I pull her close. “Nay, my love. The outer room is sealed off with boxes stacked over the door. This was kept as a hidden room, most have forgotten about it. Even if they remember it exists, they know we couldn’t sneak in without jarring all the stuff to get through. Should they try, it will give us ample warning to escape out the window and get to my next safe spot.”
“So they don’t know about the window?”
“It looked safely sealed and impenetrable, right? They don’t know I loosened the bars a decade ago. I thought I might need a place to hide someday. Today’s that day.”
Because I want to distract her from the ruckus outside, I lead her toward the makeshift bathroom. I pull aside the curtain, and then light the candle. The soft, dim glow shows her the chamber pot, and a large bowl on a shelf with bottles of water next to it. There are toothbrushes, soap, and a small towel.
There are also small holes in the soft dirt to bury our waste. Not the most romantic of areas, but we’re safe and we’re whole. I leave her to head back to the window to listen to the search.
When she’s done, she steps back into the open area.
“They’re still fighting?” she whispers, angling her head toward the pane.
“Probably blaming each other,” I say softly, reaching for her hand to lead her away from the window. I know she’s gotten used to the faint light of the candle behind the curtain and is not able to see as well in the rest of the darkened room.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
“A little.”
I peer up through the window. They’re making their way out of my view, so I take the dark curtain and cover the glass, sealing the edges. “If someone is close, they’ll see the fabric through the glass. But they’re not bothering with this building, so we’re safe to cover the window completely and then light the candle.”
Once the cloth is hooked into the side-nails, I open the bathroom area and bring the candle to the makeshift bed.
“I grabbed us food earlier. From… well, your mating celebration.” I grin.
She snorts, making me smile wider. There is that humor I’d missed.
“Was even a three-tiered cake,” I tease. “Not every day the sons of a king find a mate. Especially not those fools.”
“Willing or not,” she agrees.
She sits next to me and I hand her one of the fresh steaks and baked potatoes from the bag I stuffed before heading to her room. I’d brought it into the basement earlier when I’d slipped away from the party. I had to return quickly though, making sure enough people saw me. When I heard Auglesh bragging to another about how they were going to take their mate together, I knew it was time to slip away before they headed this way. No one except for the two idiots and their personal guards knew which hut she was held in. Because just the few knew, the males were cocky, thinking no one would know where to find her.
I knew by reading my father’s lips when he told Leviton where to put her. No one but Negan could probably hear his whisper, but I didn’t need to hear when I could see.
“How did they get you?” I ask.
Negan takes a bite of her steak and begins chewing. “Someone pinged a rock against my bedroom window. I thought you were coming to visit. He motioned toward the back, so I went there. When I opened the back door, I thought it was you for a minute. But then Auglesh drugged me and I woke up here.”
My blood boils at my foolishness. They’d watched me sneak into her room. “I knew something was wrong. Felt it in my gut. Rosemary and Paul worried too. It’s my fault for visiting you through your window. You wouldn’t have been tricked by Auglesh if I didn’t make you think it was normal.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I jumped to the conclusion that you were in on it.”
We stay quiet while we eat.
“Leviton said if I was pregnant, he’d make sure I lost it and then get me pregnant with his. And you know the difference between you and him? When you thought he raped me, you said you’d love any child of mine, no matter the father.”
There’s a pause for a moment. She watches me with glittering eyes, so I nod slowly, showing her the truth of my statement. “My life for yours.”
“You promised that before.”
“Aye. ‘Tis the highest promise to receive with Southpeaks. You will always have it. I will always love you, Negan of the Blackhearts.”
Chapter Fourteen
Negan:
I WAKE UP SLOWLY, wrapped in warm arms. The room is dark and I have no idea whether it’s day or night. Mayhap early morn.
