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Hywel nodded slowly. "No more naps alone. If you so much as feel drowsy and I'm not there, you scream," he said.
"I promise," I said with a nod. It was an easy bargain.
Asterion cleared his throat. "I should return to London. Now that you're awake—"
"You'll do no such thing." Hywel sat up abruptly, swinging his leg down from my lap but immediately draping his arm over my shoulder. "You promised us a guard for Evanthia."
Asterion scoffed and gestured between Laszlo and Hywel. "But you—You're obviously…adequate."
Hywel stiffened, and I thought the slight was intentional, that Asterion wanted to raise Hywel's ire in order to make his escape. A part of me didn't want to give up on the minotaur, on the early hints of emotion he'd aroused in me. But I had two powerful monsters who were staking a claim on my time and body and affection. Maybe Asterion was right to leave, and maybe it was time for me to stop fighting for him.
"We are," Hywel said tightly. "It doesn't alter your commitment. You vowed to protect her, not to pass her off to someone else, regardless of how capable we are. Laszlo and I will train her in weaponry, but you must prepare her for hand-to-hand combat, self-defense. At least until the wolf returns."
"Hand-to-handcombat?" Asterion snapped.
"Wrestling," Hywel replied cooly. He smirked and continued, "You're too large, of course. But you can teach her evasive maneuvers. You're good at those."
Asterion turned his back to us.
CHAPTER23
EVASIVE MANEUVERS
“You don't have to do this if you don't want to," I offered.
"Hywel will tear my horns out if I leave you alone," Asterion said, his eyes fixed to the golden feather that Laszlo had braided into a lock of my hair while we'd been catching our breath that morning.
He and Hywel had bullied Asterion into taking me to the training room after luncheon, and I might've objected to being managed, but I thought the pair deserved time for a reunion without me.
I shrugged and turned my back to the minotaur. He was still dressed formally, standing stiffly at the center of the large room, staring at me as I wandered, aimlessly inspecting the weapons on display. "Then stand sentry, if you must."
Asterion stirred briefly, as if he meant to prove me wrong by sudden action, but then fell still just as quickly.
"I understand why you want to leave," I said, and his eyes widened. "There's nothing to do here. We're cut off from your purpose, all your connections to help you challenge Birsha. There's no point in you being here."
"You are here," Asterion said abruptly, blinking. "You are worth protecting."
I lifted a large battle axe from the wall, laughing as I nearly dropped it. Asterion winced as he watched me. "You don't want to be in the same room as me."
"That's not true," he muttered. "I…wish it were. I know what they call me, but I promise you,théa, I'm not a coward."
"You act afraid of me."
"You underestimate your power if you think I shouldn't be," Asterion said.
I sighed and shook my head. I wanted to walk away from this conversation, give up on this man. I couldn't. It wasn't even that he had searched for me, found me,savedme. Icravedtouching Asterion. I wanted to claim that power he said I held and use it to bring him to his knees in front of me. "Asterion—"
"I've loved women before."
Before. I spun, still struggling to hold up the axe as I stared back at him.
The broad bridge of Asterion's nose crinkled. "I've…experienced passion. Affection. But I've never been the man a woman loved.Preferred. There are always…others. It didn't matter before now."
Before. There was that damn word again.
He was staring at the feather in my hair, stepping slowly toward me.
"I will devote my life to protecting you. I will be your knight, your shield. I will stand between any danger and you, make any sacrifice," he said slowly, low and heavy and solemn. "But I see the way Conall looks at you. The way the Kings of Clouds and Dreams dote on you. I won't be lesser, not with you, Evanthia."
