Chapter 31 #2
She flinched when the Frost King stood from the bed.
Warily, she watched his bare feet round the table.
A soft hiss and then light bloomed. One by one, the king lit every lantern until the tent was completely illuminated.
He moved back to the bottom of the bed and then slid down to the floor, tilting his head to the side so he could meet her eye.
“You can come out. It is safe.”
She didn’t move.
Neither did he.
Instead, he inhaled slowly, held his breath for a few seconds, and then blew out a long exhale. “Try following my breaths, jaivelle.” He placed his hands on his wide strong chest. “Feel your heartbeat.”
Her hands shook, but she managed to place them over her heart.
Lia tried to copy his breathing pattern, her heart rate slowing little by little.
The shaking stopped, and the horrible fatigue that came on the heels of an attack crashed down on her.
Tears threatened to fall. It was just too much.
She blinked repeatedly to keep them at bay and swallowed the lump in her throat when Neve scooted forward and got onto his knees.
He held out his hand.
The King of Loriia knelt for her.
Lia stared at his deep blue palm, his long blue fingers tipped with wicked black claws and several silver rings. He was a being capable of such violence, and yet he showed her such tenderness despite how deeply she’d wronged him.
It took more bravery to grab his hand than she would have liked.
Neve drew her out from beneath the table.
She dropped his hand and wiped her cheeks to make sure no stray tears had snuck out.
Her face was wet, her large robe askew, one shoulder exposed.
He drew up the garment over her skin and secured the waist tightly.
Neve draped her blanket over her shoulders and gently took her hand as if she would bolt away at any moment.
“Soothe your astrylle. Serenity is worried for you.”
She blinked, realizing the ruckus of screeches wasn’t inside her mind after all. Dahlia cleared her throat and whistled. “I’m okay,” she called, hoping her raspy voice carried.
The large bird of prey hooted and then settled into silence.
It seemed she had not only one but two who were worried about her.
Her husband tugged on her hand. “Come on. It’s time for bed, niliave.”
Wife. Why was he calling her his wife? She was a traitor. A disgrace.
He drew her into bed, and she shivered, the memory of the nightmare all too real. Neve curled himself around her, tucking his arm beneath her head. She stared at the tent wall with his heat at her back.
“Why?” she croaked, throat raw from crying.
“Because no one should have to deal with nightmares like that alone.” A pause. “Do you want to speak about it?”
“No.” She didn’t even want to think about it. “Thank you.”
“Go to sleep,” he commanded, tone turning guff. “I will watch over you.”
She didn’t know why she trusted the being who held her life in his hands, but she did. At least, in this moment. Their conversation a few days prior about breaking spies flitted through her head as she drifted closer to sleep. “Don’t break me,” she slurred.
“You broke me first,” she swore he whispered back.
The first thing Dahlia registered was the wonderful warmth surrounding her.
She opened her eyes and blinked at the massive chest her cheek rested on. Her mouth parted in horror at the way she’d plastered herself against Neve. Her bare leg was thrown over his thick leather covered thigh, and her left palm rested between his hearts.
By all accounts, they looked like lovers.
Not like the enemies that they were now.
Her bite twinged uncomfortably. Carefully, she lifted her head. All the lanterns were still lit, and the woodstove was still stuffed full of wood. Her lips parted slightly, and she glanced back at her husband. Had he stayed up all night to make sure she was warm? Surely not.
His brow was damp with sweat. In fact, she slowly lifted her palm, and their skin slightly clung together.
Neve’s whole body seemed to be slightly damp.
She’d forgotten how frost giants ran warmer than humans and didn’t need as much heat.
Something tender wormed its way into her heart. Why did she have to fall for him?
Stop. You can’t afford to think that way.
She peeked at his face and blushed to find the Frost King observing her. His chest rumbled, and he set his hand over hers until it once again rested between his hearts.
“Lie back down. It is not yet time to rise.”
Lia leaned her cheek against his bicep, staring at his strong profile. He had a few more scars on his shoulder and neck. Several more piercings lined his long, pointed ear.
A new mourning piercing. Who had he lost?
She almost reached up and touched the three new ones she’d gotten after the Giver’s attack.
Another for her mother, another for her innocence, and one for Neve.
Her gaze traced the woven scars from the removal of his caern’ye that stood out like black webbing. More vivid than usual. Was he sick? She’d noticed his indigo skin had been a little paler.
“Are you alright?” she asked without thinking.
He turned his head toward her. “What about this situation is right?”
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The king turned his head back to stare at the ceiling. She tried to scoot back to give him space, but he caught her knee and held her in place.
His sharp jaw flexed. “Just stay with me in this moment. Just a few more minutes, until we have to face the world once again.”
Dahlia nodded. She tried to slip back into the lull of sleep, but all she could think about were the mistakes she’d made, the way his warm palm sent the good kind of shivers down her spine, and that if she wasn’t careful, he’d steal all her secrets and she’d lose everything.
He huffed. “I can hear you thinking again.”
She couldn’t tell him her thoughts. Instead, Lia went with something else. “Why do you think we find it easy to lie like this now? With everything that lies between us?”
He laughed, but it was hollow. “Because neither of us are hiding in this moment. We both know what the other is and what this is.”
“What is this?”
He turned to her. “Survival. Retribution. Fate.”
“Fate is not real.” She refused to believe there was a creator in the world that would be so cruel as to plan her life the way it had turned out.
“Maybe so, but somehow you ended up back in my arms despite what you’ve done.”
A lump formed in her throat. She should just say it right now.
I’m sorry.
It was just two little words, but they weren’t enough to cover her mistakes.
“I’m here because I made a choice.”
“You’re here because Olwen discovered you.”
So, the berserker had tattled on himself. “I’m here because I want to make a deal.”
Interest and anger filled Neve’s face, his pleasant rumbles turning darker. “And what do you have to bargain with? This?” He teased the outside of her thigh suggestively. “Because I do not need you for that.”
She deserved that, but it still stung. Had he found solace in another person?
It’s not your business.
Lia slipped into her practical self and shut away her emotions. She had one shot to secure Lo’s and Cosmos’ future, and this was the moment she was waiting for. “I’ll help you with the one thing you’ve always wanted.”
“And that would be?”
“Peace.”