“You didn’t have to. You’ve been avoiding me all day.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” I stepped toward him, trying to bridge the gap. “Nico, I?—”
“We can’t. It’s not just about us, Sammy. It’s everything. Your position here, the council, the throne.”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
“But you should, and deep down, you do. You’re theprincess, Samara. The Luna heir. And I’m just a squirrel shifter who’s spent his life running.”
The words stung, not because they were cruel, but because they contained a grain of truth that I wasn’t ready to face.
“So, what was last night?” I already knew the answer but decided to torture myself more than I already was.
“A moment of weakness.” He looked away again. “You were going to marry the bloodsucker.”
I didn’t know if his comment or changing the subject to my past hurt more. I bit my lip to stop the tears from forming in my eyes. “That arrangement died with my parents.”
Nico nodded slowly, processing this. “Do you still have feelings for him?”
The question caught me off guard. “No. He represents a past I’ve been running from. Nothing more.”
Nico didn’t look convinced. “Whatever happened between you two, it’s still there, Sammy. I can see it.”
“The only thing between Val and me is a broken engagement that was a political arrangement.” The words tasted like half-truths on my tongue, and I pushed a stray strand of purple hair behind my ear, feeling Nico’s scrutiny. “We have a job to do. That’s all. Everything else is just noise and distraction, and frankly, we don’t have the luxury for either right now.”
Nico stepped closer, his hand reaching for mine before stopping midair and falling back to his side. “I want you to be careful. With him. With all of this.”
I knew he meant more than physical safety. “I will be.”
We stood in silence for a moment, everything unsaid hanging between us.
“You should sleep.” He turned to leave, pausing with his hand on the doorknob. “Sammy?”
“Yes?”
“No matter what happens... I’m with you. I always have been.”
The door closed softly behind him, leaving me alone with the echo of his words and the tangled mess of my feelings.
Tomorrow we would leave, but tonight I was searching for the strength to be what everyone needed me to be when I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore.
CHAPTER NINE
AMARI
Ipadded through the shadows of the Black Forest, my paws silent against the black moss-covered ground. As we pushed deeper into the forest, the trees grew taller, their bark darker, almost charcoal. No birds sang here, and no insects chirped. The only sounds were the clomp of hooves, the occasional snort from a horse, and the creak of leather as someone shifted in their saddle.
It was unfortunate that I was forced to go on a rescue mission with the woman who was way too attractive for her own good and her trusty sidekick, who carried a hip pouch with his nuts in it.
Who the hell carried a hip pouch?
My gaze drifted to Samara, perched atop her hell horse as if she’d been born in the saddle. Buttercup—what a ridiculous name for something that could tear a demon apart with its hooves—worshiped the ground she walked on. His eyes glowed ember-red whenever anyone else approached, but for her, they softened to a warm amber.
My panther purred low in my chest, and I clenched my jaw and shook my head, annoyed at the reaction. Traitor.This wasn’t the time to be impressed by a woman who could tame hell horses. Even though watching Samara handle Buttercup with such natural ease made something primal in me want to roll over and expose my belly.
My inner beast seemed determined to embarrass me at every turn lately, responding to the slightest show of Samara’s quiet confidence like a starving creature offered a feast. I snapped back to attention, focusing on the path ahead rather than the way the shards of moonlight through the trees caught in her purple hair.
