“You’re right. There’s no going back now, so there’s no point in needless worry.” Elena smirks. “Now that Ramsey knows he has nothing to worry about, maybe he’ll decide to court you…”
I consider her words, wondering how it would make me feel.
I wasn’t lying when I told Ramsey I loved him. Every night since we’ve been back, I’ve yearned for him in the worst way imaginable. There’s nothing like looking into his stormy silver eyes or hearing my name on his lips.
Yet I cannot help but wonder at the things Elena and I have discussed before.
“I don’t think we’re meant to be,” I say simply, hoping they don’t ask me to elaborate.
Meg frowns, but none of the three try to get me to change my mind, probably because they know how miserable he’d make me.
We bathe, eat by ourselves, and laugh at village chatter. In Penticar, I had a few friends, but I was never truly close with them, except for Arwin, and it feels good to be surrounded by people who truly care for me.
Word has already spread that I was the long-dead Penticari princess, but when people try to approach, Meg casts them a look of warning, and they dart away.
If only I were born to anyone but the king, then, mayhap, I’d still have my mother.
“Don’t look now, but an ornery blue giant is eyeing you,” Meg whispers to me.
Just outside his hut, Ramsey stands, arms folded over his chest, glaring in our direction.
Elena giggles. “Have you seen the way he stares down any man who brings her food or offers to work on her hut?”
I get up from my seat. “Thanks for spending the day with me, but I have things to do.”
Elena nods. “Of course.”
I walk over to him, slowly, trying to gather my courage. His features are hard, but a soft smile curves his lips as I approach, which makes him look shy. And his matching eyes that are always so guarded seem, for once, vulnerable.
I chuckle at the notion.
“I like your laughter more than your sharp tongue,” he says, his shoulders softening slightly.
“You deserve both.”
He nods. “I suppose I do.”
“I’d like to talk.”
“As would I.”
We enter his hut, which looks the same as when I’d moved out days ago.
I turn toward Ramsey, and he steps forward, bringing himself just a foot away from me. “Asha?—”
I press a palm to his muscular chest and take a step back, releasing a shuddering breath. “I can’t…”
His face twists in confusion. “I knew not my folly.”
I nod. “This isn’t just about that.”
“Back in the forest, you said you loved me.”
“And I did. I still do. But there’s a lot of water in the moat?—”
“What is this water you speak of?”
I shake my head. “Sorry, it’s a saying that means that too much has happened between us.”
