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“It would be rude of me to turn him down,” I sighed. “Trust that a strong noble Fae like him can get me where I need to be. I am safe.” With a wave at the guard, I hooked my arm into Torrance’s and let him lead me away. Our skin was barely touching, neither of us wanting to be this close to the other. We walked in silence until we had turned a couple of corners and knew we were out of earshot. Torrance had repeatedly turned to watch behind us, ensuring that there wasn’t anyone following. It was oddly reassuring.
“I swear if you try anything and make me regret this decision, I’ll personally slit your throat.” I watched him from the side of my eyes.
“I’m trying to earn favor, not make matters worse.” His blue lashes brushed his eyebrows as he rolled his eyes.
There were a couple of guards posted in the hallway we turned down and Torrance dropped my arm to jog toward them. He exchanged frantic whispers with the two who stood at attention, listening.
One guard bobbed his head and turned down the hall we had just come from, the other turned the way we were headed and waited as Torrance returned to me. This time he didn’t offer his arm. I breathed a sigh of relief and clasped my hands in front of me like I’d seen many women do on the day of Dace’s bridal proposition.
“Do you know where Dace was taken?” I asked impatiently.
“No, that’s private information they don’t release, but Jordan,” he pointed at the guard a few feet away, “He knows where to take you.”
“Are you coming with?”
“No, I don’t fancy coming head to head with Dace right after an attempt on his life.” He shrugged.
“This does not absolve you of what you may or may not have done.”
Torrance rolled his eyes and started walking backward away from me. “I have an idea of how to clear my name.” He gave me a quick lopsided smirk, then turned and jogged down the hallway.
I stayed close by the guard, Jordan, but I glared at Torrance until he disappeared and I had nowhere else to place my anger. How was I to know who to trust in the Twinity Court?
Chapter15
Ryker
Nothing lightened the worry that tensed my shoulders as much as seeing Dace when the guard pushed open the door. The room was well hidden, the door nothing more than a wall I had passed before, ignorant to its existence. To enter, the guard ran his fingers along the dips and curves of the stone until he found something I did not see in the shadows, and pressed his finger into it.
It swung open without a sound, into a room simply decorated as another guest room. How many rooms did this castle truly hold? Would I ever know its end? A bed, a dresser, a couch and chairs for lounging, and even a fully stocked bookshelf sat inside. The only thing the room was missing was a window to let in light. Fae fire lamps were glowing in every corner, but the room still felt dark, moody even. Then there, in the middle of it all, stood Dace. His teeth raked over his nails, chewing on whatever was left.
“Oh thank the gods.” Dace rushed toward me. “You were at my side one minute, then I turned and you had gone. I was so worried you had been taken or something far worse.” Shallow wrinkles appeared in the skin around his eyes.
“I’m fine.” But the words came out strained and shaky. My hands roamed over his embroidered jacket, touching any exposed bit of skin to reassure me that he was okay. Realization hit me as the door closed and blended with the wall. Dace could have died today. We both could have died. Like a punch to the gut, it stripped me of my breath. It made nausea flood me in a dizzying current.
It no longer mattered that Dace had lied before. His few mistakes could easily be forgiven and one day forgotten. A deep thankfulness took root inside my gut. I went willingly, his arms slipping over my waist, tugging me against the warm length of his body. Every part of us aligned so well, I was certain we were designed for one another.
“I followed Torrance into the hall. I thought it may have been him,” I said quietly.
Dace pressed his eyes closed. Through his clothing I could feel his heart pounding at his rib cage, threatening to break through. “You’re too brave for your own good. But,” he breathed, “that doesn’t matter because you’re here. You’re safe. Did he try anything? You aren’t hurt?”
“I’m here. I’m safe,” I whispered, if only to calm him. Placing both my palms on his chest, I looked up at him. His blue eyes, slightly rimmed with red and full of uncapped worry, stared back. I could get lost in those eyes, drown in them like they were the crashing, relentless waves of the ocean during a storm.
“I’m so, so sorry Ryker.” He shook his head. “If today had been your last day, it would be my fault. Then I thought,” his lips tensed, “I thought about my behavior. How I let my grief overshadow me and convince me that I could keep the truth from you and that it was okay. I would forever live in guilt. Nowhere is the safest for you and I have to accept that I can’t always protect you.”
“You did protect me. You saved me, Dace, on more than one occasion now.” Tucking my arms into his jacket, I slipped my arms around him, lowering my head to his chest. “I accept your apology. So long as you don’t do it again, you have nothing to worry about.”
“You were gone and all I could think about was that someone could be hurting you. Someone could take you away from this life forever.” His voice broke over the quickly spoken words. The noise caught in my chest, building a cocoon of transforming butterflies that soon filled my body.
“Dace,” I lifted my head and traced my lips over his, “I don’t want to be without you. I want you. I want it to be us, together.” Dace’s hand drew a line up my back, leaving goosebumps to trail behind it until his fingers weaved into my hair tugging gently to angle my face more toward his. “I love you,” I said.
“Say it again.” He breathed heavily, his worry softening into a smile.
A chuckle bubbled over my lips. “I love you.”
We’d continuously found ourselves in this cycle. One of us was always reassuring the other. It was the cycle of the broken, the necessity of the broken.
The time for another breath was gone as Dace stole it with the fierce press of his mouth on mine. Starved and needy, I opened my lips for him, letting him sweep his tongue along mine in a tangle of relentless lust. His eyes remained half-hooded, as if he was selfishly watching to make sure every moment was real and not part of a dream. My entire body tingled, my senses flooding with an awareness of him.
