I shook my head. The king was dead. Thank the gods. Though I knew he was gone, it didn’t stop the meaning of his words from piercing my heart. I didn’t need for him to be alive to know that if he were here, he would have told me in no uncertain terms that I was a failure.
Father would have found a twisted pleasure in the pain rippling through my muscles with every step. If he knew my head pounded or the way my boots chaffed against my feet, he would have called me a weak female, incapable of the simplest of tasks.
“Watch out, Ryllae!” Daegal’s voice pulled me from my dark thoughts, and I jumped, stumbling back and ducking just in time to miss a thick branch hanging over the path.
That was far too close. The last thing I wanted was to fall twice in the span of an hour. “Thank you.”
Daegal’s brows furrowed as he tugged me to a stop. Concern filled his eyes as they swept over me. Glancing ahead, I could barely see the red of Aileana’s hair as she picked her way through the forest, the others following close behind. They moved easily over the snow and ice, as if they had been born to wear snowshoes.
“Look at me,” Daegal said, a quiet order in his voice. “Don’t worry about them, Princess.”
Whenever he called me that, butterflies erupted in my stomach. It was stupid—I was a princess. It was my title. But coming from him, it made me feel… loved.
Peeling my gaze away from the rest of the group, I met his eyes. Daegal’s mouth twitched, and his free hand lifted to my chin. With as much care as someone holding a newborn animal, Daegal turned my head to face him. His lips brushed mine, the kiss little more than air, before he squeezed my hand. “What’s wrong? Earlier, you seemed… distracted.”
He noticed. He always noticed.
Biting my lip, I tried to decide what to say. I didn’t want to tell him I was hearing voices—I was already unstable enough. If Daegal lost faith in me, if he thought I was insane, then I truly would find myself falling over the ledge of madness. He was the only person who really believed in me. The only one who saw me for who I was. Even more than myself—he seemed to look into my very soul and see the elf I should be, not the scarred one I was.
But it was more than that. I didn’t want to admit that my father was right. I didn’t want to admit that I was a weakling and unable to keep up with the rest of the group. My entire body ached from where I fell earlier, a constant reminder of my failures.
This quest was important, and I was the reason it would not succeed.
When I didn’t answer, he frowned. “Ryllae?” His brows knit together as his eyes swept over me. “What’s wrong?”
Everything was wrong. In the end, I settled for the most plausible and least disturbing answer. “I’m so tired.”
The last word had barely left my lips before he moved towards me, taking my pack. He swung it over his own back as if it weighed nothing before scooping me in his arms.
I protested, “Daegal…”
He shook his head. Wrapping my cloak tightly around me, he headed in the direction the others had gone. My snowshoes dangled awkwardly off my feet, not touching the snow, but coming close.
“I can walk, I’m not—”
He kissed me with all the care in the world, effectively silencing me. “You’re not heavy at all, Princess. Let me do this for you.”
Itwasnice, being held and my feet were already feeling better now that they weren’t carrying me over feet of snow. Not to mention Daegal’s warmth that seeped through his layers. Already, the cold that had taken up residence in my bones was a little less bitter.
My retorts died on my tongue, and I buried my face in his cloak. His scent flooded me and his steady heartbeat pounded in time with the thrumming of my magic. I felt safe. Warm. Cared for.
Soon, we caught up with the others. If any of them had something to say about the fact that Daegal was carrying me, none of them said anything.
The voices never came back, and the ledge of insanity was further than ever.
It wasn’t long before my eyes slipped shut and I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
“Wake up, Princess.”A gentle hand landed on my cheek, and I opened my eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the darkness. The moonlight illuminated Daegal’s dark skin as he carried me.
Hours must have passed, and yet, I remained in his arms. Thatthingwithin me hummed with the knowledge that Daegal was looking after me. Protecting me.
No one had ever done that before.
No one had ever cared.
“I care deeply about you,” Daegal replied, his voice gruff.