Lulling waves.
Cawing birds.
Blissful scents.
My heartbeat slowed even more, and the aura from the warrior wrapped around me.
“That’s it. Take it all in. Just listen, smell,feel.” His hands tightened ever so slightly on my hips, and thatthingthrobbed in my chest again.
Moments ticked by. Moments in which I used the realm around me to reconnect with peace.
When I finally felt like I could breathe again, truly breathe, I opened my eyes.
Kole still stood directly behind me, still held me. His presence was warm and steady, as though he was a beacon in a churning storm, beckoning safety. I only had to stay near him, and he would shelter me from it all. He’d take the brunt of the storm, wrapping his large frame around me to cocoon me within, and he would never think twice about the savage waves pounding against his back.
I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did. Despite hiding so much from me when we’d first met, Kole genuinely wanted to help me. Protect me. And even though he’d deceived me, it suddenly hit me that he’d neverwantedto.
My initial impression of him had been one of trust. Somewhere deep inside me, I had felt that I could trust him completely, that I could trust in who he really was. And I had a feeling, if things were up to Kole, he never would have deceived me at all.
I turned in his arms as that enormous revelation fully hit me. I wanted to tell him how thankful I was for his help, that I wasn’t angry with him anymore as he perhaps thought I was, that?—
He abruptly let go and stepped back, and in the moonlight, his eyes blazed.
I instantly missed the feel of his hands on me. But just as fast, I realized he’d only been holding me to help me de-stress from all that had happened, and he’d probably realized that since I was doing better, he no longer needed to be close.
Silently, he stood tall and strong, so achingly strong that the urge to touch him grew. He’d been attracted to me during our hunt. I was sure of that, just as I’d been attracted to him, but Kole kept his gaze averted, and I recalled the feel of his aura the previous day. He’d felt guilt. Immense guilt for what he’d done. Perhaps that guilt also extended to the likely fact that he was ethically bound to keep his distance from me, despite any attraction he might feel.
I wrapped my arms around my middle and accepted several facts as the sea air blew around us.
My life had irrevocably changed.
Kole wasn’t ill-intentioned and had likely never wanted to hurt me.
And any attraction between us would ultimately lead nowhere.
My parents’ words of an arranged marriage whispered through my consciousness again.
Quietly, I said to Kole, “Thank you. For doing that.”
He dipped his head, his mask once again firmly in place. For the briefest second, his aura pulsed, but he quickly locked it down. “It helped?”
I nodded. “Immensely. How did you know this was what I needed?”
His lips curved, just slightly, and a part of me hoped that I would see his smile again, but it never fully formed. “It’s something warriors are trained to do after a battle, to center ourselves and to keep our focus sharp. I could feel you panicking and thought this may work.”
I smiled readily, and I hoped my grin would infect his own, but his gaze only dropped to my mouth, his movements stilling.
“I missed seeing your smile.” His words came out so quietly that I almost didn’t hear them, and he cleared his throat just as fast, as if he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
I cocked my head. “Has it been gone long?”
“Longer than I’d like.” Surprisingly, he sounded annoyed by that fact.
His growl and grumpy demeanor brought back memories of our first week together. A laugh bubbled out of me. A genuinelaughfilled me for the first time in what felt like weeks yet was likely only days.
I stepped back from the warrior and raised my arms, lifting my palms to the night sky as the breeze rushed around us and the moonlight glimmered on the waves.
“Well, I’m smiling and laughing now.” Sand sank around my slippered feet, and I began to spin, getting lost in the feeling of absolute freedom. Nobody was out here. There was nobody to see as I stopped being a princess for a few minutes and returned to my old self.
