Sophia stepped forward and prodded Stephan with a toe. “Have you killed my brother, do you think?” she asked in the tone of someone discussing the weather.
Felix took a moment to look at her properly. She was dressed in a fitted shirt and trousers that were a far cry from her normal gowns, and riding boots rather than dainty embroidered slippers. With her red hair twisted into a tight coil and a sword in her hand, she looked for all the world like an avenging angel.
“I don’t…think so?” Felix said, as it occurred to him that perhaps he shouldn’t have hit Stephanquiteso hard, what with him being a prince and all.
Sophia let out a sigh. “That’s probably for the best.” She prodded Stephan harder with her boot, and when she received an answering groan, she asked, “Stephan, why have you kidnapped the king’s lover?” Her tone dripped condescension and menace.
Stephan moaned again.
Sophia rolled her eyes. “You always were a dramatic child. You barely have a scratch.” Stephan raised his head and Sophia responded by pointing her sword at his midsection. “Stay there while I decide what to do with you.”
Stephan whimpered but didn’t move.
Sophia turned her head. “Mattias, can you take Felix home? The captain and I can deal with this…mess.” She gestured vaguely with the hand not holding a sword to her brother’s soft parts.
“Of course, ma’am,” Mattias said. The soft smile on his face seemed out of place given the situation—but then, Felix was still grinning like a loon right now, so who was he to judge?
A part of Felix would have liked to stay and see what happened, but from the vengeful glint in Sophia’s eye—and his father’s, too—he got the feeling it was best if he was as far removed from the scene as possible.
And besides, now that the first rush of victorious hand-to-hand combat—or hand-to-chair-leg combat, if you wanted to be picky—was wearing off, Felix wastired.
He wanted to go home.
He nodded his readiness to Mattias, and they made their way out the door. Felix paused as something struck him. “I don’t know what happened to Shadow,” he said, his voice cracking. He wasn’t sure why the fate of his horse was hitting him so hard under the circumstances, since someone had threatened tokillhim today for heaven’s sake, but at the same time he was overwhelmed with a sense of loss, and he found himself on the verge of tears.
It wasembarrassing.
“He’s fine, Flick,” Mattias said. He spoke quietly, like Felix was a horse that he was trying not to spook. “He came back on his own.”
Relief flooded through Felix at hearing that, and he let out a shaky exhale.
“Get on behind me.” Mattias mounted his horse, and Felix hauled himself up behind him, leaning his head against Mattias’s shoulder. “Let’s get you home. There’s a certain someone who’ll be desperate to see you.”
“If he’s so desperate, why isn’t he here?” Felix muttered. “Or does he only care enough to send the hired help?”
Mattias tensed, his shoulders stiffening.
Felix immediately wanted to take the words back. He cursed his runaway mouth. “No, Mattias, I didn’t mean—I’m so grateful you came for me. I just, I…” He trailed off.
“You thought he’d be the one to rescue you,” Mattias said, and his tone told Felix that he understood.
“Yes,” Felix mumbled, knowing how stupid that was. “But it’s not like he would have. We’re just—”
“Felix, theonlyreason Leo isn’t here himself is because I threatened to tie him to the bed, and not in the way you like.”
Felix lifted his head the tiniest bit. “Really?”
Mattias let out a fond chuckle. “He was beside himself when he discovered you were gone. Your father and Sophia refused to let him come along and he wasn’t brave enough to cross the pair of them, but he was desperate to be your knight in shining armour. He was pouting like a child when we left, and I had to put a guard on him to make sure he didn’t follow.”
Felix could picture it. The very thought of Leo being willing to come for him filled him with warmth, and he was overcome with a deep, aching need to see his king.
“Can we go?” he said. “I need to tell Leo something.”
Mattias hummed and flicked the reins. His horse moved forward at a steady pace and as they made their way back, Felix found that he felt better with every step that took him closer to home, closer to Leo.
Closer to confessing the truth.
Because now he understoodwhyLeo had been trying to tell him how he felt earlier. Felix hadn’t wanted to hear it then, but that was before that brief window of time today when Felix had seriously considered that he might be leaving the hunting lodge as a corpse.
