“Careful, she bites,” the king deadpanned.
The joke evoked a soft giggle from me when I impulsively elbowed him in the side. After the king chuckled, I turned my attention back to the woman. “Um… sure.”
She ran so fast that she collided into me and knocked me back a few steps. “Welcome home. Wehave missed you terribly.” She finally let go, and I couldn’t erase the smile that she had plastered on my face. “I’m Rizzy. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
“It’s good to meet you, Rizzy.”
She held my hands. “Where have you been? Are you all right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Oh, good. That must mean you were lucky enough to steer clear of Fletcher Darkly.” She laughed and looked at the king’s stone-cold face. “Am I right?”
I ground my teeth as the edges of my vision darkened on their own volition. The tunnel gave a light tremor. The sound of crystals rattling together and falling down the sides of the piles echoed in the cave just before the king’s hand came down on my wrists, knocking away Rizzy’s touch.
I looked up into his gray eyes that matched mine in pigment as his face went from concerned to content. He released my hands and turned back to Rizzy. “We all owe Fletcher great kindness and gratitude for braving the Ölden Lands to rescueyourprincess.”
The defending words surprised me, nestling into my brain with dissonance.
“Oh,” Rizzy sputtered, “I’m,” she bowed her head and curtsied, “sorry. Please forgive me—”
I turned to the king and said, “I’ve had enough for one day.”
“Princess—” Rizzy called, but I broke myself apart and grasped at tendrils of the light breeze, praying it would take me to Fletcher.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
It took me three tries to teleport before making it to Aldris’s room. Fletcher was already there. He was sitting on the bed withInvisibleEttacracked open. His dark hair was fluffed up in gentle waves like he had just showered. His sharp jawline beckoned to be kissed. Just seeing him do something so casual, reading and relaxing, sent a blanket of tranquility over me.
He looked up and closed the book with a smile tinged with confusion. His brows furrowed as he satup in alert, eyes dazzling as he zeroed in on me. “You’re here. I was supposed to come get you.” He adjusted the collar of his loose-fitted black shirt.
I sent him a faint smile. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t want to wait another hour.”
“What if you didn’t get here safely though?”
His disapproval annoyed me. “But, I did, okay?”
His head snapped back. “Hostile much?”
“Sorry,” I huffed and scrubbed my face with an open hand, rubbing my temples at the end of the movement. “I just don’t like being away from you for this long.”
He frowned. “Come to bed.”
“In a minute.” I sent my feet into motion toward the drawers of the dresser on the opposite wall of the bed, shuffling through Aldris’s belongings for my pouch of money.
I heard shifting on the bed, and when I turned around, I ran straight into him. He towered over me, flashing an amused grin as I stepped back. But he followed and closed the distance between us, bringing me into his arms swiftly before his mouth crashed down on mine. He parted my lips with his tongue and drove his hands into my hair.
I melted, almost wept, that I was back with him. Missing his steady presence had been digging at my heart since I had left his side. My arms wrapped around his tapered waist, pushing up on my tiptoes to deepen the kiss.
He pulled away, grinned sullenly, and traced the curve of my cheek softly with the knuckle of his index finger. “Did your three suitors upset you?”
The question upset me. I retreated by a step, tension filling the foot of space between us. “Excuse me?”
He stood straight and let the distance lengthen as a smirk graced his face. “Well, I assume your mother was eager to introduce them to you. And their off-putting, dull personalities are definitely enough to upset anyone, especially you.”
I gave him a trite laugh then wiped it off my face abruptly with an eye roll before I made my way down the stairs. Like he was a shadow sewn to my feet, his footsteps pattered behind me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t meet my suitors, and I never want to.”
