“Of course, I forgive you.” What choice did she have? “But could you at least try to let me protect you next time?” She pointed to the corpses. “I’m pretty good at my job.”
The prince raised a brow, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Good? You were amazing.” He stepped towards her. “I’ve never seen anyone move like you did.”
Her chest warmed with pride at the praise. Some people might find being complimented on their killing techniques strange or off-putting, but not her. She was a soldier, and she was damned good at her job.
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Thank you.”
His smile widened, and a twinkle entered his gaze. “I’m happy to have you on my side, Viv.”
A nickname shouldn’t sound so good, especially coming from the lips of the man causing her so much trouble.
Marius was her charge. She needed to remember that. Feelings that were anything other than completely platonic, “I’m going to keep you safe and return you to the castle so your brother-in-law doesn’t kill me,” were ones she absolutely could not entertain.
For some reason, remembering that right now was more difficult than it should have been.
She shrugged. “I did what had to be done. I wish they’d just left, though.”
As much as ridding herself of some of her anger had felt good, she hated killing humans. It never felt like a fair fight.
“They were desperate.” Felix rounded the carriage, leading the taller horse by its harness. The steed was limping, and blood was running down its leg. “Azil is fine, but Silverfoot can’t go any further. He needs to heal and rest.”
Vivienne’s heart ached at the sight of the horse’s bloody leg. “Will Silverfoot live?”
There was little she hated more than seeing animals in pain. It was ironic, considering that she’d just killed a dozen men, but the horse was innocent. The humans, with their dark intentions and violent auras, hadn’t been.
“He will.” Felix ran a hand lovingly down the horse’s mane. “The highwaymen spooked him, jumping out and ambushing us. He jolted, and a sharp branch sliced open his foreleg. He’ll be alright as long as he can rest.”
Vivienne frowned. She didn’t like the idea of sticking around here. They’d be sitting ducks. “What’s the plan?”
Luckily, it seemed the groom had already thought about this.
“We passed an abandoned barn a short while ago. I’ll take Silverfootthere, and once he’s recuperated, I’ll bring him back to Castle Sanguis.” Felix frowned and glanced at the prince. “It means we’ll have to split up, Mar. I’m sorry, but I?—”
“I get it.” Marius clapped the groom on the back. “Take care of Silverfoot. We’re close to Hoarfrost Hollow anyway. We can leave the carriage here, and Vivienne and I can keep going with Azil.”
It took everything Vivienne had to bite back her groan.
Of course, the prince wouldn’t take the highwaymen’s ambush or the horse’s injury as signs to turn back. That would be too easy, and if there’s one thing she’d learned about the prince, it was that he rarely did things the easy way.
Marius and Felix bent their heads together, finalizing plans and saying goodbye. It was sweet, the way they seemed to care for each other.
Vivienne didn’t have any close friends. Not really. She’d been too concerned with training her first few decades after being Made to make friends, and by the time she was a confident soldier, she found that she didn’t particularly relate to any of the other vampires in her unit. They got along well enough, but she’d never say they were anything more than acquaintances.
That had never bothered Vivienne before, but now she was considering that having a friend might be nice. She’d enjoy having someone with whom she could have deep conversations, share stories, and build a real relationship.
Maybe when this was all over, she’d find someone to connect with. Someone who cared about her, like Marius and Felix cared about each other.
That would be nice. Different, but nice.
Lost in her thoughts, Vivienne silently helped the men move the carriage off the road and into the nearby woods. If it weren’t for her vampiric strength, the task would’ve taken hours instead of minutes.
Once it was done, Felix shook her hand. “Keep him safe?”
The prince.
“Always,” she promised.
The words came to her lips easily, despite her seemingly never-ending frustrations with the halfling. In the end, it didn’t matter that he irritated her.