“Naria?” The voice tore a sob from my throat as my eyes shot open.
I was back in my tower bedroom, still dressed in mytorn gown, but my quivering legs were now mostly covered by a soft blanket. Above me, Lukas’s panicked face was mere breaths away from mine. His hands rested either side of my shoulders while he straddled my legs.
Immediately, my cheeks heated.
“You were screaming but no one could wake you,” Lukas blurted, drawing back on my floral bedding. “So the guards sent for me.”
Wincing, I sat up against the headboard to see I was surrounded by half a dozen gawking servants and Raena, who chewed her nails nervously.
“How did I get here?” I rasped. Afternoon sun streamed in from the windows, casting a warm glow over my birch bed frame.I must’ve slept for hours…
“You were tired after last night, so I carried you here from the stables,” Lukas explained.
Whispers rippled through the servants, and Raena shot them a glare. Since Lukas and I were engaged, I didn’t care if their gossip ruined my so-calledreputation. There were already plenty of rumours about me buzzing around the castle, many involving my sudden relationship with the king. Not that any of them were true. After Lukas’s official proposal and our kiss in Corlixir, we hadn’t spent much time together at all. He’d been busy managing Drothmore’s affairs, and I’d been—
Well… I’d been hiding in my bedchamber, answering letters from my kingdom.
“Thank you for bringing me up here,” I said quietly. “And sorry for disturbing your sleep.” Sighing, I brought up my hand to rub my eyes.
Gasps filled my circular bedroom.
“Get out,” Lukas barked at the servants, making the entire room flinch.
Confused, I continued rubbing my eyes. But it was only as the final servant scurried out that I noticed the red sticky liquid dripping down my face.
“The thorns…” I breathed. I tore my hand away to see red coating my fingers and dozens of short slices down my arms.
“What happened to your arm?” Lukas demanded, grabbing my wrist.
“It’s nothing.” I snatched my arm back and buried it into my blankets. “I must’ve cut it during my sleep.”
“Really?” he said dryly, but there was murder in his eyes.
My throat felt dry as his gaze drilled into me. Other than Raena, I hadn’t told anyone else about my connection with the faery prince, and I didn’t plan to now. But Lukas wasn’t a fool. He’d noticed the crystals on my wrist and how they glowed from time to time. I could feel them burning now as my hand stung beneath the blankets.
“It was just a bad dream,” I murmured, more to myself – as if wishing none of this was real would somehow make it so.
His gaze softened for a moment as he drew closer, fists pressing into my bed. “You know you can tell me if someone is hurting you?” he murmured. “It’s alright if you’re scared. But I can help you. Iwantto help you.” His gaze turned desperate. “I just need you to trust me enough to tell me what’s happening.”
“I do trust you,” I blurted, “it’s just that—” I stopped myself before I could say more. If Lukas found out that the faery prince and I were connected, or even if I only told him about my nightmare just now, there’d be a war. A completelyunnecessary war because I was going to find a way to break our bond myself. I had to.
Or at least Arenn would have to learn to live with it.
“It’s nothing,” I told him, shrugging. “Really, I must’ve just cut my arm in my sleep.”
Lukas scoffed, but instead of arguing, his gaze caught on the blood soaking through my sheets. “I’ll call for a healer,” he said through gritted teeth.
I opened my mouth to protest, but a stern look from him silenced me.
“You are still tired and now,somehow, you are injured.” He scowled as he stepped off my bed. “I won’t have you treating yourself in this condition.”
Swallowing, I nodded. There were so many unsaid words hanging in the prickly air between us, but giving him more vague answers wouldn’t help anyone. I’d figure out a way out of this mess eventually. What Lukas didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. At least I hoped it couldn’t.
“Oh, and Lady Raena?” The young king’s voice tore us all from our thoughts as Raena jumped in surprise. “You’ll help Naria pack, won’t you?”
Ryntook. After the amount I drank last night, I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined our conversation about the seaside kingdom.
“Of course,” Raena replied, her face brightening. She’d folded herself into a chair, trying to make herself invisible, but any prior awkwardness vanished with a clasp of her hands. “We’ll need your best gowns, hats, boots for walking along beaches, and oh! Maybe even something to swim in!” She squealed excitedly, as if she hadn’t spent the entire nightdrinking the same ale that now left my head pounding.
