“No arguments.” I scoop her up before she can protest, ignoring her startled gasp. “You’re exhausted, you almost drowned, and something is hunting you in your sleep. You’re not staying here alone.”
She doesn’t fight me, just wraps her arms around my neck as I lay her down on the bed.
Whatever that mist is, whatever else it is doing to her, it has gotten inside her head, making her protect someone who might be using her.
And I’m going to destroy it.
Chapter Twelve
Selene
I stepthrough the doorway and freeze.
This isn’t a room. It’s a suite.
My quarters in the healers’ wing were practical—one small bedroom, a kitchenette barely large enough to heat tea in, a bathroom where I could touch both walls if I stretched. But this? The living area alone could fit my entire old space twice over. Plush furniture arranged around a stone fireplace, shelves lined with books and military memorabilia, tall windows overlooking the palace grounds, with heavy curtains pulled back to let in the afternoon light.
Through an archway, I glimpse a kitchen—an actual kitchen, with proper counters and even a table. Beyond that, a bedroom door stands ajar, revealing what has to be the largest bed I’ve ever seen.
“Do you like it?”
Seth’s voice pulls my attention back to him. He’s moving through the space with quick, jerky movements—grabbing a shirt draped over a chair, snatching up what looks like training gear from the floor neara window, shoving everything into a basket with barely concealed panic.
Amusement tugs at my lips as I watch him scramble. “You’re not very tidy.”
His shoulders tense. “I barely spend any time here. I’m always working.”
Another shirt disappears into the basket. A pair of boots get kicked under a side table. The frantic energy radiating off him is so at odds with the controlled commander I know that warmth blooms in my chest.
“Why do you live in a place like this?” I move farther into the room, running my fingers along the back of the sofa. The fabric is soft and clearly expensive.
“Commander’s quarters.” He shoves the basket behind a chair, like that’ll hide his mess. “Given according to rank and status.”
I turn to face him, and the sun catches his dark hair, highlighting the tension in his jaw. He’s watching me with an intensity that makes my pulse skip.
“Once this mission with Zane is over,” he continues, his movements slowing as he watches for my reaction, “if you want to move to the Rowan family estate, it’s much larger than this.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. “Your sisters mentioned something similar. But I’m not ready to live there yet.”
The change in Seth is immediate and terrifying. He crosses the distance between us in two strides, his hands coming to grip my shoulders. His eyes are wide, almost horrified. “My sisters?” The words come out strangled. “Have my sisters been tormenting you?”
“What? No—”
“Did they come looking for me?” His grip tightens insistently. “Selene, what did they say to you?”
Before I can answer, a sharp knock sounds at the door.
“Commander Rowan?” A male voice calls through the wood. “His Majesty is looking for you. It’s urgent.”
Seth’s jaw clenches so hard, I hear his teeth grind. His eyes boreinto mine for another heartbeat before he releases me, stepping back with obvious reluctance.
“I’ll be back,” he says, his voice rough. “And we’re finishing this conversation.” He moves toward the door, then stops, turning back to pin me with a look that’s equal parts command and plea. “Stay away from my sisters. They’re crazy.”
Then, he’s gone, the door closing with a decisive click.
I stand in the middle of his living room, alone, staring at the lush space. “They didn’t seem crazy,” I murmur to the empty air.
The silence presses in around me. I sink onto the sofa, the cushions giving beneath me, and let myself really look at Seth’s quarters. Our quarters now, I suppose.
