CHAPTER SEVEN ISI #2
“Breakfast?” Trew asked, his voice pitched in that slightly higher register that made him sound like someone else.
“Yes.”
He opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for me to leave the room. With Pherin on my shoulder, I walked past him close enough to catch his scent. My body remembered exactly how he tasted on my tongue.
Morning light flooded the breakfast room, and the table had been set with more food than any of us royals could possibly eat. Fruit and pastries, eggs and meat, bread still warm from the ovens.
Trew took his position near the wall, his hands clasped behind his back.
Since we were alone, Pherin landed on the table and dragged a pastry off the platter. She started pecking at it, gulping down bites.
I tried to eat while feeling Trew’s gaze on me like a physical touch.
Every movement I made, he watched. When I reached for my teacup. When I cut a piece of fruit. When I dabbed my mouth with a napkin. His stillness felt predatory, a hunter with prey. Except I knew exactly what he wanted to do to me and it had nothing to do with hunting.
Our eyes met, and the jolt of connection nearly made me gasp. Heat and hunger and desperate need hung in that single glance. I forced myself to look away.
I was going to combust before nightfall.
Mae entered with fresh tea, setting the pot beside my plate. “Will there be anything else, Your Highness?”
“Actually, I have a question.” I kept my voice light and casual. “I haven’t seen Commander Thorne since I returned. Is he well?”
Her expression shifted, surprise flickering across her features. “You didn’t hear?”
My pulse quickened. “How could I? I haven’t been here.”
“He left about a week ago. It was very sudden.” She poured tea into my cup, steam rising between us. “Some say he was dismissed, others that he fled.”
I forced myself to sound only mildly curious. “Why would he flee?”
“No one knows for certain.” Mae lowered her voice.
“But Martha in the laundry saw him leaving through the eastern gate at dawn. He had a woman with him. She was petite, Martha said. Dark hair. She wore a hooded cloak that covered her face and most of her form.” Mae set down the teapot.
“She seemed unwell. Martha said she saw the woman stumble.”
Thorne could’ve taken Addie. I’d been traveling. Even if he’d tried to reach out to me, I wouldn’t have received his message.
What if he’d had no choice but to run with her?
My eyes flicked to Trew, and he gave the smallest nod.
“How strange,” I said, picking up my teacup with hands that wanted to shake. “I hope everything is alright.”
“I’m sure it is.” But Mae’s expression said she thought otherwise.
She left me alone with my guard and my spiraling thoughts.
Petite. Stumbling. Dark hair. Could it be Addie?
“Your Highness.” Trew’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Your father requested that I familiarize myself with the castle grounds. Perhaps you could provide a tour today?”
The perfect excuse. We could have hours alone together, or as alone as we could manage in a castle full of eyes.
“Of course.” I stood, tossing my napkin onto the table. “We should start with the main corridors.”
We walked through the castle halls side by side, maintaining the proper distance between princess and guard. Pherin flew ahead, scouting, circling back to flutter above us.
I pointed out locations while Trew listened, but I knew he was mapping everything. Exits, vulnerabilities, and guard numbers and positions.
The space between us felt like a chasm. Three feet of marble floor that might as well have been an ocean.
I was hyperaware of his every movement, from the controlled pace of his steps to the way his hand rested casually on his sword hilt, to the subtle way he scanned every doorway and corridor we passed.
Professional. Distant. Perfect.
It was killing me.
When I gestured toward the armory, my hand came close enough to feel the heat radiating through his tunic. He stilled, his breath catching so quietly I almost missed it.
“The weapons are stored ahead, on the left,” I said, my voice steady despite the way my pulse throbbed in my throat.
“Useful to know.” His response was equally controlled, but I caught the rasp in his voice.
I dropped my hand and stepped back, restoring the professional distance. The loss of his nearness stabbed through me.
A silent communication sprang up between us.
“The armory is well-stocked,” he said as we passed the open doors.
I heard the real meaning. I’m well-prepared to fight for you.
“This passage appears rarely used,” he added, gesturing to a corridor branching off to our right that was long and empty.
We could steal moments alone here.
We turned a corner and nearly collided with a pair of guards. They saluted and passed, but in those seconds of maneuvering around them, Trew’s hand brushed my lower back. The contact lasted maybe two thuds of my racing heart, but the heat of it burned through the layers of fabric keeping us apart.
When they disappeared around the corner, the touch ended.
I wanted to lean back into that warmth, to feel his palm spread wide against my spine like he had every right to touch me. Instead, I smoothed my skirts with hands that trembled.
“This way,” I said, not daring to look at him.
But I felt his gaze on me like a caress, tracking the curve of my neck, the line of my shoulders beneath green silk. When I finally risked a glance, his jaw was clenched tight enough to crack stone.
We passed servants who curtsied, lords who nodded politely, and guards who eyed Trew. Every single one of them saw exactly what we wanted them to, a princess and her new bodyguard.
None of them suspected the truth.
A courtier approached, his smile too familiar as he bowed before me. “Princess Amarissa, you grow more radiant by the day.”
Trew stepped forward, a movement so subtle most would’ve missed it, placing his body half a breath closer to mine than protocol dictated. The lord glanced up, meeting Trew’s cold stare, and straightened right away.
“Thank you for your kindness,” I said, my voice honey-sweet while the predator at my side made the man’s smile falter. The man retreated with another hasty bow.
Power radiated from Trew in these moments, something primal. A wolf wearing clothing, making a declaration: Mine.
The thought sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with fear.
“We…need to be careful,” I hissed, and he gave me a curt nod, a hint of apology in his eyes.
I showed him the library, the great hall, and the practice yards visible through tall windows. All while speaking in polite tones about mundane details.
We continued the tour, the air between us crackling with everything we couldn’t say, couldn’t do, and couldn’t have.
When we passed through a narrow corridor lined with tapestries, his breath ghosted across my neck. I nearly stumbled, my arm brushing his chest.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?” The concern in his voice was real, even if the formal address was not.
I’d stopped walking, pressing my hand against the cool stone wall for support. The brief warmth of his breath against my neck had sent heat spiraling through my entire body.
“Just tired from walking.” The lie came out breathless.
He moved closer, still maintaining propriety, getting close enough the gold flecks in his eyes stood out starkly. If I swayed forward, I could rest my forehead against his chest.
“Perhaps you should rest,” he said, his gaze dropping to my mouth before jerking back up.
“No.” I forced myself to straighten, to step away from the wall and from him. “I’m fine. We should continue.”
But my voice shook, and we both knew why.
We continued on, and I discovered things I hadn’t the night before last when I stole to the dungeon. Guards stationed in alcoves that were usually empty. New locks on doors that had never been secured. Servants watching us with too much interest.
Why had my father added so much security?