Water churns against my ankles now. I’m trembling with outrage. “You cannot keep me locked in here. You cannot keep me like some—some jewel in a box.”
I gasp as he slips a finger beneath my chin. The seething water stills. The room falls silent. Some irrationally logical part of my brain notes once more that his skin is rougher than I would expect from a king.
He smiles then, and though there are no scales or flames, the smile that curls his lips—the hunger there, thepossessiveness—is somehow more dragon than anything I’ve seen. I freeze in his grasp.
“That is exactly what I intend to do,” he whispers.
And before I can sputter out a response, he releases me and walks out.
21
Soren
“You saidwhat?”
I barely register Rally’s question. It is a glorious afternoon to walk the palace ramparts, to take in the grand city beyond, which holds my subjects secure, and the palace within, which holds my princess so tightly. My mouth twitches.
Yes, it is a glorious day indeed.
We pass a guard, who drops into a low bow, and once we’re out of earshot, Rally says something I don’t catch.
“Hm?” I say. “What was that?”
His nostrils flare from the force of the breath he draws. He seems exasperated for some reason. “I asked what you said to the princess before walking out and leaving her locked in her room.”
“Oh.” I gaze out at a distant cloud. What a beautiful sight a cloud is. “I said that guarding her like a jewel is exactly what I intend to do.”
My mood was foul after Abely robbed me of a leisurely breakfast in bed with the princess, but the subsequent visit to her chambers satisfied me beyond my expectations. Until then, her presence here seemed temporary, like water that might slip from between my fingers. But seeing her sofrustrated, so defiant and yet unable to leave, reassured me that no one can remove her from my grasp.
Not even herself.
My chest rumbles with pleasure.
“Soren.”
Reluctantly, I bring my attention back to Rally. “What?”
“You cannot say such things to a woman.”
“What things?”
“For stars’ sake,” he grumbles. “Did you listen to nothing Marta said?”
“I listened to everything your wife said,” I answer, affronted at the suggestion. “She was most helpful.” As a human female, Marta had given me invaluable advice before bringing the princess here. “She said that above all else, a woman wants to know she is safe. She was wagging a wooden spoon at me as she said it, remember?”
Rally chuckles before sobering once more. “I do.”
“How much safer can the princess be than she is now?”
Princess Serah mentioned the archers herself, and she must have seen the guards in the corridor. Little does she know, even the servants’ entrances are guarded.
The corner of my mouth creeps up. This is a far more promising start than the one Abely brought me.
“Soren,” Rally says, his tone veering toward impatience, “that is not what Marta meant. Keeping the princess locked in her room will not make her feel safe. It will make her feel that she has no freedom.”
I don’t answer.
“Soren.”
