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Or trying to care for me, at least.
It was my job to care for her, not hers to care for me, but I didn’t have the heart to hurt her by turning down the offer.
“A little bread would be nice. I might be asleep when you get back with it, though.”
“I’ll make sure to wrap it up, and only knock once before leaving it outside your door.” Her expression grew hesitant, and then as if deciding she wasn’t going to overthink it any longer, she stepped closer and threw an arm around me.
My throat swelled at the soft touch of her hug.
Stars, it had been so long since anyone had hugged me. Since I’d been held in someone’s arms, and known that they were going to make sure everything was okay.
My eyes stung again, and I cursed myself for having so many ridiculous emotions.
“Thank you,” I managed.
“Of course.” She squeezed me tighter, then released me and stepped away. “You look beautiful, by the way.” She shot me another small smile before catching Namir’s hand and dragging him away from his conversation with Espen and a male fae I had marked off my list of possible enemies during his questioning.
Namir laughed loudly as they went, and the tiniest smile played at the corner of my lips as Jesh and Lavee caught up with them.
Espen was still talking to the other man, so I slipped away quietly, my eyes still stinging and my throat still swollen.
Stars, I was tired.
So fucking tired.
Making quick work of the stairs, I found myself in front of my room. There was a wrapped package on the floor, so I scooped it up off the ground before I slipped into my room. It crossed my mind that the package could contain some kind of dangerous magic, but honestly, I wasn’t in the mindset to care.
My self-preservation instincts seemed to be failing me.
I locked the door behind me, and then dropped the package on the edge of my bed and carefully opened the fancily-folded paper.
Unwrapping the paper revealed a simple white box, so I lifted the lid and then stared down into it.
Part of me had expected to find a severed hand or finger or something, sent by whoever was behind my torture as a response to our questioning.
Instead, I found a carefully-stacked set of knives.
The hilts were absolutely gorgeous, made of some kind of smooth, glittering white stone. And the blades were wickedly sharp, the silver smooth and shiny.
Stars, they were gorgeous.
I wished I could wonder who was responsible for their delivery, but I already knew the answer. Espen had undoubtedly arranged the knife delivery the same way he had arranged the clothing one.
My fingers were careful as they wrapped around the hilt of the knife nearest to them, and I slowly lifted it out of the box. The glitter in the stone and the shine of the blade flashed in the lights around the room, and I turned it this way and that as I checked the weapon out.
It was completely and utterly perfect.
A quick knock had my head jerking toward the door, my fingers tightening around the knife as my heartbeat picked up.
A thought occurred to me, but I pushed it away.
It reared its head anyway.
Espen didn’t want me to be helpless.
He didn’t want me weak, or weaponless, or trapped.
He wanted me dressed in finery, standing at his side as his Queen, holding the most beautiful knife I’d ever seen in my hand.
