“Yes, they’ve been taking very good care of me,” he said. His voice was less raspy than it had been the night before.
She took his hand and led him to the couch. Sitting beside him, she kept his hand grasped in her own. “I thought you were going to die,” she whispered. She stared down at their intertwined hands.
“I very well could have,” he replied.
His tone was neutral, but when she looked up, she saw how wide his eyes were, as if he were trying to force himself not to cry. She squeezed his hand. He ran his thumb over her skin, sending a tremor of pleasure from her fingers to her heart. She smiled at him again.
“I can’t believe everything that’s happened over the past few days,” she said, leaning her head back against the cushions. Pressure behind her eyes warned her of a massive headache coming on. She didn’t get them often, but she doubted the lack of sleep and near-constant anxiety helped relieve any of her stress-induced migraines.
“My aunt told me the data from your PEA definitively proved you are the lost princess,” he said softly, almost as if he didn’t want to broach the topic.
“Of course she did.” Layla sighed. She didn’t know if she wanted to discuss this with him. Sleeping had let her mind rest, but it hadn’t given her time to think through anything.
“I think she’s worried about you, honestly,” he said. “She just means well.”
“I’m sure she does,” Layla said.
They sat in silence for a few moments, each staring out a different window at the brilliant world beyond the wall.
He cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. “Actually, Layla, there was a specific reason I wanted to speak with you first thing this morning—before my aunt had a chance to catch up with you.” He slid his hand from her grasp and laid it flat on his knee. Her hand was left covered in sweat, which she quickly wiped on the back of her lounge outfit.
“Ok,” she said, “You’re starting to scare me.”
He cleared his throat again and wiped his palm on his pants. A shimmer rose on his cheeks. He opened his mouth several times, closed it, and then stared down at his feet.
“Max,” she said, placing her hands on his shoulders and angling him towards her. “Listen to me. Whatever it is, just spit it out. I’m a big girl. Just tell me what’s going on.”
“The thing is, Layla, I… uh… I don’t even know how to begin.” He said, stumbling over his words.
“Just say it!” she commanded, her voice rising. She was too exhausted of the secrecy to stop herself from getting angry at him.
“We’re betrothed.”
“What!” she screamed, leaping to her feet and stomping across the room so she could look out the window without him being able to see her face.
“I know,” he said quickly. “I know what this might seem like, but I swear to you, I didn’t know until this morning either.”
She turned to him then, her chest clenching as she said, “Please enlighten me as to how, exactly this happened?”
“Our mothers,” he said, rolling his eyes.
She glowered at him. “I was barely a month old when the king sent his assassins. How is this possible?”
“My aunt tells me our mothers were friends,” he said with a shrug. “Apparently, they dreamed of having children close in age that could grow up together. She never told me about it before we found you because she didn’t want me lamenting something I didn’t even know existed.”
Layla didn’t know what to say. She tapped her fingers absentmindedly on the windowsill. Part of her was excited about the prospect of learning more about Max and, maybe, falling in love. But she knew so many other things in her life were going to be decided for her from this point on. She’d already decided to accept the fact that she was the lost fae princess. But she would be consumed by darkness before she allowed her choice of husband be determined by some agreement made by women who were dead anyway.
“Did she just tell you this or does she have proof that the engagement was official?” she asked.
“There’s a signed agreement,” he said. “Normally there wouldn’t be, but I guess our parents wanted to ensure the viability of the contract before your mother gave birth.”
She swallowed hard.
“Max, I don’t think,” she began.
“Say no more,” he interjected, leaping to his feet and striding towards her. “I didn’t expect you to accept this. Darkness rising, if I hadn’t been raised to be the future king, I wouldn’t have known how to handle this information either.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“You didn’t know that, either, I see. Well, I guess one more surprise won’t hurt you.” He bent down and kissed her brow before she could protest and led her back to their seats. “My aunt never married and never had children. My parents died when I was young, she took me in and cared for me. She’s left everything to me.”
Layla had conflicting feelings about this information. It all made sense now. Janae was just trying to protect her people. And she’d chosen to give her nephew, the heir to her throne, a chance to earn the love of the woman he was pledged to. She took a step away from him.
“I appreciate you telling me this, Max, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you.”
He frowned. “I don’t think—”
She held to fingers to lips, stopping the next phrase out of his mouth. “Listen to me. I don’t care. I don’t care what they think. I am not going to give away the last thing I can choose in this life just because you found me. I didn’t know I was the lost princess and I didn’t ask for this life.”
He fumbled over his words, clearly trying to come up with something he thought would soften her to him.
“Just stop, Max. You’re embarrassing yourself now.” She heaved in a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes. “Listen to me very carefully. I am not going to agree to this betrothal. It was made before my time and without my consent. So my answer is no. You need to let it go.”
To her surprise, he actually smiled at her and released a sigh of relief. “Thank the light you have more sense that most of the girls in my hometown.”’
She tilted her head at him, her lips twisted in a half-smile and half-frown combo that she found very annoying to maintain. “You’re not upset?”
“Darkness! No!” he replied. “If anything, I’m relieved. I thought I was going to tell you and you were going to insist upon it. Look, princess, I like what I know about you, but I don’t want to rush into anything.”
“Well okay then, it’s settled.” She said. “We’ll tell your aunt the betrothal is off. And—”
He kissed her. His lips were warm and wet against her own. Too stunned to do anything she just stood there like an ice statue. His tongue grazed her bottom lip, sending a shiver down her spine. Her hands turned sweaty again. She hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet.
He pulled away panting. His breath puffed into her open mouth as she continued to stand in shock. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy the kiss. She had. She really, really had. But, he had just told her they were supposed to be betrothed and now he was kissing her. It didn’t make sense. Still, the heat of him lingered on her lips. She had to fight the urge to pull him back to her.