Page 25 of A Heart Too Tender

“You don’t think you’ll secure a victory?” A lock of dark hair fell over his eyes and I reached up to brush it back before I could think better of it. I froze, my fingers grasping the soft lock of hair before I dropped my hand and looked down at my feet.

“I think my chances are quite poor. Given I failed the first trial.” I jutted my chin towards the patio for emphasis, but he grasped it between his thumb and forefinger, bringing my face back to his.

“You failed nothing.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, my eyes beseeching his. There was such an intensity in his gaze, I couldn’t look away. But thankfully he did.

Julian proceeded through the normal set of questions. They were much the same as the previous days.

Although his words had been kind and heartfelt, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of failure that seemed to mock my every step. The day passed in a blur of garden walks with Zuri, and a jaunt down to the coastline. There was a nip in the air that forbade me from dipping my toes in the water, that and the arrival of Gisela and Elizabeth.

“Who cares what they had to say,” Zuri reiterated after I told her about the unfortunate conversation I had with them after the first trial.

“It was just hurtful,” I pouted as we walked back through the garden, seagulls crying overhead.

Zuri smirked. “I believe that was the intention.”

“Do you want to walk through the forest now?” I asked, one foot on the patio steps as I cast my gaze towards the unexplored side of the grounds. Zuri waved a fan in front of her face.

“Absolutely not. Are you trying to wear yourself out?”

I bit my lip as a crease formed between my brow. “I’m trying to ensure I sleep tonight.”

Those words were my curse. Three books finished and not a wink of sleep had come. Moonlight streamed through the open windows as a light breeze ruffled the gauzy curtains lining the hallway. Armed with my finished books and dressed only in my nightgown, I pattered quietly to the library to make an exchange.

It was foolish or perhaps imprudent of me, to be so scantily clad, but the lack of sleep was causing a lapse in my judgement. It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone else would be out at so late an hour. I hadn’t even passed a servant on my way here.

Candles were lit all throughout the library, their flames flickering in tiny sconces. The book about witches had been so bewitching that I detoured from romances and headed straight to the history section once more.

A green spine with thick, bold lettering caught my eye and I slipped it off the shelves. The title was Goblin Clans of Dragon Mountain. I cracked open the book and my interest was held immediately, because the entire book was written in a language I had never seen before.

I scoured the library for a translation guide and was relieved when I found one. As I had wandered, I found a sitting couch tucked into the corner next to what I believed was another entrance.

The moonlight pouring through the bay window provided adequate reading light as did the fire in the grand stone fireplace. But it was the scent of fresh air mingling with the scent of parchment and ink that settled my delirium.

It was painstaking work decoding the first page and I was so enraptured in the study I hadn’t noticed the door opened until a masculine voice whispered my name.

My eyes flicked up and I clutched the books to my chest as fear speared through me.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I did not mean to give you a fright,” Julian said on the precipice of a chuckle.

He set the candelabra he held down on the mantle and the light illuminated the perfect lines of his face. But my breath caught for an entirely new reason. His white shirt was nearly completely undone, gaping wide open. Chiseled lines of his chest were visible as they met the corded muscles of his abdomen.

The ends of his shirt were tucked into his breeches, but his calves and feet were bare as he strode across the small space and took a seat opposite of me on the couch. I tucked my feet underneath me, allowing my thin gown to cover me more modestly.

However, the movement had one of my straps slipping down my shoulder. Julian tracked the fabric’s movement with his eyes and I felt warmth bloom in my chest.

“What are you doing up so late?” I whispered as if we were trying to evade discovery.

Julian smirked, stretching an arm over the back of the couch. “A Governor’s work never ceases. What are you reading?”

I lowered the books to my lap and traced my fingertip over the title. “I don’t really know. I was trying to translate it before you arrived.” My heart beat a steady, yet rapid pace in my chest, and I worked to slow my breathing.

“May I?” He asked, his hand outstretched.

I handed him the book and our fingers grazed, sending my pulse skyrocketing once more. “Please.”

Julian began reading from the book, his mouth effortlessly pronouncing the words I had struggled to read.