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When I glanced over, Prince Urban was ignoring the way the friar was wrapping Allera’s and Brentley’s hands together with a cloth and watching me instead. When he caught my gaze, he looked away again, resembling a beaten puppy.
I sighed.
I couldn’t seem to stop feeling bad, as if I were adding to his misery. After hearing Soren so rudely demanding the prince keep his distance from me, the prince had obeyed. Not that I was surprised. He’d never once approached me before the others knew about this love mark nonsense between us, so I wasn’t sure why they were so worried that he might now. Meaning, they didn’t have to be so cruel to him. This was all because of me.
I’d been told to stay clear of him, as well, as if he were extremely dangerous to me. It made something in me ache with pity. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d actually saved my life… Had anyone even thanked him for that? I had a feeling the answer was no, not if they’d ended up beating him for it.
I studied him more intently, wondering if he had healed yet or not.
Then I told myself to stop thinking about him. The man wasn’t my concern. I didn’t believe he could really love me, anyway, not the way Allera had made it sound when she’d come to my room and tried to explain the bond. He knew nothing about me, had only ever seen me from across a room. There was no way he could’ve formed any kind of attachment to me. The idea was just plain ludicrous.
As ludicrous as it was tempting.
Because, honestly, I don’t think anyone had ever placed me first in their entire life, had thought of my wishes or loved me above all others. To even imagine that someone might—especially the handsome stranger from High Cliff—well, it called out to my wishful, romantic side. And it made me infinitely curious about him.
But I didn’t dare go anywhere near him. It would no doubt get him into terrible trouble, and I’d already gotten him into enough of that. Besides, I had a husband… And a baby. Anniston was my concern, not him. I needed to stop thinking about romance and silly one true loves.
These dreams I’d been having were just getting to me; that was all.
And yet despite all that, I kept thinking about him and wondering… What if?
Chapter 21
Vienne
The wedding proceeded without a hitch, two kingdoms became allies, and the royal celebration began afterward in the dining hall.
Anniston fell asleep in my arms, so I reluctantly let a maid take her up to her room. Except once she was gone, I felt empty without her. What was worse, Nicolette abandoned me when Soren’s older children appeared, begging her to play with them. Soren stood across the room, hovering around Caulder as a cluster of council members circled them, and Yasmin held her own court with a group of dignified ladies. Meanwhile, Brentley led his new bride around the room, showing her off to whoever seemed willing to accept an introduction, while his new brother-in-law remained a step behind them, like a silent, overprotective bodyguard.
I started having those thoughts again, those thoughts about how lonely he looked in a crowded room, but this time, I empathized. Everyone I was comfortable with and usually talked to was busy; the same went for him. If I didn’t think it would cause a huge controversy, I probably would’ve gone over and spoken to him for the first time, simply so we’d each have some companionship, but that seemed unwise now, considering, so I let out a deflated sigh and simply people-watched until I noticed Prince Urban departing the room through a side exit.
Frowning, I stared after him, wondering where he was going. Surely, he wasn’t already retiring for the day. The sun hadn’t even fallen yet.
I’m not sure what exactly prompted me into rising from my seat to follow, but I could only blame a great curiosity that overcame me. I wasn’t even that curious about where he was going as much as I was about who he was and what he was like.
When I entered the side corridor, he was gone, but I could hear the distinct echo of fading footsteps. Hoping I was being stealthy enough, I followed, simply wanting to know a bit more about him.
The man cut a winding path through the servants’ halls, twisting this way and that, once backtracking through a corridor he’d already traipsed. I shook my head, wondering where the heck he was going, almost certain he was lost, until suddenly, the footsteps stopped. It was too late to realize that though as I’d just turned a corner, and there he was, leaning negligently against the wall under a lighted sconce with one boot crossed in front of the other and his hands resting lightly together on the end of his sword hilt.
A yelp escaped as I screeched to a halt in front of him.
Rearing back, I gasped, because... Oh Lord. He was right there. Like… Right. There.
Goodness, had he always been so tall? And strapping? It was hard to tell as I’d never been quite this close to him before. We were face-to-face as I looked up into a sea of blue, blue eyes.
Remembering the dream I’d had the night before of meeting him alone in a hallway way too similar to this one, with his hands under my skirt, his body pumping into mine, his mouth kissing me, I swallowed dryly.
A hot flash of mortification prickled my skin.
In unison, we shied backward away from each other, neither of us expecting to get quite so close to the other and both of us leery of such proximity.
Drawing in a sharp, rattled breath, I pressed my hand to my chest. “Oh,” was the brilliant word I chose to speak.
Likewise, his eyes were wide with alarm, and I swear he was holding his breath, until suddenly, he frowned. “Wait. You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
I had been frightened, but strangely, not of him, even though Soren, Yasmin, and even sometimes Caulder almost made it sound as if Prince Urban would force me to his will, or rape me, or some awful fate if I were ever caught alone with him. I’d just never got
ten that sense from him myself. So I wasn’t worried about that. No, I was scared to death of being separated from my baby forever while this innocent man was executed just because we were both standing here together… Alone.
