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He raised his hands in surrender and stepped back again, watching her slowly drag herself backward until she was resting awkwardly against the headboard. She closed her eyes in exhaustion, just for a moment. Nikolai disrupted the peaceful silence invading her and almost dragging her back to sleep.“What do you mean, defective skates?”

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “The blades from my skates came loose while skating over the lake, I barely made it to the designated hole that I had to dive into.”

Nikolai crossed his arms, skepticism marred his features.

“That had to be an accident.”

Noora huffed a laugh. “Did your people find Kekoa? He was infected by rabies or something similar since he attacked me inthe forest. He would not let go, he was determined to murder me even if it meant losing the tournament.”

By the look on his face, this was no surprise to the prince. “Do you think it was him who ´manipulated´ your skates?”

“Why are you saying ‘manipulated’ like that?” she snapped, slowly growing angry at the skeptical look on his face. Why would she lie about something as irrelevant as this?

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” she growled, “you’re saying it like you don’t believe me.”

He raised both his brows and Spike grew wary beside him. “That must be a misconception on your side, I just wanted to know if you think it was Kekoa who tampered with your skates.”

Noora tried to take a deep breath, her face contorting into a grimace at the pain in her sides. This was not worth fighting over. “Forget about the skates. What is more important is that you send me deliberately into a cave that was guarded by an ancient mystic being who almost killed me.” This time he was bound to believe her as she had proof in the form of the dragon’s head.

“How could I know there was a dragon residing in the mountain?” He sounded exasperated, throwing his hands in the air.

“I told you! I told you about something being in those mountains, you laughed me off!”

“Because it was a myth! Your words were based on ridiculous storytelling and not actual facts.”

“The tooth, who retrieved it knew there was a dragon,” she pressed.

“It only served as a bargain to switch with a weapon. It's a coincidence.”

Noora violently threw the comforter off her body. “What are you doing?” Nikolai asked her, alarmed. “What does it looklike? I am leaving.” She threw her legs over the side of the bed and clenched her teeth as she pushed off the mattress with great force. Before she could even take a first step, searing pain shot through her leg and made her tip forward. Nikolai caught her swiftly with his arms, her chin colliding with his chest. She groaned, her teeth clacking and sending a shiver down her spine. After a moment of surprise, she quickly scrabbled backward, though the prince would not let go of her.

“Let me go!” she protested. “Are you completely mental, you are severely injured, you cannot just get up and strut along the halls.”

“I do not strut, I…hobble.” Nikolai’s lips twitched but he continued to stare down at her, patronising her. She started to push at his chest again but his grip on her was secure, something dark moving in his eyes.

“Sit back down on the bed and I will let go of you. I will not condone you getting any more hurt than you already are.” She glared up at him and his posh sentences, she would like to do nothing more than wrap her hands around his delicate throat and squeeze until that superior look would finally vanish from his face.

“Stop being so stubborn andsit. down,” he ground out and exerted a light pressure so she would move back. Despite her wanting to be as far away from him as possible she listened. She decided not to protest since he was looking at her like a disappointed mentor. And maybe because her vision started to swirl in front of her again.

She stumbled back on the bed, grimacing when another stab of pain shot through her body. Nikolai’s brows drew together and he gripped her hips in surprise, moving her backward until her back rested against the pillows. The bed dipped as he put one knee on the mattress and Noora’s eyes widened in alarm as he drew close to her.

“What…are you doing?” The words stumbled past her lips. His hand dove behind her and adjusted the pillows behind her back, his face hovering right in front of her, offering her an extensive picture of his iris. On closer inspection, his eyes were not just jade coloured, a soft golden ring danced across the outer range, the same colour Tyra’s irises were. Noora turned her head as he adjusted the pillows in such a way that her hips shifted and the pain in her broken ribs and arm subsided slightly.

The prince moved back, raising a brow. “Better?”

She nodded despite her annoyance.

“I apologise for seeming like I do not believe you...” He clenched his jaw slightly as if the words he was speaking next were hurting him. “Because I do. Believe you. I want you to tell me what happened in detail but that is a matter we can discuss later. Someone is wanting to see you and I believe if I wait any longer, she will barrel straight through that door.”

Spike yapped happily at Nikolai’s words and Noora’s head turned towards the gilded door, separating her sleeping chamber from the palas.

“Come in,” the prince called and the door creaked open. Noora looked up to see who was going to step inside, though she needed to tip her head down a few inches to see Lulva and Josephine entering the room. Something immediately lifted off of Noora’s body as she watched the red curls of Freckles bounce as she made her way towards the side of her body. Her hands were knotted into each other as she threw Noora a cautious look. Josephine did not hold back and bounced on the bed. “Josephine! Careful,” Nikolai chided his sister who threw him a look. “She is not made out of glass, Kai.”

“She is severely injured, so just…be careful.” He looked away when Noora glanced at him, surprised by his concerned tone.

She crawled forward and smiled at Noora who gave her a small smile. The little princess nudged herself onto her good side and rested her blonde head against Noora’s chest.