“I was the only person who willingly spoke to you.”
I ran my hand down her spine. “That might have been enough to get my attention, butyouare the one who kept it. I know you inside and out, Mina, and I love every part of you.”
“That’s fortunate, because ever since meeting you, I haven’t been able to imagine anyone else as my consort.”
My hand stopped mid stroke.
Mina lifted her head. “Alan?”
“Your consort,” I repeated, surprised to hear the lack of inflection in my voice.
Mina rolled off me and tugged a blanket around herself. She reached toward me, then pulled her hand back. “You do realize I need to marry before my birthday?”
Her hesitation bit at me, but I couldn’t just pull her into my arms, not right now. I sat up. “I know that.” I did. But I hadn’t thought about what it meant. “I’ve barely internalized the fact that you are a princess, Mina. Now you’re talking about me one day being a king?”
“Prince-Consort,” she corrected softly.
“See? I didn’t even know that. I’m a common village blacksmith, not a courtier.”
“I’m not supposed to marry a courtier for a reason. And there is nothing common about you.”
I slid to the edge of the bed and stood up. I needed to move. To think. I reached for my breeches.
“So, that’s it?” Mina demanded. “You tell me you love me, then run away? Abandon me to marry someone I don’t love, someone who will be no more a courtier than you?”
I spun back to the bed. “What? No! I’m not abandoning you.”
I needed to reassure Mina, but I didn’t know how. I could accept that she had spoken of marriage minutes after we both used the word love for the first time. I had known what giving her those slippers before the ball implied in that regard. But until I internalized the fact that marrying her would make me a prince, I had no hope of convincing her I was comfortable with the situation. After everything we’d been through, she deserved for me to come to her with no doubts. Which meant I had to work through them myself first.
She gestured at the breeches dangling from my hand. “Then where are you going?”
I tugged them on. “Going for a walk. I know it is stupid that I didn’t realize what marrying you would mean, but I was so focused on you, not your rank, that I really didn’t. I need to get used to the idea, and I think better when I’m doing something. Since I doubt I can find a forge in the middle of the palace, I’ll go for a walk instead.”
I grabbed my undershirt and pulled it on, then my boots, though I didn’t bother with the doublet. Then I walked back to the bed and snagged the edges of the blanket Mina had wrapped around herself.I pulled her closer and kissed her with everything I was. “I promise I’m not abandoning you. I just need the chance to get my head on straight. Then I’ll be back. Soon, Mina. I’ll be back very soon.”
Her hazel eyes were bright with unshed tears, and it was a fist to the gut. “Promise?”
I leaned in, kissing her forehead. “I promise.”
???
It only tookme until I reached the end of the corridor to realize I was being ridiculous. I had been so worried that Mina would sense any doubts I had that I made her doubt me completely. She didn’t need me to be sure about becoming her consort, she only needed me to be sure about marrying her. And that was something I wanted with all my heart.
Momentum kept me moving down the next hall a few paces, but I didn’t need to go for a walk. I needed to talk to Mina. I needed to tell her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and if that meant becoming a prince, then that was what I would do.
Ward save me, this was Mina. She’d understand everything making me nervous and have a solution for each problem. And even if there was no solution, she’d still be at my side, supporting me.
I pivoted, my speed picking up as I made my way back to her room.
“Halt!”
I stopped a single step around the corner that would bring me back to Mina. I looked over my shoulder and spotted a guard hurrying in my direction.
“You can’t be here,” the guard told me, his hand drifting toward the sword at his waist.
I held out my hands, showing him I was unarmed. Telika's hell, I was barely half-dressed, my shirt untucked and my boots on over bare feet. I glanced toward Mina’s door, halfway down the hall.Probably best not to tell the guard the princess was waiting for me in her bed.
“I’m a guest from the ball,” I told the guard calmly.
