My anger surged back to the surface as soon as I heard the door to my office latch closed behind me. “What was he doing here?” I hissed at Leon, keeping my voice quiet so Ivetta wouldn’t hear me. “He should have been in the dungeons.”
“I only just got back with him,” Leon replied quietly. “If I’d known she was here-”
“Five years. He’s been harassing her for five years. He’s been operating under your nose for five years. Longer. He was after her mother when she was just a child.”
Leon’s eyes flashed. “You don’t have to rub it in. I’m mad enough at myself for both of us.”
I doubted that. But he was right. There was no point in trying to make him feel worse. I needed to focus.
“Are you done with him?”
“Not yet. But I will be by the time she leaves.” He paused. “One of the girls in the brothel couldn’t have been older than thirteen,” he growled.
Exploiting women was bad enough, but children? And somehow, Ivetta had avoided that fate, but just barely.
“Do whatever you want to him, just so long as you leave him alive. I’m killing him.”
Leon gave me a wry smile. “I’ll give you that, but he’s gonna be pretty beat up by the time you get to him.”
“Good. He deserves to suffer.”
“His name is Jack, if you want to know.”
“His name doesn’t matter,” I said coolly.
“I don’t see how she got away from him,” Leon said, shaking his head. “He’s easily twice her size.”
“She was scared to death and fighting for her life. You saw her in there. I could barely hold her.”
Leon let out a long breath. “She trusts you, Chevalier,” he said wonderingly.
The thought still baffled me, too. Me. The Brutal Beast. Earning the trust of a woman who trusted nobody.
“You got her calmed down?”
I nodded.
“Can I see her?”
My automatic response was an emphatic no, but maybe, now that she wasn’t so frightened, seeing Leon would help her feel a little better. I opened the door and let him in. She was still sitting in the chair, her hands trembling as they rested on the book in her lap, although the trembling was significantly reduced from before. Leon approached her quietly, going down on one knee so he could meet her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Ivetta,” he said, taking her hand. His amber eyes softened as he looked at her. “I brought him up for questioning. I never would have done that if I’d known you were here. He’s back in the dungeons now.”
“It’s alright, Prince Leon. I’m fine now,” she said softly.
He smiled encouragingly. “Of course you are. You’re a lot tougher than you look. I wouldn’t have thought a little thing like you could take a big jerk like that, and then you almost took me and Chevalier, too.”
That got a small smile out of her. The sight flooded me with relief. “Thanks, Prince Leon.”
“No problem. I know this wasn’t easy for you, but you helped a lot of girls, and not just the ones he’d already recruited. I’m sure there are others like you who were too afraid to speak up.”
Her green eyes immediately filled with concern, her own pain forgotten as she met Leon’s eyes. “What’s going to happen to them?” she asked quietly.
She just couldn’t help herself from caring about others, could she? How could she be so sweet, so innocent, when she’d been battling such severe pressures her whole life?
Leon grinned and tousled her hair. “You really are something. Let me worry about them. I’ll see that they’re taken care of.” He stood up. “I never thought I’d say this, but you just stick close to Chevalier. He’ll take care of you.” He turned back to me. “You got things from here?”
“Of course,” I responded coldly.
“Alright. If you need anything, Ivetta, let me know.”
The door closed behind him, and we were alone again. She took a deep breath and looked up at me. “Thank you again, Prince Chevalier,” she said, hesitantly meeting my eyes.
I walked over and poked her in the forehead, smiling down at her. Her smile, her compassion - she was coming back to me, and that filled me with an indescribable relief. But she looked tired. Exhausted, actually. She probably hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before, and she was certainly worn out from the stress of today, too. I was tempted to scoop her up again and carry her back to my room, letting her fall asleep in my arms, but that was entirely inappropriate and may even scare her all over again. I’d taken far too much liberty with her today already, and every touch made me want more. Even knowing that her response to me had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with an overwhelming fear and need for protection. Even knowing that she was younger than I thought, far too young for me, and I had no business feeling anything for her at all.
But I did have feelings for her, and I didn’t want to leave her alone again.
What now?
Sending her home early wasn’t an option, not when she was still in such a state. And we couldn’t stay here, or she’d inevitably try to clean up her own vomit in the wastebasket. I didn’t want her working, and I certainly didn’t want her touching that.
The library? The gardens?
Maybe I should just leave it up to her.
“Where would you like to go?” I asked.
She looked up at me, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said,” I replied, smirking at her innocent confusion. “The day is yours.”
“Oh.” She looked down at the book in her lap, her fingers tightening around the cover, and then she looked back up at me. “Would it be alright if I just read here, so you can work?”
“No,” I said firmly, surprising her again. “We’re not staying here.” I glanced over at the wastebasket, and she blushed.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said, standing up and setting the book on the desk. “I’ll just-”
I sighed and put my hand on hers before she could remove it from the book. “You will not clean that up. Neither of us is working anymore today. Make your decision, or I will make it for you.”
Her eyes were wide as they met mine. “I…I don’t know. I just…I just wanted to pretend that nothing happened, and now…”
“Something did happen,” I said insistently, but I stopped myself. There was more I needed to say, but not here. Not when she kept looking over at the wastebasket. “Come.”
She followed me quietly through the hallways, which were thankfully empty. There was no disguising the fact that she had been crying. I knew she would be embarrassed if she were seen this way. But she tried to split off from me to go to the kitchens, and I stopped her with a hand on her arm. I didn’t care for tea now, and even if I did, it wasn’t important enough for her to leave me.
“No,” I said quietly. She nodded and allowed me to lead her, my hand still resting lightly on her arm. When we were safely hidden in my private library, I turned her to face me, my other hand catching her chin lightly.
“If anybody ever touches you again, you will tell me immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yes, your highness,” she said quietly, formally.
I frowned. She was withdrawing from me again.
“I want you to move here, to the palace.”
Her green eyes widened, filling with anxiety. “Prince Chevalier-”
“I know.” I sighed, frustrated, my thumb lightly brushing across her chin just under her lips. “So I’ve told the other princes.”
“What?” she breathed.
“Stop that,” I snapped. “Stop feeling guilty for no reason. If anybody thinks less of you because of this, they are foolish and not worth consideration.” I paused, reminding myself that she didn’t need a lecture right now. “But I didn’t tell them all the details. I just need more eyes on you,” I added gently.
Her eyes searched mine, the anxiety fading as she looked up at me. An indescribable relief came over her face, and she nodded. She really did trust me. Unconditionally. And the urge to kiss her was suddenly stronger than ever. I resisted, instead pulling her into a tight embrace, her face safely pressed into my chest to keep me from doing something I’d surely regret.
“Prince Chevalier?” she asked.
“Just be quiet,” I muttered.
To my surprise, she closed her eyes and leaned into me. Her arms wrapped around my waist as I stroked her silky black hair. She was so soft - all of her. Her hair, her curves, her cheek as I leaned in to whisper in her ear: “Tomorrow, this never happened.”
“I understand, your highness,” she murmured.
This was how she should be enjoyed. Not by force, but by willing participation, with a gentle touch. She wasn’t mine to enjoy, though. I knew that, and yet she fit so perfectly in my arms, and I couldn’t let her go. She made no effort to push me away, either. Whether she was feeling a surge of emotion, as I did, or she just wanted to feel safe, I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. Here, just for a few moments, she was letting me hold her.
Eventually, I forced myself to release her, and I headed toward the end table, picking up my own book.
“Let’s go,” I said, making my voice as cold and hard as usual as I walked past her again.
“Where are we going, your highness?” she asked, following obediently on my heels.
“The gardens.”
“But…I don’t want anybody to see me like this,” she protested weakly.
“I have made the decision for you,” I said coolly. “However, I will allow you to choose the specific location.”
She sighed. “Could we go to that spot by the pond, Prince Chevalier?”
I smiled to myself. “Will you be joining me on the bench this time?”
“Oh…I…”
I glanced down at her blushing face. “You don’t have to.”
“I-it’s not that I don’t want to,” she stammered. “But you looked so comfortable, and…if I’m outside, I like to sit on the grass.”
“You may sit where you like,” I said, chuckling.
“Prince Chevalier…”
I waited for her to finish, holding the door open for her to step out into the gardens. She shyly avoided my gaze, and I truly had no idea what she wanted to say.
“Thank you for doing all of this.”
Such simple words, and yet so powerful. I didn’t respond, taking the lead again as we walked the cobblestone paths to the pond. So much for keeping a professional distance between us. There was no longer any doubt in my mind. I wanted her. Not sexually, although she held great appeal in that department. I had a genuine affection for her, an affection that absolutely could not be. It didn’t matter if she shared the feeling. She probably didn’t. It would be easier for both of us if that were the case. But even though I couldn’t have her, I would keep her safe. And I wanted her to have a few minutes of peace this afternoon before she went home and returned to her act, pretending nothing had happened so her mother wouldn’t worry. A few minutes to sit barefoot in the grass, her hair undone and cascading over her shoulder, her fingers combing through the strands absentmindedly as she read from the book in her lap.
I kept an eye on her, and the sundial as the hours passed, until I reluctantly sat up and closed my book a few minutes to five. She looked up as my shadow fell over her, the redness and puffiness gone from her face, leaving just her irresistible beauty. I wanted her to stay. But she had to leave to take care of her dying mother, taking her warmth and softness away, leaving me with my cold, hard resolve to kill Jack. She looked down again, reaching for her shoes.
“You’ll take a carriage.”
She stood up, a weariness in her green eyes as they met mine. “Prince Chevalier-”
“The matter is not up for discussion,” I said sternly. “The perceptions of others are inconsequential to me, as they should be to you.”
She frowned, but nodded. At least she wasn’t arguing the point. She probably would tomorrow, when she’d had some time to recover. Today, she was allowing herself to be weak. I started back toward the palace, and she fell in step beside me.
“You don’t have to walk with me, your highness,” she said quietly.
“I’ll send a carriage in the morning as well,” I said, ignoring her mild protest.
She sighed.
“You don’t approve?”
“I’d just like things to go back to normal tomorrow, your highness.”
I glanced down at her, staring straight ahead. “They will. But I’m still sending a carriage.”
“Yes, your highness.”
We reached the front gate, and I helped her into a carriage and took her book from her.
“Prince Chevalier,” she said, her hand stopping the carriage door just before I shut it. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”
Her green eyes were intense, but strangely hard to read. I hadn’t wanted her to know. She was too clever for her own good.
“That is none of your concern,” I said firmly.
“But you are,” she insisted.
I nodded. “Yes, I am.”
She bit her lip nervously, her thoughts racing behind her eyes, but she held my gaze. “I…I just want you to know…that he was the only one who…” Her eyes were filling with tears again, every hesitant word bringing her closer to her breaking point again.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I interrupted.
And then she got down out of the carriage and hugged me tightly, her arms about my waist, her cheek pressed to my chest. She had to hear my heart pounding as my pulse spiked.
“I don’t mind,” she said softly. “And when he’s gone, you won’t have to worry any more.”
“Go home,” I said sharply, tightening my grip on the books in one hand and the carriage door in the other so I wouldn’t wrap my arms around her. The coachman and guards were careful not to stare, but the last thing I needed was for fuel to be added to the rumors Clavis was already gleefully spreading for his own entertainment.
She was quick to release me and get back in the carriage. “Goodnight, Prince Chevalier,” she said formally, avoiding my gaze and wiping her cheeks as I shut the door.
I let out a deep breath and spun on my heel, heading for the hidden entrance to the dungeons. She’d been trying to tell me that Jack was her only threat outside of the palace walls, and, although I certainly didn’t need her permission to kill him, now I wouldn’t have to worry about her finding out somehow and getting upset. This would end it.
“Take these to my library,” I barked, shoving the books at the closest guard without breaking my stride. My hands free, I reached for my sword hilt. All the anger I’d been storing up throughout the day surged through my veins. It was time for Jack to pay for what he’d done. I was going to enjoy this.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ176UjlqTuC
