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“Nope. But I won, so you get to walk me out of here.”

“Or…” Rafe said, twisting me violently to the side, but catching me at the last moment. “I could just throw you in again…” he teased, holding me just above the water’s surface.

I laughed and clung to him while he stepped out. “You really love the water, huh?” I whispered into his ear.

He nodded, his shoulder tightening. “Very much so, Princess.”

He kept hold of me as he waded out of the water. We stood there a few seconds while the water dripped from us. Kai and Alexei splashed out afterward and now we were all on the bank beside the pond. Rafe let me go and I slid down his body until my feet hit the grass. I then took a seat and lied back, stretched out on a bed of grass. “Well, that was fun.”

“Water training doesn’t usually end in a water fight at home, but yes, that was fun,” Kai said.

I opened one eye and stared up at him. “Training should always be fun.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he murmured.

I looked around and all of them were nodding. Alexei and I always had fun while training. Then again, we were both competitive and never wanted to stop unless we had the upper-hand. To us, that was the fun part. It pushed us to go harder even when we didn’t feel like it.

I turned my head to look at him and he was already looking at me. He gave me a small smile, and I returned it.

A noise sounded in the distance. I spun to my feet, crouching. The rest of them did the same, Calen taking the lead. He held his arm out as he walked toward the noise. His back stiffened. “Someone’s approaching.”

“Who is it?” Alexei asked. Stealthily, he made his way toward Calen.

“They don’t appear to be hiding their arrival.”

“Stand down,” a voice yelled.

All of us instantly relaxed. My heart had been thumping in my chest, but I fell back on my butt and held my knees to me. Alexei looked back to check on me. “It’s a perimeter guard.”

The voice rang out again. “I bring lunch courtesy of the queen and kings.”

I waited for my heart to gain control of itself again. It was hard bearing the weight of the future without knowing when it would start. Any little thing like this sent me in a panic.

The guard finally arrived, holding a picnic basket. “Queen Ariana thought you would all be making yourself hungry and since there was no way to contact you…”

“Thank you,” I said, standing now. “It’s much appreciated.”

The guard’s mouth closed as he took in my appearance. His gaze dragged down my wet tank top that now clung to me like a second skin and then the boy shorts that had ridden up on my legs.

I didn’t recognize this guard and wondered if he was new.

Alexei grabbed the basket from the guard’s hand. “Thank you,” he said, his voice sharp. “You may leave now and take care not to ogle the princess again as if she’s just an object. She’s more than likely to kick your ass.”

The guard’s face reddened. “I apologize.”

“Apologize somewhere else,” Kai fumed, not letting Alexei get the only word in. “There are only men here who are respectful of women and their form.”

The guard spun and left, leaving the rest of us silent for some time. I didn’t know what to say. I was happy they’d called the guard out, but left feeling like crap, nonetheless. It was difficult to be a warrior when things like this happened. When I was looked at just for my body—or the fact that I was a princess. There was just so much more to me than that.

“That was very wrong of him,” Theo said. “Where I am from, we always have respect. You should be able to walk around naked and not have others treat you like a…thing.”

“I didn’t recognize him,” I said immediately, trying to stick up for my clan. We didn’t hire guards who did that. At least, that had been my experience.

“Me either,” Alexei said. “I’ll talk to King Nicolai about it when we return to The Fort.”

Lovely. Papa Nic would love to hear this. I rubbed my forehead and sighed.

We ate in silence. That was my fault. I wasn’t in the mood to talk, feeling the shame the guard had put on me, but also feeling shame because he represented my clan and had just disrespected me in front of my potential mates. Before he was even done with his food, Alexei excused himself, followed closely by Theo and Felix.