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He'd obviously pissed off the wrong person, and I wasn't stopping him from coming.
You reap what you sow!
"Yes, thank you, Sir," I said, nodding to the steward. "Have a lovely day."
I turned to Jaiel. "How unfortunate. It appears your unworthy partner must carry on without you. Give my regards to Lady Frexin and Lord Dimiri, won't you?"
Jaiel's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as I turned back to the steward, a satisfied smile still curling my lips. "Now, if you could direct me toward my room —"
"Seriously, Princess?" Jaiel said, sounding exasperated. "You're going to leave me here after I just helped you get through the district gates? That's cold … even for you!"
I ignored him, and the steward smiled his needle grin at me. "Yes, let me get you that key," he said, rummaging through his pockets.
"Fine." Jaiel withdrew what looked like a letter from a wide pocket on the side of his pack. "I didn't want to have to do this, but I should have known better. It's always the same."
Holding up a letter to the steward's face, he began to recite.
"By direct order of the Three Kings, if you do not provide Prince Jaiel Kierstall with the utmost support in any and every way that he requires, you will receive swift and severe action by the Imperial Military, which includes but is not limited to life imprisonment, seizure of assets, corporal punishment, and execution."
He let the paper and words hang for a moment, before swiftly folding and tucking it back into its pocket. "Now that that's out of the way, can we please just play fucking nice and get on with this voyage?"
My eyes widened. I'd known he had support, but I had no idea how far it reached! Holy hells.
I turned to the steward, whose face and red eyes bulged with anger. Letting out a long string of curses, he spat to the side and nodded back at the sailors behind him. "Let the fucking Roain aboard."
With grumbles, they stepped aside.
The steward looked between Jaiel and me, and his lips curled into a smug, toothy grin. "Unfortunately for you, there's only one room left." He pulled out a single key from his pocket and threw it to the ground between us. "I'll leave you two to figure out how that'll work." Then he turned and walked up the gangplank, the large Fae sailors following behind him.
My fists clenched at my sides. So close … I'd been so damn close to being free of him!
I looked at the key glinting in the early morning light, then up at Jaiel, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes.
"I can't believe you'd try to leave without me," he said, voice grumbling. "Do you hate me so much, Princess?"
I rolled my eyes. "Hate? No. I just think you'll ruin this mission. And if you'd gotten yourself kicked off the ship because you pissed off the wrong person, who was I to stop it?"
He thought for a moment, and the creases between his brows softened. "Fair enough. We can't all be giving, kind-hearted heroes, can we? But in the future, you'll have to try a bit harder. I'm not that easy to get rid of." Winking, he gestured toward the gangplank. "Ready to find our room?"
Hells! Somehow, I'd not even registered what the steward was saying … one room.
Bending over, I reached for the key, but Jaiel's long fingers tugged it away first.
"Seriously?" I hissed.
"I'll hold on to this for us." His lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Wouldn't want to get accidentally locked out of my own room, now would I, Princess?"
"There's a difference between letting someone deal with their own problems and actively sabotaging them," I said, groaning. "I don't do the latter. Not when it could potentially interfere with my mission."
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "I think I'll keep it anyway. Wouldn't want you to have to fight that temptation the entire trip."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes, then turned and began ascending the gangplank. "Which room is it?"
"Key tag says room 01-11," he said. "At least we're on the main deck and not in steerage. That's a first."
"If we're going to be sharing a room, we need to set some ground rules," I said, pausing to face him. "First, you stay in your bunk and out of mine. Period. Second, we'll need to figure out a schedule for washing and getting ready. And third, if you want a guest, leave one of your hair wraps hanging from the door handle so I don't stumble into something I'd really prefer to avoid."
His lips curled into a smile, and he stepped closer — close enough that our chests almost touched, before bending so his lips were practically brushing my ear. "Oh, I won't need anyone if I have you, Princess. Do you really think you'll be able to resist me when I'm sleeping nude in such tight quarters?"
