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As if answering her thoughts, the walls trembled as the door handle moved. “They have the king’s permission,” the castle rumbled in her ears. It sounded unhappy.
Pain shot through her head, and Nava scrambled to her feet, reaching for her dagger on the nightstand.
“The king is awake,” she told Arkimedes. The doors swung open, and Eris stepped inside, along with two other guards. They paused, their eyes widening as they found Arkimedes awake and sitting on the bed.
“Your Royal Highness, we didn’t realize you’d be up,” one of the guards said. She’d never seen him before. His long copper wings matched his polished helmet.
The wisps of their shadows hugged their bodies, a reminder of the power they all possessed.
“No, you didn’t,” Arkimedes said darkly, shifting in bed with calculated movements. His aura deepened around him to match his low growl. “Were you planning to hurt my mate while I was unconscious?”
Their lips parted, and they retreated by several paces. Then they all dipped into a deep bow.
“The king commanded she shouldn’t speak to anyone but her royal guard,” Eris said, his skin shimmering with sweat. He looked at her with arched brows, and something shifted in his expression. Realization that she’d healed her soulmate as she had said she would—because Arkimedes was fine, even without the royal healer.
“He can’t order her to stay away from me,” Arkimedes said. “The laws of the gods demand that soulmates be respected.” And he slipped out of bed in all his naked glory.
The three guards lowered their gazes.
“She was next door, Your Highness,” the third guard said. The same ridiculous excuse Eris had given her.
“Did she request to come here?” Arkimedes asked, stepping dangerously close to the guards. Nava’s stomach churned. His ire was spreading through their bond like a festering wound. “When you kidnapped me from my home and left her behind, you didn’t know who she was to me, and therefore, you didn’t break the godly laws. Now you do, and you will respect us. Or we shall leave.”
Oh, he was angry.
These three fae were one wrong answer away from becoming a part of Arkimedes’s aura. A couple of days ago, when Eris had first locked her away, perhaps Nava would have looked the other way. But right now, she had her head on her shoulders. She didn’t want any of them to die simply because they were following a direct command from the king.
If anything, the guards’ allegiance shifting to them faster would only help them. They couldn’t fight the entire royal guard, the Zorren, and the emissary on their own. They needed allies, not more enemies.
The two guards near the back exchanged worried glances before one stepped forward. He passed his polished copper helmet from one hand to the other, giving away his nerves. “We wouldn’t have come, sir. Th-the king sent us to get your mate so she could meet with him for a conference.”
“My father wants Nava to come alone?”
“Well,” the guard stammered, “we didn’t know you were awake, sir. His Majesty wants to know how she could escape her chambers and what happened in the market.”
“Shut up, Elliah.” The third guard narrowed his eyes at him. “We can’t divulge this information unless the king commands it.”
He had white wings and was clearly incapable of reading the room. Or perhaps the other guards were feeling compelled to speak to Arkimedes more than he was. After everything that had happened, Nava doubted Arkimedes had the patience to deal with a disgruntled guard.
Nor did she.
“Well, I can tell you she isn’t going anywhere near my father without me.”
“His Royal Highness should continue to rest,” said the guard with the white wings. “We won’t harm her.”
“And are you going to stop me from coming?” Arkimedes asked, and his shadows sneaked closer to the guard, who tensed visibly. Silence descended until only the sound of their heavy breaths cut through the air. “Where does he want Nava to meet him?”
“In his private library, sir,” Eris said. “His Majesty isn’t feeling well enough to come here.”
“I see. You can tell my father that we are coming as soon as I’ve eaten and freshened up.”
“And when will that be, sir? Your father is not a patient man.”
“Tell him I’ll be there after dinner.” Ark paused, his eyes narrowed on Eris. “Send someone to the city to find my brother.”
The three guards bowed in response and backed away one by one, leaving them alone in the room once more.
Nava’s blood rushed in her ears. Gods, she felt light-headed, her palms damp with sweat.
