“Do not do that again.”
I spun to face Chevalier, clenching my fists tightly to my sides as he slammed his bedroom door shut behind us. His icy blue eyes were narrowed and flashing. I didn’t care.
“How can you even think of postponing the ceremony?” I asked angrily. “You were the one who pushed Sariel to arrange it as soon as possible!”
“You aren’t listening,” he ground out through clenched teeth.
“It’s hard to listen when nobody will tell me anything!” I retorted.
He groaned in frustration and grabbed my upper arms, bringing his face so close to mine that all I could see were his intense blue eyes. “How many times have you told me you trust me? How many times have you said you don’t have to know if I think it’s better that you don’t?”
I pursed my lips, irritated that he was right. The raging storm of emotions in my chest brought a lump to my throat. He was always right.
“I know you,” he continued, his voice softening slightly. “I know your limits, and this is beyond your capacity right now. You need to trust me about this. I will handle everything, and I will do so without further interference from you. Do you understand?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child,” I muttered, tears pricking at my eyes.
He sighed and relaxed his grip on my arms. “I have never seen you as a child, Ivetta. You’re stubborn, you’re frustrating, and you’re mouthy, but you are not a child.” His fingers caught my chin when I tried to look away, forcing me to hold his steady gaze. “I love you. I nearly lost you once, and I can’t go through that again.”
The look in his eyes and the pleading note in his voice struck a chord with my aching heart, breaking down my resistance and evaporating my anger. I stepped toward him, resting my forehead on his chest as the tears broke free. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “That wasn’t fair of me. I just - I heard you say to postpone our engagement ceremony, and I…”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I’m not stopping the ceremony. You were correct in saying it is too late to advise those traveling long distances of a change in schedule. I was only postponing it for a few days if we can’t resolve matters within the expected timeframe.”
I took a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly. His kiss on top of my head helped the air flow more easily. “Is there…is there anything I can do to help?” I asked, looking up at him. “Anything at all? When I don’t - when I don’t have something to do, I just - think, and - my thoughts aren’t always so…helpful,” I admitted.
He removed one hand from my back to brush the tears from my cheeks, and the hint of a smile turned up the corners of his lips.
“There is one thing.”
“What is it?”
He tilted my chin up and kissed me. The kiss was soft, and earnest, and just what I needed when my world felt like it was crashing down around me.
“You can change into something better suited for maintaining a low profile,” he murmured, his smirking lips brushing against mine. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Don’t you like it?”
“Too much.” He kissed me again, his hands sliding up my back to toy with the end of my braid as the kiss deepened. His heated kiss turned into two, and then three, and I barely noticed him untying the ribbon holding my braid until his fingers were combing through my loose hair.
“What was wrong with my hair?” I gasped, pulling back to catch my breath and looking down at the rose on the floor next to our feet. “The dress I can understand, but-”
“You’ll attract enough attention while you’re baking,” he replied. The feel of his breath in my ear sent a shiver down my spine. I kept my eyes on the rose, although it was hard to focus on it when his lips pressed into my ear.
“Baking?” I asked, closing my eyes as his kiss sent another delicious shiver through me. “Who said anything about baking?”
“You wanted something to do,” he murmured.
“But…does that mean you plan on skipping meals while you’re - mm, Chevalier, don’t you have to get back to work?”
He teased my earlobe with his teeth again, drawing another soft moan from me. “Yes, I do.”
“Then you should, mm, stop…doing that…” I bit my lip to stop another moan, curling my fingers into his cloak.
“I won’t be able to see much of you until this is over,” he said, abandoning his work on my ear to drop a light peck on my cheek. His fingers pressed into my other cheek, coaxing me to look up at him again. “Try to behave yourself,” he continued, kissing the tip of my nose.
I smiled and pulled free from him. The look in his eyes said he was at a much greater risk of bad behavior than me. “I’ll try. Now, what’s appropriate attire for a princess who’s trying not to get murdered?”
He took a step toward me, settling his hands on either side of my waist and sliding them slowly down to my hips. “Something that doesn’t show your figure so well.”
I blushed and pushed his hands away. “If I have to behave, then you should, too.”
He smirked and caught my chin with his fingers, kissing me again before I could protest. His other hand came back to my waist, sliding around to the small of my back and bringing me closer. I curled my fingers into his sleeves, powerless to resist him.
“That may be difficult,” he said softly, his thumb stroking my lip as his breath warmed my face. “You’re staying in my room until this is over.”
That would be a problem. Especially if the only time we saw each other over the next few days was at bedtime.
“But I still get to leave during the day, right?” I asked. “I can’t really do any baking in here.”
He nodded. “I’m not locking you away, but I’d like you to restrict your movements for the time being.”
“That’s reasonable.” I bit my lip hesitantly, and then I said, “I’m sorry about…saying that. I knew it wasn’t true, but-”
He silenced me with a feather-light kiss. “It is true. I want to lock you away where no one can hurt you. But I’ll never see your smile if I do that.” He kissed me on the forehead, and then he released me, turning his back on me as he headed for the door. “Goodbye, little dove.”
And then he was gone. I pressed my hands to my cheeks and closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of my flushed skin and repeating his sweet words in my mind. Another few seconds of that, and I would have melted into a puddle.
But then an ear-piercing shriek erupted from the bathroom.
“I heard that!” Theresa squealed, her bright green eyes dancing as she rushed at me. “Oh, my gosh, I heard that, Ivetta!”
“You - you were listening?” I asked, mortified. “That was private, Theresa!”
“Yeah, well, when you and Chevalier came in here slamming doors and shouting at each other, I thought it was better to hide than to lose my head. I’m glad I missed the beginning of that argument. But that was so sweet! I mean, not the fighting, but the making up.”
“You wouldn’t have lost your head then, but you might now,” I sulked.
She waved me off, her smirk unaffected by my hollow threat. “What did I tell you about men and the color red? If it weren’t for your issues and everything else going on, he would have taken you to bed right then and there.”
I buried my face in my hands. “Theresa,” I moaned.
“I know what I’m getting you for your wedding,” she said suggestively.
“Can I please make it to the engagement ceremony first?”
“Is that what’s going on?” she asked, her tone suddenly serious. “Is someone trying to kill you just so he can’t marry you?”
I dropped my hands from my face and shrugged helplessly. She’d picked up the rose and was twirling it thoughtfully between her fingers. “Well, you heard everything, so you know as much as I do, but it can’t be a coincidence that this is all going on right before the engagement ceremony.”
She frowned. “Some people are so petty. Well, forget about all that. You need to change so Chevalier can get some work done, and I have a present for you. I think I’ll just leave this…here,” she said, setting the rose on the nightstand next to the bed and giving me a knowing smile.
“I-I don’t really think-”
She giggled. “You’re as red as your dress. Come on.” She reached for my hand, but I side-stepped her.
“Let me wash my face first.”
I went into the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water. The mirror said she was right. Nobody could tell I’d been crying, thanks to my deep blush. She struck before the after-effects of Chevalier faded.
“You said you have a present for me?” I asked, following her out the door. Julius and Mark stood at their posts in the hallway, of course. I wondered how much distance they gave Chevalier and me when they followed us back to his room. Probably several feet more than usual, thanks to our high tempers.
“We’re going to her room,” Theresa told them, and then, to me, “It’s from Belle and me. We got it for you the last time we were all in the city together. It was supposed to be a present after the engagement ceremony, but I think now is the perfect time to give it to you.”
“How did you get me something without my noticing?” I asked, reviewing our last day out together about a week ago. We picked Belle up from the bookstore where she worked, went to a cafe, did some window shopping, and neither of them left at any time that I could recall.
“We slipped out after Belle showed you the new shipment of books that had just arrived at the bookstore,” Theresa said. “You didn’t even notice us leaving, did you?”
I smiled sheepishly. So, right at the beginning of our day out. “I didn’t realize I got that distracted…”
“Which was why it worked out so nicely. What are we baking?”
“Um…if we don’t take too long in my room, we can start échaudés right away and hopefully finish them by evening, and while we’re waiting for them, we could make darioles, beignets, a strawberry tart, and a honey cake,” I said, running through the list of everybody’s favorites in my mind. “That covers Nokto, Licht, Chevalier, Yves, and Luke’s favorite desserts. Jin likes anything sweet, so he’ll be happy with that. Leon’s been asking me to make meatloaf again, so we can make that for dinner. It’s quick to eat, too, so everybody can stop in for a bite without taking too much time away from work. And Clavis…he’s not picky, but I probably should ask for one of his recipes sometime. I’m sure he’d like it if I tried to make one of his weird concoctions. Not today, though.”
Theresa smiled and shook her head. “I have never understood why anybody would even dislike you, let alone want to hurt you."
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