She started attending the palace church the next Sunday, much to my annoyance, but I didn’t say anything about it. Based on what she’d said, she’d probably been raised in the church. It undoubtedly meant something to her, though she hadn’t attended services since I’d known her. Maybe she’d been a regular attender until her mother became ill. Whatever the case, my schedule was unaffected. I slept in, regardless of the day of the week, and she didn’t ask me to come with her. That was probably a good thing. I wasn’t sure I was willing to go that far for her. The church was a place for ceremony and tradition, and nothing more.
But I was willing to set rules to keep myself in check while she worked through her issues surrounding physical intimacy. That was of paramount importance. If I had to wait until the honeymoon for her to be ready, then so be it. My recommendations were simple. First, we shouldn’t be allowed in each other’s bedrooms anymore, and second, we needed a time limit for our increasingly heated moments alone. After the time was up, we had to either separate or join the company of other people. She agreed, and the rules were set.
They made nothing easier.
I decided to add more trips away from the palace for my sanity.
It was late November when I left with Clavis for an impromptu visit with Gilbert at the border. Flandre’s barony had been transferred to a noble who was actually worth something, and that was the location of our meeting. We took our horses and a few dozen knights as a precaution.
“Ah, isn’t this nice, riding out to Obsidian without the prospect of a bloodbath ahead of us,” Clavis said happily. “And I finally get the opportunity to dance on Flandre’s grave. Goodie, goodie. Any vandalism planned, Chev?”
“Of course not,” I scoffed.
“You lack creative flair. But I guess you’re more worried about whatever Gilbert has to say. Seems you and he have been rather friendly lately. Not thinking of replacing me, are you?”
Every day of my life.
“And then there’s this new baron. He’s been very loyal, and I understand he’s got a daughter he’s looking to marry off. Wonder if he’s going to ask you about her?”
“I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested in anybody other than Ivetta,” I said coolly.
“I know that, but that doesn’t stop all these pesky marriage proposals. They don’t even care about the rest of your poor lonely brothers anymore, now that bigamy is a legal option for you.”
“Thanks to a womanizer hundreds of years ago,” I muttered under my breath. I’d have to talk to Sariel about changing that law. That may be the only way to stop the opportunistic vultures with their ambitious daughters.
Like the new baron. And his black-haired, green-eyed daughter, who was far too forward.
“Hm, I’d heard she was a blonde,” Clavis said later that night when we were finally shown to our rooms.
I hadn’t heard anything about her, but I’d noticed the occasional stain along her hairline evidencing the dye she’d used.
“Wonder if they thought she’d have a better chance if she looked more like Ivetta?’
“Do you ever shut up?” I snapped.
Two more days. Two more miserable days.
And then Gilbert was late for the meeting the next afternoon, further irritating me.
“Hope something didn’t happen to him,” Clavis commented, running off his mouth as usual. “Things have been a bit rocky between him and the emperor, right? A little internal conflict makes for juicy news, but not for stable political relationships.”
“Clavis-”
The door slammed open, and a breathless messenger staggered to the table. “K-king Chevalier, I have word from the palace,” he gasped, holding out an envelope.
I took it from his hands and tore it open. Nokto’s usually neat, fanciful script was a hastily written scrawl:
Ivetta is in danger.
“We’re going,” I snapped, leaping to my feet and storming out the door.
“Chev?”
I shoved the letter at him without breaking my stride.
“King Chevalier-” the baron started, appearing in the hallway.
“Extend our regrets to Gilbert. Urgent business at the palace,” I replied sharply, pushing him aside.
“Nokto probably has it all under control,” Clavis said quietly, the mirth gone from his voice.
“Probably isn’t good enough.”
Blade sensed my agitation and stamped his hooves impatiently as I saddled him up. I mounted and kicked him into a gallop before Clavis had even finished saddling his horse. He didn’t catch up until many hours later, when I forced myself to pull Blade back to a slower pace. Our breaths left clouds in the cold night air. Lightning flashed through the sky above, followed by a roll of thunder.
Just what I needed. The last rain of the year to turn the ground to mud, further slowing me down.
“Chev!”
Clavis’ shout carried through the suddenly still air, quiet and waiting for the storm.
“Chev, I’ve never said this before, but you’re not thinking,” he said, pulling his horse up alongside me. “How do we even know that note was genuine?”
“You know as well as I do that it’s Nokto’s handwriting.”
“Yes, but it’s not like him. He puts together detailed, informative, lengthy reports, not short, vague sentences.”
“He was investigating a dodgy trade agreement before we left,” I replied. “There wasn’t enough information for him to give me more than that, but he told me he’d send word if he ran into a problem.”
Clavis sighed heavily. “Guess I was wrong. You never stop thinking,” he muttered. “But I don’t see how Ivetta figures into a dodgy trade agreement.”
“She wouldn’t, but somebody at one of her social engagements may,” I said, voicing the thoughts I’d been mulling over the past few hours. “There was a tea party today with a particularly powerful, connected family, one that was banished from Obsidian a couple of generations ago.”
“You memorize her schedule?”
I glanced over at him, and he grinned.
“Stupid question. It seems a strange coincidence that we received word from Gilbert at the same time she’s invited to a tea party with an ex-Obsidianite family, doesn’t it?”
“If the word was even from Gilbert.”
“Mm, that would complicate things, wouldn’t it? So, what are you thinking? Poison?”
“It would be easy to disguise in a particularly flavorful brew of tea.”
Clavis sighed. “Meaning we’re already too late, and her only hope was Nokto making it in time. Unless we’re jumping to conclusions, and it’s something else entirely.”
I kicked Blade into motion again. The last time I’d waited for confirmation, I’d almost been too late. That wasn’t happening again.
The rain started about an hour before I reached the palace. I dismounted in the outer courtyard, handing Blade off to the nearest guard, and headed straight for her room. It was well past midnight. I just needed to see her guards at the door, see her asleep in bed, and then I could relax.
There were no guards; the bed was empty and unmade.
The pounding of my heart was deafening. I ran through the possibilities and headed for Nokto’s room. He sent the note. If anything had happened to her, he would know.
If anything had happened to her, he was dead.
Her guards were outside his door. I quickened my pace, not even pausing for their stammered greetings and attempted explanations as I burst through the door. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing a dressing gown, and Nokto was sitting up in bed, smiling at her. His crimson eyes shifted to me as she turned to me with a start.
“Chevalier!” she exclaimed as she stood up. “What are you doing here?”
She was alive. Whatever else was happening here, she was alive, and that was all that mattered. I crossed the room and took her cheeks in my hands, feeling her warmth and vitality, relieved by the wide green eyes looking back at me. She wasn’t pale; she didn’t seem to be in any distress.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, but-”
“I sent him a message,” Nokto said, lying back down with a sigh. “And I’d like to go back to sleep, if you could take this outside.”
I ignored him and pulled her into a tight embrace. “If I’d lost you-”
“You’re soaking wet!” she exclaimed.
I hadn’t even noticed, but she was already shivering from the cold water I was dripping onto her.
“What happened?” I asked, releasing her from my arms but holding tightly to her hand.
She sighed. “Nokto drank poison that was intended for me. He’s going to be okay, but he’s had a fever, and-”
“Before you say anything, I already got the lecture from her,” Nokto mumbled, his eyes already closing.
I frowned at him, but there would be time to address his reckless behavior tomorrow. She was all that mattered right now. I tugged her toward the door, with no real plan other than getting her alone.
“Hold on,” she said, pulling free from me and returning to Nokto’s side. The concern in her gaze, the tender way she touched his forehead - I felt like I was getting a glimpse of her past life, the long nights she’d spent tending to her mother.
Nokto’s idiotic stunts rarely ended this well for him.
“Well, his fever has broken, at least,” she said, relieved.
“I’m still awake, you know,” he muttered.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked insistently.
“Yes,” he said with obvious irritation. “Go away.”
She stood up and returned to me, her long black hair unbrushed, her green eyes tired after spending hours nursing Nokto back to health. Her simple compassion only enhanced her beauty. I took her by the hand, needing to get her out of there and into my arms as soon as possible.
“Your room,” she said as we stepped into the hall.
I glanced down at her as my heart lurched in my chest. “Are you sure?”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” she said tiredly. “I’m just making sure you don’t go to your office and work all night in those wet clothes.”
She knew me too well. After a night like this, I didn’t see how I was getting any sleep, and I needed to see the people behind this travesty locked up in the dungeons. Or beheaded.
I smirked and shrugged. “Fine.”
Her intentions may be pure, but that didn’t stop my heart from racing with each step toward my room. This was a mistake. She needed to leave me at the door with a goodnight kiss. But I didn’t say anything, even when I opened the door and she brushed past me into the darkened room. I wasn’t going to deny this opportunity. The door closed behind me, and I pulled her into another tight embrace, her lips eager and ready for mine.
“I’m really okay, Chevalier,” she murmured, brushing the cold, wet hair away from my face.
“Tell me what happened,” I said, kissing her again.
“It’s a little hard if you don’t let me talk,” she teased, pushing back on my chest. “Now, get out of those wet clothes.”
My heart thudded to a stop.
“Ivetta-”
“The hostess didn’t like me,” she interrupted, heading into the bathroom. Shortly after came the sound of running water.
Was she actually drawing my bath? Did she not know what she was doing to me?
“Nokto showed up right after she poured me a cup of tea, and she had a new pot made for him,” she continued, raising her voice so I could hear her.
I fumbled with the fastenings of my cloak and dropped it to the floor. My jacket was next, and then my sword and my boots. They left dark stains on the carpet where the water soaked through. My shirt and pants were damp, and I shivered. She was right. I really was cold. I’d just been too worried about her to realize it.
“He kept me talking so I couldn’t drink anything, and then he switched our cups,” she said, emerging into the bedroom. “And, if it weren’t for a nightmare, I would still be in bed right now, none the wiser of any of this, and he would probably have passed out on a balcony. Would you like any tea?”
She was maddening. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but I knew where my thoughts were going. I walked up to her and caught her chin, leaning in to kiss her gently.
“What are you doing to me, Ivetta?” I murmured.
She sighed and wrapped her arms around my waist, adding to my confusion.
“Right now, I’m trying to keep you from going off in a rage when you don’t have all the information and it can wait until tomorrow.”
So that was it. I chuckled and kissed her again. “You’re doing a good job.”
“Chevalier…” She nuzzled into my chest, her warmth seeping into me as I pulled her close. “Nokto had it all under control. I never even knew I was in any danger.”
“Good.” I stroked her hair, reminded once again how close she’d come to dying. If Nokto had been any later, she would have drunk the tea. If he hadn’t known the antidote, he’d be dead right now. So much had come down to his quick thinking, but she was here, in my arms, alive and well.
And trembling. She’d been so focused on Nokto that she probably hadn’t even stopped to think about what could have happened. Until now.
“You’re safe, Ivetta,” I murmured.
“I know. But I…Nokto was so sick, and that was after he took the antidote. If he hadn’t…I almost…”
I squeezed her tighter and kissed the side of her neck. She’d already been plagued with nightmares tonight, and now this.
“Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?”
“Maybe I’ll have a cup of tea, too,” she said in a small voice.
“Have it sent up. You can stay here a little longer.”
“Chevalier…”
“I can walk you back to your room when I’m done.”
Although I’d rather she stayed, but that wasn’t what she wanted.
“Okay.”
I reluctantly released her and kissed her on the forehead. “I won’t be long.”
“No, take your time,” she said softly.
I went into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, dragging my hands across my face. The bathtub was almost overfull. I turned off the water and stripped, sinking thankfully into the hot water. It really did feel good on my chilled skin.
She was okay. Nokto had kept her alive, although he’d done so at the risk of his own life. Again. He and Licht had a bad habit of trying to get themselves killed.
But Nokto could wait until tomorrow, as could dealing with the traitorous noblewoman. He’d probably dealt with her, too. There was nothing I needed to worry about. Just her. My overly compassionate little dove, picking up poisoned princes from cold, wet balconies in the middle of the night, too busy concerning herself with others to worry about herself. Sitting in my room in a dressing gown.
Less than a week until the engagement ceremony. Sariel was already planning the wedding, but it wouldn’t be until early spring. At this rate, she would be the death of me before then.
I realized my error when I got out of the tub. No pajamas, and I certainly wasn’t going to put on the damp clothes discarded on the floor. I wrapped a towel around my waist, opening the door cautiously. She was huddled on the bench at the foot of my bed, her legs pulled up to her chest, unmoving. Asleep. I smiled and pulled the clothes from the bureau, respectfully returning to the bathroom for a quick change. The rain continued to fall outside, its constant pitter patter creating a soothing rhythm. The teapot was on my desk, along with a half-drunk cup of tea. It was still warm. I took a sip, considering her. She looked so peaceful, but that couldn’t be a comfortable position. And she’d be embarrassed if she woke up here in the morning. I sighed and set the teacup down.
“Little dove,” I whispered, squatting down beside her so I could speak directly into her ear.
“Mm…” She opened her heavy eyelids as I brushed the hair back from her face, her long black lashes hooding her eyes. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s fine.” I kissed her softly, smiling at her adorable expression. “Ready to go back to bed?”
She nodded, and I scooped her into my arms.
“I can walk, Chevalier,” she muttered unconvincingly.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64kDqc7OHq
“Let me have this, Ivetta.”
She sighed and nuzzled into my chest, asleep again before we reached her room. I tucked her into bed, kissed her forehead, and left.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5iIaCDH3w
