As the fireplace crackled and popped, radiating growing heat as it ate away at the wood, I swallowed my pride. “Theo?”
His voice was thick with the haze of sleep, his tone huskier than usual as he asked, “Yes, wench?”
I didn’t hesitate, knowing I owed him so much more than these words. “Thank you for saving me.”
This time his voice was clear and rang through the air with certainty.
“I told you that you’re mine to protect.”
Despite everything in me that should be terrified after being ambushed in my chambers, his words allowed me to close my eyes and not fear for my life, drifting to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
SIYANA
“You know,I’m a little tired of you acting like it was entirely my fault that you almost died. You were the reason our journey lasted so long, thinking you were proving a point by getting off your horse continually.”
I ripped a piece of the cold jerky off to chew on as Theo checked through the supply packs that Lucius dropped off at some point during the night. There had been a new set of clothes for me that was better suited for our journey, consisting of thick, fur-lined pants and a matching vest and coat to wear over a tunic Theo lent me. The look was completed with new leather boots. I’d wondered how the sizing on all of the items had been so perfect, and then promptly felt a bloom of heat pricking my cheeks and chest, remembering that Theo had undressed me from my wet clothes my first night here.
Pausing as I lifted the meat to my lips, I frowned. He had a point. A point that I wasn’t going to confirm. I may have trusted him to protect me, but that didn’t mean I was going to roll over and be a sweet little princess for him. “I think we should focus on the future and not keep bringing up the past.”
I popped the savory, smoky meat into my mouth, chewing as Theo’s head swung around, eyes narrowing to pierce me with aglare. A shiver ran through me at the intensity he always seemed to carry around him like armor. I was finding that it didn’t strike fear into me, anymore, though. After last night…
The memory of the drackya atop me and the thought of Theo ripping his heart clear from his chest had my stomach souring. While I’d have preferred to never feel that level of fear in my life, something good had come from it. I wasn’t sure if I’d call what was brewing between the king and me a friendship, but there was at least a new level of comfortable tolerance between us. Our banter was more friendly and good-natured instead of the pointed, sharp attacks against each other of before.
“You’re kidding, right?” he retorted before closing up the packs. “You literally were the one that just brought it up, saying how maybe you wouldn’t die on this journey now that I’d thought to get you proper clothing.”
I hid my smile behind my hand and finished chewing.
One thing I knew with absolute certainty now was that Theo wasn’t my enemy. I couldn’t speak for the rest of the drackya, but I knew in my heart that at least this one was okay. Lucius was tentatively on the list as well, but I didn’t know him well enough to confirm just yet.
“So, did you say goodbye to your friend?” I asked before hopping off the bed and wrapping the meat back up in its cloth.
He reached out to snatch the food from me, mumbling, “That food is for the journey, yet you’re already snacking.”
I slammed my heels together, saluting him. “I had to ensure the food wasn’t poisoned for His Majesty. I’m happy to report it is perfectly safe and quite tasty.”
His cold demeanor cracked and he smirked at me, shaking his head and freeing the longer white strands he’d tucked behind his ear in the process.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a little odd?” he asked before heaving the large packs to the balcony.
Relaxing from my salute, I shrugged my shoulders and thought about it. “Nope, but there are only two people in my life who would ever know I was anything other than a perfect princess.”
Glancing back at me, he countered, “Make that three now.”
It was a simple statement, but it hit me square in the chest that he was right. Tillie and Brenson were the only people who knew me–the real me–for the entirety of my life, up until now. In my efforts to be the opposite of the perfect little wife, I’d simply just shown Theo the real me.
I nibbled on my bottom lip, unsure of whether I liked that fact.
“Anyways, what friend would I say goodbye to?” he asked in confusion, making my mouth part and my brow pinch.
“Uhm, Lucius, obviously?” My voice was tinged with disbelief. How could he not know who I meant?
A rumble sounded as he seemed to ponder my words, his brows slanted, and his eyes fell to the floor. Wow, he really had no idea.
“I suppose he’d be the closest thing I have to a friend,” he offered tentatively before looking at me once more. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a friendship like you have, though. Lucius and I wouldn’t fight to say goodbye as you and Tillie did.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes while crossing my arms against my chest. “You’re kidding, right? Lucius has continually shown up to help you and me in the short time I’ve been here. Maybe you guys don’t exchange lovey-dovey words, lamenting your friendship, but actionsdospeak louder than words, Theo.”
