“It hurts,” she whimpers as I examine the wound.
“I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.” Wiping away the blood, the tightness in my chest eases when I see the wound isn’t major.Thank fuck. “I have healing supplies on my horse.” I squeeze her hand again. “You’ll be fine. Just stay still for me.”
Dahlia nods. I hate the way her lower lip trembles. I’ll be having words with the faeries about dealing with the wolf population on their lands. If there’s so much as a whisper of a scar on my wife’s skin, I’ll be holding their lord personally responsible.
After applying a medicinal paste, Dahlia hugs my arm as I bandage her thigh. I’m being gentle, but she still winces in pain with every new layer of the bandage.
I swallow thickly. “You know, you wouldn’t be hurting this badly had you not run from me after the wedding.” I keep my tone light. I still have every intention of punishing her once she’s calmed down, but right now she doesn’t need anger.
“I wouldn’t have needed to run from you if you hadn’t kidnapped me in the first place,” she grumbles into my arm.
“You know why I had to do it?—”
“I don’t, though.” She pulls back to meet my gaze. “You haven’t told me anything! All I know is that you’re using me as a pawn to buy someone called Maeve back. But clearly I’m not worth that much to Elheart, or he would’ve just given you what you want by now.” Averting her eyes, she wrinkles her nose. “I’m worth as much as his favourite whore, apparently.”
“You are worth far more than that.”
She huffs out a laugh. “Clearly not considering he thoughtLady Urmawould be a fair trade. I’m sick of these stupid games,” she scoffs. “I just want to go back to my old life, to ride my horses around the stables, to dance with my sisters –allmy sisters.” She scowls. “But there’s no point. Father will just send me to Elheart’s again, then I’ll probably end up back here anyway. I was stupid for even trying to escape.”
Pumpkin licks away her tears while my jaw tenses. I’d forgotten until just now. One of the twelve dancing princesses was murdered a few months ago. I’d heard the news from my spies at King Sol’s palace. It was the eldest, if I’m rememberingcorrectly. Princess Amaryllis. She was killed in the bedchamber of the prince she was due to marry.
Guilt pulls at my heartstrings. All this time I’ve been using Dahlia to bargain for my own sister while forgetting that she had lost a sister of her own.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” My voice strains. “You must miss her a lot.”
Dahlia rolls her eyes. “Ami isn’t dead. She just abandoned us.”
My next words come out very gently. “I know it can be hard to accept these things, Dahlia, but your sister?—”
“Ami isn’t dead!” she says loud enough to make my brows fly up. “She just ran off with an assassin. Trust me, I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. He staged her death so she could live with him in Night Alley. It’s a long story, but it’s the truth. I was there when we broke Kasimir out of the dungeon.”
Confusion tugs at my brow, but I believe what she’s saying.
“I do miss her though.” She chews her lip. “A lot. I almost ran away on the night of Blossom’s party so I could go and live with her, but I was too much of a coward to go into the forest.” Pulling Pumpkin into her lap, she strokes her long fur. “It was probably for the best. I can see now I’d never make it on my own. I’m terrible at running away.”
Glancing at the trees, I shrug. “You made it a lot farther than I thought you would. Somehow you made it all the way into the faerie woods.”
“Only because of Velvet,” she grumbles. “He took me on a safe path. The wolves only attacked me becauseImade him stop.”
When the beast huffs smugly, my lips part. There’s definitely magic at work here.
Before I can push it, Dahlia speaks again. “I didn’t even pack any water or food. What kind of idiot doesn’t pack anything when she runs away?”
“A princess,” I tease.
“You’re a lord and you at least packed healing supplies,” she snips back. “I have no excuse.” She buries her face in her hands.
“You were desperate.” I pull her hands away gently. “We do stupid things when we are desperate.” Memories of Dahlia with her legs spread on my lap in the throne room turn the guilt in my chest into a throb.Iwas desperate then. All I could think about was Maeve and putting on enough of a show to get her back. I didn’t think about what I was doing to Dahlia until it was already too late.
“Dahlia,” I start, voice heavy, “about what happened in the throne room…”
Her eyes narrow. “If you’re just going to say sorry again, I don’t want to hear it. Besides, we’re even after I humiliated you at the wedding.”
A muscle pops in my jaw. That is not how this is going to work…
Dahlia speaks again before I can argue. “I know you only did it for Maeve anyway.” She says the name as if it hurts her. “Who even is she? I know you said she is not your lover, but did you want her to be? Was she your fiancée and Elheart stole her from you? Claren wouldn’t talk about it.”
I shake my head grimly. “She’s our sister.”
