Chapter 11 Tobias #2
“She’ll be fine.” Raphael took a seat beside Tobias, resting his elbows on his knees. “Pain is intuitive. As soon as Naomi adjusts to the change, she’ll improve.”
Tobias ripped a clump of grass from its roots. Another cry tore through the air, and he tensed. “Her herbs are boiling. I should—”
“I’ll get them.” Raphael’s hand was once again on Tobias’s shoulder. “Give Her some time. You’ll know when She’s ready.”
He cocked his head toward Leila, who had wandered to the edge of their camp, staring into the darkness. She’d sworn She was fine a thousand times over, but Tobias could see it in Her carriage, could feel it in the air between them.
She’s safe. In the midst of such melancholy, that was his only solace.
“Thank you,” Tobias said, avoiding Raphael’s gaze. “For what you did at the villa.”
Raphael looked back at him, frozen for a moment.
Seconds passed before he headed off, leaving Tobias to fester and tear at the grass by his feet.
After some bickering, Raphael coaxed Naomi to drink her herbs, and she promptly fell asleep, jerking and flinching every so often.
His mother and Raphael were next to drift away, each curled up in woolen blankets, leaving behind Tobias, Leila, and the flickering campfire.
Leila had taken a seat on a fallen log across from him, staring deep into the flames. Her expression was vacant, a blankness She’d worn ever since they’d left the Joseon estate. Tobias glanced at the others—still asleep, tucked away in their blankets—and took a seat at Her side.
“Darling,” he whispered. “Is there anything You need?”
Her gaze flitted his way. “Hold Me?”
Tobias wrapped Her in his arms, and She rested Her head against his neck, easing into him without hesitation.
The way She embraced him so readily was soothing.
He wove his fingers through the long tendrils of Her hair, hoping his touch could have the same effect as Hers—that he could heal Her, could make Her feel whole.
“It’s all ruined.” Leila spoke against his throat, Her breath tickling his skin. “They were going to supply us with an army. They had plans to take back the fortress.”
“It’s ruined because of Flynn and his ego.”
“We were so close.”
“If we did it once, we can do it again.” Tobias took Her chin, meeting Her line of sight. “With better people. People who treat You with the respect You deserve.”
She swallowed but didn’t respond.
“Please don’t blame Yourself for this.”
“I don’t,” She said. “I know it’s not My fault.
It’s just . . .” Sighing, Her eyes shied away, drawn to the fire.
Tobias took in Her profile—the gentle slope of Her nose, the part of Her pillowy lips, and the ivory sheen of Her flesh.
Any evidence of the attack had disappeared thanks to Her healing light, but he couldn’t shake the memory of Her swollen cheek.
“Does it still hurt?”
She cupped Her jaw, then tucked Her hand into Her lap. “A little.”
The campfire crackled and spat, flashing orange and yellow across Leila’s skin. The quiet between them was deafening, a cavern keeping them miles apart. He held his breath, hoping to reach across the grand expanse.
“You seem so far away.”
Leila let out a long exhale. “It all felt very . . . familiar.”
“I’m sorry. I never should’ve suggested we seek out Flynn.”
“You couldn’t have predicted this would happen.” She furrowed Her brow, lost in thought. “I’ve never seen him like that. So enraged. Not even in the tournament.”
The stars above disappeared. The night sky was a mass of black bricks sealing Tobias in, and the red embers of the campfire were Flynn’s blood coating the labyrinth floor.
“I should’ve let him die.” Tobias’s insides clenched, winding him up in rancor.
“Back in the labyrinth, when he was stuck with that arrow. I should’ve left him there to rot.
He would’ve never forced me to leave You.
We would’ve never sought his aid in the first place.
All that fuckery at his villa would’ve never happened. ”
“I’m glad you did,” Leila said.
“Did what?”
“Saved him.”
“Why?” Tobias frowned. “Don’t tell me he deserves to live. You know he doesn’t.”
“It’s not that,” She said. “It’s just, during the tournament, when I saw you barrel into the sanctuary with him hanging from your shoulders .
. . God, you were so worn and beaten. You saved a man you didn’t know when you could barely save yourself.
” She looked him in the eyes, Her gaze brightening.
“I’d never seen kindness like that. And it was in that moment I decided .
. . maybe you were someone I’d like to know better. ”
The slightest smile graced Her lips, releasing a fraction of the weight bearing down on his shoulders. A second later, the smile was gone, and Her eyes were once again on the fire.
“Are You sure You’re all right?” he asked. Leila nodded. “Still shaken, then?”
“A little, I suppose.”
“Want to tell me what’s on Your mind?”
Hanging Her head, She sighed. “We should’ve fucked when we had the chance.”
Tobias burst into laughter while Leila glared at him. “I’m serious! We had two chambers between us—two comfortable beds. Now we’re back in the woods.”
Tobias fought to calm himself, but his grin wasn’t so easily contained. “We won’t be in the woods forever.”
“I was so stupid. You were right there, naked as the day you were born. I should’ve pounced on the opportunity.”
“There will be other opportunities. I’m here by Your side for good.”
Leila offered another soft smile, though there was a hint of sadness behind it, something raw and unhealed. “He has a map of the fortress . . . and its hidden tunnels.”
Tobias started. “Hidden tunnels?”
“Beneath the palace, leading beyond the fortress wall. I only learned of their existence mere days before the Culmination. I didn’t know they were an escape from the palace until it was too late.”
Tobias’s mind turned, wrapping itself around the revelation. All those missing pieces from his own story, how he was in Leila’s bedchamber one moment, a dungeon the next—it all made sense.
“If they’re a way out, they’re also—”
“A way in,” Leila confirmed.
The tiniest spark of hope lit within him. He raised an eyebrow. “Why does Flynn have that map?”
“I asked him the same question.” Leila let out a huff. “It’s long gone now. I’d suggest we shadow walk back to retrieve it, but he sent it off with a servant. We’d have to scour the entire villa. I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“It’s still good news,” Tobias said. “We have a way in.”
She was quiet for a long moment, immune to his attempt at optimism. “He said I was promised to him. That by law, I’m his.”
“You’re not. You belong to no one.”
His words seemed to offer little comfort as She stared off into the darkness.
“I suppose he’s right. It’s sick, isn’t it?
I’m claimed to be the most powerful person in Thessen, but come the Sovereign’s Tournament, I become legally bound to someone else.
This whole realm, in all its glory and greatness .
. . it’s not great at all. Not even a little. ”
“I don’t care what the law says. You will take back Your crown, and You will rewrite it.”
She met his gaze and smiled. “We will rewrite it.”
Her warmth was palpable, a soft caress subduing his galvanized nerves. This was what he lived for—Her vibrance, Her laughter, the life She exuded each time She was happy.
I can make Her happy.
The feeling sank into his chest, filling him up. His purpose was to honor and love Her. He’d known it before, but never had it been so clear.
“Thessen will become great with You as its Savior.” Tobias took Leila’s hands, pulling Her closer.
“And I promise to stand by You through it all. To fight with You and love You no matter the monsters that come our way.” His throat caught.
“I promise myself to You for the rest of my days, if that’s what You desire. ”
Leila chuckled. “You know full well I desire You plenty.”
“No, Leila, I mean I promise myself to You”—he dug through his pocket—“if that’s what You desire.”
He held the red ribbon before Leila, and She froze.
“Oh My God,” She whispered.
“We found one another despite the worst of odds. And this?” He entwined his fingers with Hers. “We fit together, You and I. When I’m with You, I’m stronger. A better man. And all I want is to make You feel the same, however I can.”
“This isn’t because of Flynn, is it?”
“No, Leila. It’s because of You. Of us.” Every impulse within him fired off, an amalgamation of too many emotions. “These are uncertain times, but the one thing I’m certain of is that I love You, and I want to spend the rest of my life with You at my side . . . if You’ll have me.”
His heart thrummed in his throat while Leila’s silence ate away at him, gnawing on his pride. Finally, Her glistening gaze met his.
“I promise.”
He pressed his lips to Hers, grinning before deepening the kiss. Joy filled the space between them, escaping them in laughter and gasping breaths, in their hands winding up each other’s backs and through their hair before linking together, holding tight.
“What are you waiting for?” Leila pulled away. “Cut it.”
She jutted Her arm forward, eager in a way that made his chest swell. He unsheathed his blade, then pulled the ribbon taut, looking Leila in the eyes.
“Built of the same matter,” they spoke in unison. “Divided by birth. Rejoined by love.”
He sawed at the ribbon, splitting it in half, and Leila let out a gasp as if She could feel it in Her bones.
Taking Her wrist, he tied Her half into a sweet bow, and She followed in kind, wrapping his wrist in red.
Goose bumps rippled across his skin, but still they spoke together line for line, word for word.
“For now, we are two. But with this promise, in time . . .”
One final knot, and a bow sat against his flesh, bright and bold. A promise for a better future.
A life with Leila.
“We will unite as one.”