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“And he is ailing. He has gone mad, I tell you!” The tall knight grabs his friend’s shoulders, desperate for him to listen. “There is more, Rodrick. It was many years ago to be certain, but I know what he did to the queen.”
Jordy’s head jerks back to face me as I throw a hand to my lips. Jordy mouths the wordsWhat does he mean?I shrug, confusion ticking my brain. Our queen has been dead since Jordy and I were wee babes. The tall knight looks young. How can he possibly know anything about such matters?
“You speak madness, and it could be the death of you,” Rodrick replies. “And speaking of such things will cost you your head if you’re caught, you know that.”
The knight stands firm. “You should know by now that I am not a man who speaks idle words. ‘Tis the truth, I swear it. And I can prove it.”
A trumpet sounds and I startle in response. I feel Jordy’s body jerk, and he pushes us even lower to the ground beneath the thick underbrush.
“We must take our leave,” Rodrick says. “We’ll speak more on this matter this evening. And I want to see this proof you speak of.”
The handsome knight nods. “Then you shall have it.”
The knights make their way out of the forest. Jordy and I watch their backs until all we see is sky and a line of dense trees. We’re sitting in the spot where we were crouching down merely moments ago, still and quiet like statues. Jordy is the first to speak.
“What do you think that was all about?”
“I’m sure I do not know,” I say, “but I’m afraid. If what that knight says is true—”
“It can’t be true,” Jordy replies. “Milla, do you know what that would mean?”
I do, and so I’m silent again. Jordy’s eyes move over my body and I resist the urge to clear my throat.
“You’re shivering,” he says. “Here, allow me.”
Jordy places his coat around my shoulders, his body closer to mine than it’s ever been. The gesture is so sweet that I can’t bring myself to tell him that I’m shivering from fear and not the cold. And if I’m being completely honest, I can tell he’s trembling too.
His face is close to mine, but he doesn’t back away. He’s so close to me now that our noses are nearly touching. We sit in the silence for a few moments, words seeming useless and small. I enjoy each nuance of his face, focusing on a lone freckle in the crease of his nose that I’ve never noticed before, and the scar on his hairline where he fell in the horse stable as a boy.
“You’re so beautiful, Milla,” he finally says. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to touch you?”
He runs a finger along my cheekbone and my stomach flutters and pinches. His touch is dizzying, his fingers like an artform long forgotten and now reborn. I feel I will wake and ruin it all.
“Your skin is as fair as bleached silk and ever as soft,” he continues. Jordy lifts the strands of hair from my shoulder. “Your hair is so fire-kissed, I’d expect it to burn to the touch. You are my very dream each night, and who I look forward to seeing each day.”
His words are enough to make me swoon. I can barely believe he’s confessing these feelings for me. I know my cheeks are flushed, the warmth now spreading through my middle as well.
“Did you practice those sweet nothings, my lord?” I tease, “Or, do you say that to all the fair maidens?”
He winks and I melt. “Only the ones who will listen.”
“Oh, is that so?” I lightly punch his arm. “I believe you to be the rogue, sir.”
But Jordy ignores the folly and stares into my eyes. “Milla,” he says, taking both of my hands in his, “may I kiss you?”
I swallow down the eagerness and smile. “Yes.”
He leans in, his lips so close to mine I can feel their warmth. He hesitates, but only for a moment, then his lips are on mine. My lips part, allowing him to taste my mouth. His hand cups my cheek as the kiss deepens, and then, ever so abruptly, the kiss is through. He is searching my eyes, his hand still on my cheek and his thumb lightly stroking it.
“Well, was that to your satisfaction, my lady?”
“I’ve never done that before,” I reply, “so I can’t say I had any real expectations. It didn’t last very long though, did it?”
Jordy smiles so wide his eyes squint. “And you judge the quality of a kiss by its duration, aye?”
“Aye, maybe I do.”
“Well, the lady shall have what the lady wants.”
