Jace squats down over the broken pieces of the chair and rifles through the rubble. “Yep,” he says, showing me one of thelegs. “Someone cut it nearly all the way through. The other three legs have been tampered with the same.”
“Fucking Evangeline,” I growl.
“Who’s Evangeline?” Arienna asks, her voice trembling as much as she is.
“My ex.”
“And I thought my exes were bad,” she says with a laugh. “Though the broken chair joke is a classic. Very well done.” She giggles harder.
I squeeze her tighter, but my attention is on Jace. “How are Nicholas and Maeve?”
She tenses in my arms. “And Fabia?”
“Nicholas is fine.”
Pulling away from me, she looks at Jace. Her laughter dies abruptly. “And Fabia?”
“Her and Maeve took a couple blows, but they’re stable. They’re with the healers now.”
Her giggles start back up again, but I can hear the relief through the panic. “What happened to her?”
“She took an arrow meant for Nicholas.”
“Where is he?” I demand.
“With her.”
“I want to see her too,” Arienna says, and for the first time, I see roots beneath that shaking leaf. But it doesn’t bring me any relief. Aurelia drew her strength from caring about others too, and it killed her.
“Once it’s safe, we’ll head directly there.”
“I want to see her now.”
“You will put her in danger. We’re the targets, not them.”
She flinches, and I can see her finally understanding what a life as queen will be like. Horror fills her eyes. Pain. Shame. Loneliness. A future of brokenness.
“Lift up your dress,” I say, hoping to distract her. “You said it was uncomfortable.”
She stares at me for a moment, not moving.
“Jace, have someone grab a wand, a bowl of water, some soap, and a towel.”
As he moves to the door, I grab the front of her dress and wrap it around her waist. Placing her hand on the end of it, I squeeze her fingers into the fabric. She holds it up for me.
Nudging her legs apart, I remove the belt, then check for sores on her thighs. There’s a bit of redness, but no broken skin. “You can let your dress back down until the wand gets here,” I say.
“You’re not going to put it back on?”
I look up at her, still down on my knees. “You still want it?”
“I need it.” She laughs, her eyes panicked. “It’s like you’re constantly hugging my pussy, and I really need a hug right now. A long hug. A forever hug.”
Rising to my feet, I wrap my arms around her. “I’m here.”
“But not forever.” She giggles against my chest.
“Iam.”
