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From there, I didn’t waste one fucking second. I took a shortcut through the old priest’s hole and emerged in the guards’ quarters, where I pounded on Aidan’s door. I trusted this job to nobody but him.
There was no answer at first. So, I pounded again. “It’s me,” I growled. “Your fucking prince, and hopefully your friend.”
He opened the door before he was even really awake, blinking away the sleep and running his hand through his hair.
“What the fuck time is it?” He peered at the narrow window at the end of the hall, then scratched his hair, still messy from being in bed. As he blinked himself into consciousness, he realized who was standing in front of him. “I mean, fuck. Sorry. Good morning, sir.”
“Never mind that. How’s your sister?”
He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “She’s alright. Angry, mostly. Or maybe that’s just me.”
“I get it, man, I really do.” I clapped him on the shoulder, letting him know that his problems weren’t just his own. “Listen, I need you to watch Anika. I’m promoting you, here and now. You’re now the fucking captain of the castle guards. I’ll make sure the ones on the wall know it before I leave. Keep your best men on her. All the time.” I tightened my grip. “And I mean it. All the time. Whatever you have to do to keep her safe and keep her here, do it.”
He nodded. “Will do.”
“No hunting, no bullshit. I mean it. No negotiations. Restrain her if needed. You’ve got my permission.”
“Of course. But where the hell are you going at his hour?”
Explaining it all to him would take way too fucking long. As soon as he saw the sheets, he’d get it. I had to secure our future and there was no time to waste. “Doesn’t matter. Just watch her. Like she’s your own. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Aidan nodded, and I headed outside, first to the wall to inform the guards of my orders, then to the stables. I mounted my horse, and then took off at full speed, into the sunrise.
CHAPTER 20
Anika
A frantic, panicked knock at the door jolted me awake. With my heart racing, I shot straight up in bed, pawing the sheets around me to find Maksim.
But my surprise at the knock was only compounded by my confusion as I opened my eyes. Maksim wasn’t beside me and I wasn’t even in his bedroom. Now, I was in my room. I was sore all over, naked, and completely alone. The knocking resumed, more frantic than before. I flung back the covers to go answer it, but stopped dead as I looked down at my body. Pinkish streaks were all over my inner thighs. My virgin blood and Maksim’s seed mixed up together.
But where in the world was he?
My bedroom door swung open and I scrambled for my quilt to cover myself. Maria rushed in and ran to me, wrapping her arms around me. Her skin was dewy and cool after her morning bath, and she smelled of lilacs. But her embrace was intense and concerned. She clutched at me in what felt like both relief and shock.
“What happened?” she asked.
So, so much had happened, but how in the world would she know about any of it? Then it dawned on me, as my sleepiness and confusion cleared—the last time she’d seen me was before I ran away. And now I was back. That had to be what she meant.
“I…” I stammered, pulling back slightly from her embrace. “I needed some time. I’m so sorry if I worried you.”
But when she looked me in the eye, I saw that wasn’t what she meant at all. “The whole castle is buzzing with whispers,” she said, searching my face for some sort of answer. “There are guards outside your bedroom. And outside your door and window, someone has put…” She trailed off, as if she couldn’t find the words. She was never lost for words, never. Now though, she absolutely was. Her cheeks reddened with a blush of embarrassment and she lowered her eyes.
“Put what?”
Her eyes darted around the room. “It’s…”
“Maria,” I said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Tell me.”
She met my eyes, and blinked once, before saying, “Bloody bedsheets. The blood from your maidenhead. For everybody to see.”
My heart plummeted and I felt like I was about to be sick. Last night, everything had seemed perfect. Everything had seemed possible.
It was just Maksim and me; the rest of the world hadn’t mattered at all. But now, in this awful light of day, I was left with nothing but regret. What had I done? And how dare he leave me to face this on my own?
Hot bile climbed up into my throat. All that talk about being married in the old way, I was sure was just between the two of us. Never, not once in my wildest moments, did I imagine that Maksim would actually dangle proof of what we had done out for all the world to see and judge.
