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Fiancé?
“Why yes, where do you want to sleep, my love?” For someone as sick as him, Devon looked far too delighted. “Downstairs would be rather cozy for the both of us.”
Heat pulsed through Nava’s veins, flooding her cheeks as she stared at Devon open-mouthed. Fiancé? Gah! This was what everyone in the castle still believed them to be—the lie he’d told the king when they first arrived at the castle together.
“Stop, Devon,” Arkimedes warned and flattened his palms against the table. “Since you are giving us shelter tonight, Leela, I will grant you some of my trust in return. Don’t break it.”
“Never, sir.”
“Nava is not my brother’s fiancée. She is mine.”
“She is your—your fiancée, sir?” After a long, rather uncomfortable silence, she continued. “Is that why you escaped?”
It wasn’t judgment that lurked behind her words, but an emotion Nava couldn’t quite place tainted the inflection of her speech.
There was a vulnerability in Arkimedes’s expression that he seldom displayed in front of others.
“Do you remember when I arrived at the castle and you kept saying the prince acted differently around me? You thought there was something happening between us,” Nava said.
“Yes,” Leela whispered. “He’d never invited anyone to stay in the green room next to his own…”
“Don’t say it,” Devon hissed at her, but Nava felt the rightness of what she was about to do in her gut.
Leela wholeheartedly believed in love and in Arkimedes’s role in this kingdom. If she believed their story, she would guard their whereabouts. Maybe they could stay here for longer and find Devon some help.
“Well, that’s because we are soulmates.”
“Pardon?” Leela leaned forward, her eyes going wide as her gaze darted from Arkimedes to Nava and back again, as if she was trying to discover the hidden lie.
Arkimedes tensed at the revelation, his jaw tight. “Nava is telling you the truth. A few months ago, Fael and the other guards came into our home on the island where I was living with Nava and kidnapped me.”
Leela reached for the steaming cup of tea she’d just poured and brought it to her lips with trembling hands. “But… you didn’t know Miss Nava when she arrived at the castle a month ago.”
“You don’t need to know all the specifics. It’s better that way. For your own safety.” Arkimedes’s displeasure rolled through the bond in intense waves.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have revealed their secret without consulting him first. But Leela’s loyalties seemed to be tethered to the king, and Nava needed her on their side if they were to rest safely in her home.
A drop of sweat trailed down Nava’s neck, and she took another gulp of wine, hoping the alcohol would lend her some courage. “Do you know what happens to soulmates when they’re apart from each other?”
Leela paled. “You… you die?”
“Nava…” Arkimedes warned in her mind. His voice was a growl that should have stopped her instantly—but she needed to drive her point home.
She avoided his burning gaze and the flare of anger that swept through their bond. “And yet the guards took him, and they left me behind.”
“But that would have killed our prince! He is our only hope to breathe life back into our kingdom.” Leela shook her head, placing her mug on the table. “The king wouldn’t have done that.”
“He didn’t know I’d found her.” Arkimedes rose from his rickety chair and slammed his hand on the table. “And that’s the end of this conversation.” He walked around to where Devon sat. His massive body filled so much of the space, it made the living area feel small. “Tonight, Nava and I will take the room downstairs. I want to trust you, Leela, but now you understand I would do anything to keep Nava safe.”
“I wouldn’t dream of betraying you or jeopardizing our future queen’s safety, sir. You can trust me.” Leela’s lips trembled into a smile, and she bowed her head in their direction. “I knew Miss Nava was special from the very moment I saw her. I should have been a soothsayer.” She scrambled to her feet. “I will get the rooms ready for you all and run the baths.” She picked up the empty dishes from the table and hurried across to the small kitchen. Then she disappeared down the hall toward the bedroom.
Devon cracked an eye open, looking warily at the ceiling. “I can’t believe you told her?—”
“Leela and Fael were close, and I’m guessing she’s also friendly with his sister, Nora,” Arkimedes whispered.
“Exactly. So why did Nava think it was a good idea to tell her?” Devon got up on wobbly feet. “A year ago, I would have used that knowledge against you. In fact, when I suspected it, my original plan was to use the portal and take her to the Iron City to force your hand to follow me there.”
A knot formed in Nava’s throat. And he could easily have been successful if Nava’s bees hadn’t come to her aid.
