extra seconds before I have to see her face. She’s quiet as she looks around, completely unaware or uncaring of the three of us crowding in behind her. I take the moment to look around and try to see it through her eyes.
There’s the bed pushed sideways against the far wall with the headboard facing the window to give her ample floor space since she likes to dance at random moments during the day or night, and I like to watch her. The canopy mounted to the ceiling above the bed is a sheer, light material with small fairy lights woven through it. There’s a small nightstand with a drawer and a shelf that already houses her favorite books shoved under the window. At the foot of the bed is a secondhand vanity table I found for a bargain and repainted. Her makeup and toiletry bags are already resting on top. Mounted on the wall above the bed are a couple of floating shelves with the scented candles she’d picked up as well as more of the books she favors that wouldn’t fit inside the nightstand.
The entire room is a soft blue—from the walls to the ceiling, bedding, canopy, round rug, and smaller furniture pieces. I chose the color after learning that it is actually her favorite and not gold, as her uncle decided it should be for her image. I chose a soft tone because, while the world might have forced Aurelia to expose her harder, thornier side, I know she is gentle and vulnerable at heart, and only with those who matter.
It’s all secondhand with the exception of the bed, mattress, and sheets. All those trips for supplies I volunteered to make had been to secretly procure all of this.
For her.
I watch as she stops in the center of the room and silently notices it all, taking in every detail. After a full minute, Aureliafinally drifts over to the bed, and I watch her bend to get a better view of the headboard. She gently—almost reverently—runs her fingers over the carvings, but I still can’t see her face to get a clue at what she’s thinking.
Aurelia’s shoulders tremble, and then she makes a sound for the first time. It sounds like shock and pain.
Shit, did she get a splinter? I was so careful making sure all the wood had been smoothed after I was done carving.
Shit. Fuck. Shit.
“Are you okay?” I ask as I step forward, my hands already reaching for her arms. “It’s okay if you don’t like it. Maybe we can—”
Aurelia allows me to turn her, and her brown eyes aren’t only wide and brimming with unshed tears, her cheeks, jaw, and lips are soaked with all the ones she’s already shed. “I love it.” Surging onto the tips of her toes, she throws her arms around my neck and kisses me while I squeeze and pull her closer. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she chants cheerfully between kisses.
Something settles inside me, and I allow myself to smile. “You’re welcome, Goldilocks.”
“Hey, what the fuck?” Thorin sputters. “I know Khal did all the work, but we helped. Where’s our gratitude?”
Aurelia giggles, and I reluctantly release her when she pulls away to hug and kiss Thorin. When she gets to Zeke, he offers her a closed-lip smile that doesn’t match the burning look in his eyes, and she rises onto the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for giving up your bedroom for me.”
