Actually, "Shit," he said out loud. "You're right. We definitely broke a lot of rules. I was supposed to compete to get to this stage."
She yawned, her jaw popping. "I don't want to make the king any angrier than he already is. We're sneaking off, bonded with each other, none of that will make the other competitors happy."
He could point out the only competitor who would be unhappy about that was Magnus. But he didn't want to ruin this moment as she drifted off to sleep on his chest.
Thirty-Two
Rose
He'd lost. The big oaf had lost and now she was staring at Magnus's grinning face with his sweaty hand outstretched for her to take.
The bridal game today was meant to be easy. Gunnar had told her not to worry. Anyone competing for the attention of one of the women, or one of the few men, wrestled. It was to show physical strength, and very obviously that would be easier for Gunnar to win. He was the warrior of the two men who had shown interest in her, and he was the one who regularly used his body.
No pretty prince was going to beat him in something as simple as wrestling.
She'd hated watching any of it. It was too close to the shows in the labyrinth, and she could see there were a few trolls who were uncomfortable with watching as well. Torbin in particular had already left. She'd watched him go and had wished he could bring her along with him.
Then Gunnar and Magnus had faced off, and she’d been more intrigued than she had been before. Mostly because Gunnar had been shirtless, and she was still exploring these new feelings.
Sleeping with his arm around her had made it harder to ignore the rippling muscles she'd felt along his ribs, or how strong his biceps had been around her back.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt safe being attracted to someone. Rose knew she still wouldn’t be comfortable around a human man. But knowing that claws were attached to the hand that touched her, or the smooth glide of his tusks against her face as they kissed, grounded her in the reality that she was safe.
It was strange to be attracted to anyone. And maybe she was a little clinical in her observation of her own feelings, but that was safer. She could feel them, distantly, and that was something she wanted to explore.
The wrestling was meant to give her a day with the winner, after all, and Gunnar had wanted that day away from training to spend with her. He’d even had a great idea, he’d claimed.
Considering she still wore his gold bracelet around her wrist, she was excited by the thought.
But the moment the two of them had started wrestling she’d known this wouldn't be good. Magnus was surprisingly strong. In fact, he seemed to be ridiculously good at wrestling, as though he'd been preparing for this his entire life.
Now he was standing in front of her with that shit eating grin on his face, breathing hard, covered in sweat, fully expecting her to touch him in the sight of everyone else who was watching them. She didn't want to touch him. She didn't want to touch anyone other than Gunnar.
He shot her a wink. "This is all for show, little mouse. Take my hand and we'll go off into the forest."
"I don't want to go anywhere alone with you."
"Haven't I proven myself worthy of a few moments of your time?"
"No," she grumbled. The weight of everyone's stares were getting to her, though, so she put her hand in his.
The touch wasn't awful. It didn't make her want to scrape her insides out, at least. But that was probably because he also had claws. Tiny ones, not as long as Gunnar's, but she could still feel them on her wrist as he closed his massive hand around hers and tugged her away from the clearing.
She shot one glance over her shoulder to see Gunnar watching them with a dark expression on his face. He hated that she was going anywhere with anyone other than him. The feeling was mutual.
"Don't worry," Magnus said as he ducked beneath a large, glowing violet branch. "He already told me that I cannot do anything to upset you. Wouldn't want you to go wandering, anyway."
"Where are we going?" she asked. "Gunnar won’t like that you're taking me so far away."
"Gunnar doesn't get a choice in the matter, and it would be good for him to see that you are just fine on your own for a little while."
"I have a knife."
Magnus released her hand and then held a massive leaf out of her way. He grinned down at her as she passed. "Good. I think you should always have a knife on you."
She hated that he wasn't intimidated by the thought. Part of her wanted to whip it out and draw blood, just like she had with Gunnar. Maybe then the prince would take her seriously.
Instead, she trudged through the forest as he directed her this way and that. And soon enough, she realized he wasn't taking her very far at all. In fact, they were awfully close to thevillage. They were just weaving like drunken idiots through the forest in the most complicated path they could take.
