Biyu pushed herself into an upright position and stared at Nikator’s still frame. When he didn’t stir after five minutes, she swung her legs over the bed and rose to her feet. She winced as pain shot through her knee. It would likely be sore to the touch for another week or so.
Since he was asleep, it didn’t matter if she was wearing all of these layers, anyway. So there was no harm in taking them off,right? She was unbearably hot, not to mention that she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep at this rate. It was very unladylike andveryunroyal of her, but she didn’t have a choice. He hadn’t given her the privilege of privacy, so it really wasn’t her fault about the indecency.
Biyu padded over to her wardrobe and undid the belt around her waist at the same time. She carefully opened the door and placed the belt inside. Then she slowly undid the outer robes of her dress, sighing in relief as the layers peeled back and she was left in her night robes. She stored away the rest of the clothes and silently shut the wardrobe. She fiddled with the robes until they weren’t sticking to her sweat-slicked body and spun around to head back to her bed.
Only to be met with a pair of glowing, sapphire eyes from across the room.
“What—” Her breath caught in her chest and heat clawed up her throat, her ears, and spread over her cheeks. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”
Nikator stared at her, unblinkingly, unflinching.
Biyu licked her suddenly dry lips. He couldn’t have seen much. It was only … the fact that she had undressed that was inappropriate. Her night robes were modest enough and the lighting was dim enough that the outline of her curves shouldn’t have been visible. And yet he was staring at her, alert and very muchnotsleep-laden, as if he had caught a glimpse of somethingmore.
He leaned forward, his hands on his knees. His voice came out gruff and laced with the last remnants of sleep. “You really shouldn’t be undressing in front of me like that. It’s distracting.”
“You’re … you’re supposed to be asleep.”
“I was.”
She couldn’t help the furious blush that continued to warm her skin. “Also, I’m not—I’m not distracting. Don’t lie.” Herembarrassment intensified and she hurried to her bed, all too aware of his gaze tracking her every movement. There was no way he desired her.
Nikator ran a hand down his face. “You think I would lie about something like that? Yes, you’re distracting, Princess Biyu. Half the fucking court thinks so too. Or are you blind to that?”
“W-what are you talking about?” Biyu yanked back the blanket on her bed and dove onto the mattress with a little too much force. She pulled the thin material up to her chin and glared at him. “You say I’m a liar, but I think you’re an even worse one.”
He raked a hand through his hair and blew out air. “Damn it. You really—you really are—” He didn’t even finish his sentence and only shook his head, like he was either disappointed in her or couldn’t believe her.
Biyu’s brows pulled together. “I’m reallywhat?”
“Fearless. Naïve. And, apparently,blind.” Nikator reclined in the couch and tipped his head against the top of it until he was staring at the ceiling. “Just go back to sleep and pretend that I’m not here.”
That was the plan in the first place, anyway, so she didn’t complain as she sank into the pillows and turned the other way, her heart pounding for no apparent reason. It was probably because the scrolls were beneath the mattress;thatwas what made it hard to breathe. She was sure of it.
Fearless … That wasn’t the word she would use to describe herself.
Naïve, sure. It fit.
But blind? To what? Her … beauty? That didn’t make sense at all. She wasn’t beautiful to the point that “half the court” was distracted by her. Liqin was the beautiful one, since she had been favored by their late father, the previous emperor. Biyu was stupid, anxiety-ridden, and a bumbling fool who couldn’t stringtogether a sentence most of the time. She didn’t have any charm and certainly not enough to distract anyone. Much less a court as vicious as Drakkon Muyang’s.
Maybe they were distracted by how incompetent she was at handling herself.Thatmade more sense than whatever Nikator was insinuating.
A week passed without incident.Nikator truly did shadow her every step; too bad she was stuck inside her bedchambers the entire time. She had even skipped out on the weekly garden stroll—it was better that way, since she needed the warrior absolutely bored out of his mind. He was quiet most of the time, watching her with his typical scowl, or glaring from his position on the couch. She wasn’t able to get a note to Yat-sen, nor was she able to read the second scroll, which remained a mystery. The spell of forgetfulness didn’t leave her mind; she had to find an opportunity to use it against him, because if he kept up his stubbornness on watching her, then she would never be able to push her and Yat-sen’s plan into motion.
That opportunity presented itself in the afternoon on the eighth day of him becoming her guard.
She was in the middle of another boring painting of Jade, who was perched on the window sill staring at the insects and birds zooming through the sky. Nikator surprised her by climbing up to his feet and stretching his long legs. He stifled a yawn and glanced at the door.
“I’ll be back,” he said.
“Where are you going?”
He scowled at her. “This room’s too stuffy and I need to take a walk; I’ll lose my fucking mind if I have to keep watching you work on that hideous drawing one more time.”
Her mouth dropped open and she turned back to the half-finished ink painting. “This isn’t … My art isn’thideous.”
“Your cat looks like a malformed mix between a troll and a horse.” He headed toward the door while she continued to stare at the drawing. She had somehow gotten accustomed to his rough language and after a few days, she’d come to the realization that he wasn’t going to hurt her. As such, she had somehow grown comfortable around the murderer.
But it was all a ploy, she told herself. She needed to make herself as harmless as possible. She needed to act comfortably around him to lower his guard. It was the only way he would trust her enough to leave her alone.
