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Tears in my eyes, I shuddered. I hated this. Being useless and fearful and no closer to finding Mother and Val. I needed to know how to fight. I’d always yearned for that skill, but I’d never realized how important it was until now. In this world, skill with a blade was far more useful than anything else. King Oberon had known that. And he’d ensured mortals would never have the tools and training needed for revolt.

“Tessa,” Kalen murmured from the open door.

Heart jerking, I twisted onto my side to see his shadowy profile filling the entire frame. His sapphire eyes gleamed in the dark. My mouth went dry as he slowly stalked toward me.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“You tell me.” He knelt beside the bed until his face was right in my eyeline. Furrowed brows enhanced the tension in his face, but there was a softness in his eyes that shook me. “You’re tossing and turning.”

“I can’t sleep in here,” I admitted to him. “I’m too on edge. It feels like a pooka will crash through that window and kill me.”

For a moment, I wanted to take the words back. I hated admitting any kind of weakness to this king who had once reveled in the misfortune of his enemies. The king who only cared about my life because I could do the one thing he could not. But then he glanced at the window and nodded.

“Understandable. What would make you feel safer?”

My heart pounded. I wasnotgoing to tell him that. It was embarrassing and also completely ridiculous. Even though I didn’t trust him, the only way I’d feel safer was if he sat in this room instead of the one out there. Right beside me. Close enough, just in case the worst happened.

But he was the Mist King.

He’d sent his mists and monsters across all of Aesir.

He’d trapped Teine beneath Oberon’s horrible rule. Everything was his fault. He’d destroyed cities! I should fear him.

Instead, he made me feel safe.

And I could never tell him that.

My breath caught. He gazed at me as if he were looking inside my mind to read my every thought. He reached out a hand, his fingers dragging along the edge of my shirt. Everything within me tightened. My heart roared in my ears. What was he doing? Why was he—?

Oh. His fingers whispered across the edge of my dagger, and then he pulled the weapon from where I’d hidden it in my shirt. He placed it in my hands.

“Hold onto this tonight. I’ll start training you tomorrow.” He pushed up from the bed and started to go.

“Wait,” I breathed, but then I stopped myself.

With a frown, he paused and gazed down at me. “What is it, Tessa?”

My name curled off his tongue, almost making me shudder.

“Nothing. Never mind,” I said tightly.

Without another word, he retreated to the other room. I gripped the dagger, holding it against my chest. It had been a nice idea, but it wasn’t enough. Deep down, I knew that this little wooden thing would do nothing against a real threat. It was a safety blanket and nothing more.

Footsteps thumped on the hardwood floor. Kalen appeared by my side once more, dropping his chair right beside the bed. He settled into it without a word. Inwardly, I let out a strangled breath. He was right here now. If a pooka came through that window…well, it wouldn’t stand a chance.

Still, I found it difficult to sleep. I was all too aware of his presence by my side. It was like he took up the entire room. Even when I turned my back to him, I could feel him.

Eventually, I finally found myself drifting away, only to be woken by the cold not long after. My teeth chattered. The temperature had dropped. Sniffling, I reached up to feel my nose, and my hands were like blocks of ice. Shivering, I clutched the cloak tighter around me, but it did little good. Without a fire, I would not get warm.

Kalen reached out and placed the back of his hand against my cheek. The bastard’s hands were as warm as the sun in Teine. Another annoyingly unfair advantage the fae had over us. Turned out they didn’t feel the cold quite the same.

“You’re freezing,” he said, his voice sounding worried. “Is the cloak not helping?”

“Doesn’t seem so.”

“Hmm.” Without another word, he pushed up from the chair and climbed into the bed. Alarm jolted through me, making me forget about the cold for a moment.

“What are you doing?” I tried to squirm away from him, but he curved a strong arm over my body and pulled me against his chest. My heart nearly stopped. The warmth of him seeped into my bones, chasing the cold away.