10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Rune wiped the sweat off his forehead, his eyebrows pinched together as he watched me. The guards training with the male joked about him taking over their army if he wanted. I think it was supposed to be a compliment. But Rune didn’t respond.
The ground shook for a second, and I looked around for whatever beast walked by to cause such a tremor. Then I remembered, Rune’s power. I wondered why he—
“Sapphira. There you are.”
Tor’s face came into view with a basket in one hand, and a blanket in the other.
The guards who joked with Rune stilled and watched Tor approach me, their Crysian training kicking in. Hearing the name Sapphira equals protection. They were locked in as the charming prince stopped two feet in front of me.
“Your mom said she saw you out this way, and I thought we’d have breakfast together.” Tor smiled and I cleared my throat.
“Yes, that sounds lovely.”
Tor’s mouth widened further when he felt the truth. I liked food, and I liked his company thus far. The only thing on my schedule for the day was looking over plans with my mother for the new shops commissioned for construction in the artisan section of the kingdom.
It would have been nice to digest the encounter with Celestine alone, but I welcomed this distraction from introspection.
Tor set the basket down and laid out the woven blanket for us to sit on. His lean muscles bulged under his blue tunic, and I wondered if he was built like his brother.
No, not like his brother.
He had a brother with muscles? That’s crazy.
I closed my eyes which was a mistake because I swear Rune’s sweaty chest and abdomen glistened more clearly in my head than in reality. Crap.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I grabbed a bit of everything the cook would let me.” Tor’s voice had my eyelids shooting open.
Tor.
I was with Tor.
Right here in the gardens.
My future husband with a picnic he packed for us.
“This is really kind, Tor. And I’m not that picky. I’ll eat pretty much anything,” I said, looking at the covered plates of food he pulled out of the basket. Raspberries, cheese tarts, a glass bottle of something I couldn’t scent with the cork sealed with wax.
“I’d never had these before, but they smelled good.” He lifted two sandwiches with green eggs from our local Craisen bird flock and finished the display with a small bouquet of flowers.
Prince Tor was trying to woo me, and he wasn’t doing a bad job.
“This is. Wow. Thank you.” I sat on the soft blanket and adjusted my dress around my feet.
“I know it’s expected for us to get to know each other, but that doesn’t mean we have to be all business about it.” Tor opened the bottle and the fizzy scent of tangerine champagne blasted my senses.
My nose wrinkled as the smell tickled, making Tor chuckle.
“Yeah, the cook said it was a strong batch sent over this morning. Apparently, it’s a breakfast champagne. Not that I’m trying to get you drunk or anything. It just sounded good.”
I held out the glass and tilted my head. “Are you nervous?”
“Fuck, yeah.”
I laughed. I liked that the prince was real. Perhaps he experienced being surrounded by people who pretended around royals, perhaps not. But I certainly did.
“Do I make you nervous?” I asked and went straight for the cheese tart.
Tor ran his fingers through the brown waves of hair on his head. He gazed down at the food.
“I was told to come and marry you.” He took a large gulp from his drink and hissed when the fizz burned his throat. Our champagne came with an extra kick than most. “You’re beautiful and just not what I expected. Makes me think this whole arrangement isn’t as bad as I was thinking.”
I stared at him with my mouth parted.
He groaned. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I have?”
“No.” I set my food down and grabbed his hand.
“I’m glad you said it. I was thinking the same thing.
You’re handsome, and so far, kind. Maybe this isn’t a horrid idea.
We can spend more time together. It could work.
” My chest tightened for the barest of seconds, but I breathed through it. It could work. That wasn’t a lie.
Tor lifted my hand to his lips for a gentle kiss before letting go of me.
“Well, here’s to making it work.” He raised his glass and I nodded while clinking my drink to his.
“To making it work.”
I sipped from the glass and saw a shirtless body stomping out of view from the training area before focusing my gaze back to the male in front of me. The only one I should be paying attention to.
I could do this.