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“I’m just glad the worst was prevented,” he said humbly.
“More than that! We have some prisoners,” she revealed as the two of them walked away from the rest of the soldiers. Her voice dropped only enough for him to hear. “Did Aria give you the intel?”
“Yes, but I had a feeling that it would be bait,” he admitted. “Had we fallen for it, it would’ve blown her cover. She would’ve been in danger.”
Callie blinked at him, impressed by his thoughtfulness. “You realize the extent of your contributions, don’t you? You’re shouldering a lot of responsibility with so much tact. Then again, Aria didn’t choose you without good reason.”
A sense of pride swelled within him. While this wouldn’t be the first time, he’d been involved in security efforts, this mission was particularly more stressful due to Eldoria’s meddling. He didn’t think he’d fare so well.
“Your efforts won’t go unrewarded, Sir Guisgard,” she promised. “Please keep up the hard work.”
Arthur nodded in acknowledgement as she walked away to her Fairy sentinels. He watched them group up andfly off, a few turning invisible, others becoming small, and some even turning into balls of light.
Fairies are truly odd creatures, he thought to himself.
When he returned to Nexis, Princess Mierna was already waiting for him at the castle’s entrance. She smiled while waiting for him to make his way up to her and grabbed his hand, dragging him away inside. Surprised by the bout of eagerness she had, he followed her. Something was different about the way she held his hand. It was tighter than before.
In the darkness of an empty hallway, he found himself pushed against a wall as Princess Mierna fell against his chest, reaching on her tiptoes to kiss him with unrestrained passion.
He moaned softly and smiled as he melted into her, his fingers weaving themselves into her hair and drawing her even closer. It was difficult to remember the last time they’d kissed each other with this much want.
“I heard about what you did,” she whispered and kissed him harder before pulling away. “You did the right thing. I can’t imagine how much time we would’ve lost had you brought the matter straight to us.”
“You’re not upset?”
The tip of her nose brushed his as she shook her head, and a wide smile took over her face. “Arthur, how can I ever thank you for any of this?” she sighed softly. “You and Aria, you’ve both started a revolution. The nations haven’t collaborated like this in centuries. Although…” she giggled, “how will I explain your motivations when it’s time to pen this down for history books?”
Arthur covered up his laugh as he looked away with a blush. “Mierna, you’re more than just a beautiful woman that I make love to, you know?” he reminded her.
“I know that.” She grinned lovingly. “And I appreciate it very much. You’ve done a lot for me and for this realm.”
“You know what they say,” he said with as much confidence he could muster, “love can move mountains…I think.”
“Who said that?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.”
Mierna laughed and pulled him into her embrace, peppering the side of his face with kisses. Arthur felt good, and his previous grievances about being battered by the Elves were now long forgotten. For once, he felt capable of great things.
He felt worthy of Princess Mierna.
Chapter 16
The banging on the window woke Aria up suddenly, and she was surprised to find Callie fluttering outside urgently. Quickly getting out of bed to lock the door of her bedchamber, she pushed the window open and let Callie in.
“What are you doing here?” Aria whispered. “Travus could find out!”
“I don’t care for the risks right now,” she said as she grabbed Aria’s wrist, giving her a concerned onceover. “Aria…you look weak. What’s happening to you?”
“I’m fine,” she scolded and snatched her hands away. “Tell me why you’re here.”
Callie could only sigh before relenting. “The intel you gave Arthur was possibly a bait. We secretly carried out a mission to verify, and a good thing too otherwise you could’ve been in a lot of trouble.”
When the sentinel explained to Aria everything that had taken place, she felt a mixture of embarrassment, relief, and anxiety.
“I should be more careful,” Aria sighed. “That was a close call.”
“Close call?” Callie scoffed. “I heard about the duel as well, by the way. What were you thinking?!”
