Chapter 50
“My prince.”
Lys's rough voice rumbled through my stomach. There was none of the warmth in it that he'd carried last night, none of that soft voice full of love.
No.
Now, Lys was my guard hound.
“Ser Lysande.” Haarza's back straightened, and he finally released my hand. “It is a pleasure to finally see you before me. The words of your loyal service to the Princess have reached even across the ocean.” Haarza placed his hands behind his back and lifted his chin in a show of superiority.
“Thank you, Prince. It is an honor to serve my Princess,” Lys replied, looking the prince directly in the eyes.
Only now, as I looked at the two of them together, could I truly see how much taller Lysande actually was than the prince, how much more muscular he was.
And the suit did nothing but make him look even bigger next to the soft features of the prince.
“Thank you for protecting our Princess,” Haarza replied, and at those words I couldn't help glancing toward him just for the reason that I barely managed to keep one eyebrow from rising judgmentally at him.
He looked down at me and smiled, expecting the same reaction in return. He, of course, didn't get it.
“Pray, brother,” Yan began, clearly understanding the strange situation herself, “you have to continue with us and see the black roses. I know you've said they're your favorite.” He answered as though they'd already had this conversation before, which I was certain they had.
“If the Princess permits.”
He gaze shifted to me, and I almost rolled my eyes.
Still, I had to pull my lips into a smile. “It would be my pleasure, Prince. Please, go ahead.” I gestured toward the path leading to the roses.
“After you, Princess.” He nodded politely before following me the moment I took a step.
Yan immediately hooked her arm through mine and began talking again about some scheme we'd gotten into as children, but for a moment her eyes shifted past me toward the prince walking only a step behind us, and her tone changed. So did the conversation.
She squeezed my arm a little tighter and moved her long hair over one shoulder.
“Pray tell, Princess, did you enjoy last night?” she asked, looking straight ahead.
“Yes, Princess,” I answered. “The evening was beautiful.” And it had been.
But dawn had been far more beautiful than any night before her.
At the thought of dawn and the kiss that still burned against my lips, I felt the blush spread across my cheeks. Ever so oblivious, she assumed I was blushing because of the ball and took it as an invitation to continue.
“Did you like the gifts?” she asked, and the moment the words left her mouth, I understood what she wanted from me. Still, I had to play by those rules now.
“Yes, Princess, and of course, your brother's gift was the most beautiful of all. Magnificent.” She laughed at that, and just as I expected he would, Haarza joined the conversation after hearing the empty praise.
He stepped closer until he was beside us and placed his hands behind his back.
“Your Highness only deserves gifts like that. The kind that bring that beautiful blush to your cheeks and settle in your heart,” he said, his gaze falling to the necklace resting against my chest before lifting back to my eyes.
My free hand instinctively closed around the pendant and pressed it against my heart. “Thank you, Prince, for your kind words and your even more beautiful gift,” I answered calmly, though my heart felt as though it wanted to wrap itself around that little shell and hold it there forever.
The prince cleared his throat and lowered his gaze toward the stone-filled path, while Yan seemed to take it as another signal.
“Princess, you know, I've never had a sister, and I consider you the closest thing I have to one.” Her voice became soft and silky, carrying truth and honeyed lies at the same time, and a small anger settled into my chest.
Not toward her.
Toward Haarza, who had obviously prompted her to say this.
“I know, Princess, and you hold the same place in my heart. I don't distinguish you from my true sisters.” I squeezed her hand a little, and her lower lip trembled.
Still, she didn't shed a single tear. Instead, she glanced at Haarza from the corner of her eye, waited a moment, and then continued. “Have you ever actually thought about becoming one?” she asked quietly, her bright eyes fixed on me.
“Would you like that?” she asked when I didn't answer immediately.
The field of black roses was still far away, and there seemed to be no escape from this conversation.
“No, Princess. I've never thought about that.” I answered honestly, and her face dropped a bit.
Just then, exactly as I suspected they had planned, one of her handmaids approached from the side and whispered something into her ear.
Her smile vanished, replaced by an expression of perfect concern.
She looked at me with parted lips. “Is everything alright, Princess?”
I asked, doing my best to look concerned.
“Sister?” Haarza stepped in front of me and stood before her, trying his best to appear protective.
“It's alright, brother. Princess, my mother needs help with something important and is calling me to her chambers. I hope you won't mind that I have to end our promenade this early.” She looked between Haarza and me.
“It's of no problem, Princess. I hope everything is well, and we'll continue another day,” I replied, exactly as the two of them wanted.
She waved a hand. “Ah, I wouldn't want to ruin your outing, Isolde. And my brother really wanted to see the roses. Please don't let everything fall apart because of me.” Her eyes found his, and he continued.
“Princess, if you'd like, we can continue, and once my sister is finished, I'm sure she'll join us again.”
He took her hand and kissed it before turning toward me.
When he saw that I wasn't answering, he glanced toward Lys and then back at me.
“Your knight will be here, of course. I know it isn't exactly customary, but I assure you, my intentions are pure.”
He wasn't entirely clear whether he was speaking to Lys or to me.
“My knight will always be with me, Prince. He is my Blood Knight.” There was a trace of fire in my voice when I said it. “And of course, Princess, that is no problem. I will fulfill your brother's wish, and I hope the Queen is well.”
She looked between us for a moment before smiling.
She gathered her dress in her hands and bowed deeply. “Princess. Prince.”
Ignoring Lys, she turned and walked away, and I watched until she disappeared with her ladies behind one of the long, towering hedges. I felt Haarza approaching me, but I paid no attention to him.
“Prince, please.” I gestured toward the shortest path to the rose garden.
Before he could take even a single step, Lys's footsteps sounded again. Now he was so close that I could feel the cold of his armor against my back and smell him, that familiar scent of pine and smoke.
Haarza looked toward Lys's new position with confusion and a hint of displeasure, but I didn't even let him open his mouth before answering for him.
“My Prince, my knight is rather protective of me. He protects me from every man, whether peasant or prince.”
I lifted my chin and looked directly into his eyes.
He pressed his lips together, clearly unsure what to say.
To anyone's eyes, I might've been too much of an arsehole to this prince, but I knew a snake from very far away and this one was just before me.
Behind me, I felt Lys inhale deeply before moving one hand from his sword to his dagger, where he let it rest.
Not knowing what else to say, Haarza simply turned toward the path I had indicated before smiling.
“Princess.”
He nodded, and I took the first step.
Lys followed only two or three steps behind me, immediately falling into step. For several moments, we walked in a beautiful silence that almost made me forget the prince was even there, but naturally, he had to break that bliss. He cleared his throat before speaking.
“Princess, when you say that your knight is always with you, is that really...”
I almost smirked.
“Yes, Prince. A Blood Knight always stays beside his princess. They are our protectors and our shadows.” I shrugged, finally enjoying that fact. “That is the tradition.”
Who would have thought I would be the one defending the custom I had hated and criticized only a year ago?
“And does that tradition not bother you?” he asked, as though he had forgotten he was talking about a man behind him. Perhaps he had.
“No, Prince. Perhaps it did before, but once I understood what kind of protection, and above all, what kind of friendship a Blood Knight offers, I truly look forward to every day I have my knight.”
I turned toward a beautiful tree-like bush covered in flowers, and we stopped there. My eyes lifted toward a high branch carrying an enormous cluster of blossoms.
“Princess, there is nothing in my court you need protecting from.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
“Do you consider my court unsafe, Prince?” I asked, and his eyes widened. He immediately raised a hand in front of himself.
“No, of course not, Princess. I only meant that you would feel extremely safe in my court.” I raised an eyebrow at that before looking back toward the high cluster of flowers.
Haarza looked up as well, then let his gaze travel down the entire branch.
Before he could even take a few steps toward the base of the tree to lower the branch and pick the flower himself, Lysande stretched upward, rose onto his toes, and caught the end of the branch.
With one strong hand, he pulled it downward and lowered the cluster of flowers directly in front of my face.
His half-shadowed face carried a cold gaze and an emptiness I couldn't quite describe, yet his fingers were so gentle as they plucked the flower that not a single petal fell from its otherwise delicate stem. He held it out to me with a warm, “My Princess,” and stepped back as soon as I took it.
Haarza watched the entire thing, embarrassment carefully hidden in his eyes.
He pressed his lips together before smiling tightly.
His eyes traveled over the entirety of Lys and then stepped toward me.
“Isolde,” he whispered, wrapping his fingers around the hand holding the flower and taking it from me.
A few petals fell to the ground as that same hand moved through my hair and tucked it behind my ear.
Then, with his hooded eyes fixed on me, he placed the flower into my hair and looked at me warmly.
“Beautiful,” he said quietly, still holding my hand.
I cleared my throat and lowered my gaze, taking a step backward. I pulled my hand from his and placed both hands behind my back.
Lysande hadn't moved an inch.
Because of that, he was now so close to me that my fingers brushed against part of his armor.
Haarza, however, seemed not to realize that he had crossed a line. He simply smiled and gestured for us to continue.
The moment he turned his face away, Lys's strong right hand, still covered by a cold metal glove, slowly moved my hair away from my ear. I froze in place and nearly gasped when he took the flower from my hair and placed it back into my hand.
My heart fluttered, and my cheeks turned red, but I couldn't say anything. When Haarza turned back toward us, I only smiled and continued walking after him.