Page 16 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

A smirk begins to tug at my lips, until I recognize the man.

Archie. And the other man is Cameron. I inhale sharply.

My eyes shift to Elora, who’s frowning at me.

I’m frozen, unsure whether to shield her from the sight or expose it.

But I know I can’t keep this from her. I let my eyes flick toward the window, then back to her, making her frown deepen.

She places the canister down and steps toward me.

“Your Highness, how about this one?” the man behind her asks frantically. But she ignores him and moves to my side. I step back to let her take my place. She glances at the window but then looks back at me.

“What is it, Ranger? I don’t see anything. ”

“Your Highness, your room has a grand view of the yard. Why don’t you head up there, and I’ll bring you some tea?”

Ignoring him, I realize she’s too short to see over the flowers hanging outside the window. So I bend down, wrap my arms around her hips, and lift her up. Her arms shoot out to wrap around my neck, and I know the moment she sees them, she gasps, just like I did.

After a moment, her resigned eyes meet mine. “You can put me down now, Ranger.” I gently set her on her feet, and she moves back to the counter beside Blaze and resumes sniffing the canisters.

The others watch her with concern before each of them comes over to see what we were looking at outside. Draven swears under his breath, but we all just watch her and wait for a reaction. She continues sniffing the canisters, then picks one and holds it out to Blaze.

“This one?”

His jaw clenches for a moment before he places his hands over hers and leans in to smell it. “Yes, that’s a good choice. Will you make us five cups and bring them to her room?” he asks the man.

“No, I want to wait here for it,” she says, surprising us. Her eyes meet mine, and I see strength and determination cross her face. She isn’t going to run and hide from this. A surge of pride fills me at her attitude, and I let a small smile touch my lips as I nod at her in respect .

There’s a hint of pleasure in her eyes, and I know she’s pleased by my reaction. I feel my cock stir and force myself not to adjust. What the hell was that reaction?

We stand off to the side as the man goes to work heating water and setting out five mugs. I’m so distracted wondering how she’s feeling that I jump when the back door opens.

The woman who enters gasps when she sees us all standing there, staring at her. “Oh!”

“Marigold, this is Her Highness, Princess Elora,” the man introduces quickly, keeping his eyes averted as he returns to making the tea. If he were thinking clearly, he’d have realized his mistake in introducing them the wrong way around.

The woman, Marigold, offers a deep curtsy, looking around nervously.

“Marigold, was it?” Elora asks, taking a single step forward.

“Um, yes, Your Highness,” she says nervously, her eyes avoiding Elora’s.

“I’m going to ask you something, and I want the truth, understood?” Elora’s boldness surprises me.

“Of course,” she says, ducking her head in submission.

“Do you love them?”

“What?!” she gasps, lifting her head to meet Elora’s eyes.

I watch as Elora’s expression softens. “Do you love them, the lords? You can tell me the truth, no harm will come to you, I promise.”

“I—Yes, I do.”

Elora nods before she asks. “And do they love you?”

“I believe so, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Marigold.” She turns to the man making her tea. “I’ve decided I will take the tea in my room, do you mind bringing it up when it's ready?”

“Of course not, Your Highness,” he says with wide eyes.

“Your Highness, dinner will be served in about ten minutes,” the cook says nervously.

“Very well, we’ll take our tea in the dining room.” She turns back to a wide-eyed Marigold and smiles. “Well, Marigold, no time like the present, I guess. Shall we?” she says, motioning to the door.

“What?” she asks, looking like she was being led to the slaughter.

“You heard him, it’s time for dinner.”

“Oh, I… I couldn’t. I… I’m not of noble blood.” So, that answers the question, she wasn’t a lady. Probably the daughter of a local family.

“Do you not eat dinner, Marigold?” Elora asks, raising an eyebrow at her, and I hear Arrow snort at her question.

When she doesn’t answer, Elora gently places her arm around her shoulders and leads her from the kitchen.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispers before looking back at us.

“Can one of you lead us to the dining room, please? I’m afraid I’m a bit turned around. ”

I’ve never heard her act and speak like such royalty before. I guess my lesson paid off. And although I knew she was putting on an act with a brave face, I’m still impressed by her control of what is a bad situation for her.

“Of course,” Blaze says, moving to the lead with Arrow. Draven and I take up the rear as we silently walk to the dining room. When we enter, the four lords stand up, and when they take in Elora, with her arm wrapped around Marigold, their eyes widen and their jaws drop.

Nobody says anything as Elora marches them up to the head of the table and looks at each man.

“Gentlemen. I’ve met your friend, Marigold. She told me something interesting, and I wanted to confirm it.” Marigold practically shakes under her arm, so Elora removes it and grips the back of a chair instead.

“Please, be honest with me. Do you love her?”

“Yes,” Donald says instantly, making the other three turn to him in surprise.

“Donald!” Byron hisses.

“No, don’t get mad at him. I wanted the truth. Thank you, Donald. If you love her, then what am I even doing here?” she asks, getting to the heart of the problem.

Archie clears his throat before he speaks. “Your Highness, your visit was arranged before we even knew Marigold. But we met her soon after, and we fell… quickly. Still, it would be a di shonor not to take your visit seriously. You are a princess, after all.”

“Are you saying you’d choose me over her because of my title?” she asks, sounding angry.

“We would never disrespect you by turning you down,” he corrects.

Elora’s face relaxes a bit. She looks down at the chair for a moment before pulling it out and all but pushing Marigold into it.

“Let me make this easy for you. I reject you. Now, please enjoy dinner with your… girlfriend. If you could have food for the five of us sent up to my room, I would appreciate it. I’d like to spend the rest of the evening in my suite, and we will be departing first thing in the morning.

” She nods her head once and turns toward us, quickly making her exit.

Draven moves ahead, leading the way as the rest of us surround her, silently marching through the castle like she’s on a mission.

The second Blaze closes the door of her suite, Arrow lets out a big laugh, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her around. “Elora, that was fucking amazing!”

“Arrow! Language!” I chastise him, making them both roll their eyes at me.

“You think so?” she asks as he sets her on her feet and steps back .

“Oh yeah, you perfectly put them in their place in such an elegant way.”

“He’s right, Princess. You somehow came out of this as kind and benevolent while chastising them for treating both of you that way,” I tell her with a smile.

Her shoulders sag as she smiles up at me. “I don’t want to waste time with anybody who isn’t really interested in me. I’ve done enough of that in the past. And the fact that they thought they needed to pick me over her because of my status… Just no. Gross.”

This woman was remarkable. I have no idea how the class system could mean so little to her. It made this mission of ours even harder, as she was just as likely to fall for the butlers as she was the lords. Or her knights.

A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts, and I move to answer it. Our dinner and tea are brought in, and after the man leaves, we all sit around the living area, eating quietly.

“I’m sorry it didn't work out with them, Princess,” Blaze tells her gently.

“It’s okay. They seem nice but…” she trails off.

“But what?” Arrow asks.

“But I didn’t really feel any spark with them, any connection, you know? Is it stupid to want that?” she asks, her eyes meeting Arrow’s.

“No, I don’t think so. Sometimes you just know. ”

Her tongue pokes out to swipe over her lower lip and she looks down at her hands.

“So, where are we headed tomorrow?” she asks after a moment of silence.

“Ravenbrook. It’ll take about a week.”

“Do you think I could ride a horse for part of the trip?” she asks, surprising me.

“You don’t like the carriage?”

“It’s a bit bumpy sometimes and makes me a little nauseous.” Fuck, I didn’t think about that. The roads out this way are pretty bad, and we didn’t feel them so much on horseback.

“Yes, I’m sure we can arrange that.”

“Thanks,” she says with a smile.

After we finish our meal, Blaze collects our plates and stacks them on the cart left by Edger.

“Princess, it’s probably time you headed to bed. You three can go find your room, and I’ll stay on guard out here.”

“What? You’re not all staying here?” she asks, alarmed. I take a second to look at her. She looks… scared. Was she still worried about sleeping on her own?

A man broke into her room at night, of course she’s scared to sleep alone.

“We’ll all stay here,” I decide, and watch as he shoulders drop with relief .

She glances over her shoulder at the bedroom before glancing at each of us. “I—” she cuts herself off, seemingly unable to tell us what she wants.

It’s my job to anticipate her needs, and I consider this part of my job. “Someone can stay in there with you, if that will make you feel safe?”

Her cheeks flush an adorable red before she nibbles her lip and nods quickly. “Okay, get yourself ready for bed, Blaze will join you when he’s ready.”

Everyone moves to get ready to sleep and when Arrow is alone with me by the fireplace, he whispers, “Ranger, why Blaze? Why not me?”

“You’re too close to her, Arrow. It’s for your own good,” I tell him as I remove my sword and chain mail.

“You don’t think all four of us are close to her?” he asks with an eyebrow raised, then his expression changes. “You don't trust me,” he grumbles.

“I trust you with my life,” I tell him honestly. “But I don’t know if I can trust you to lie beside her and keep your hands to yourself.”

“Like you’d be any better,” he scoffs.

“I wouldn’t,” I say, surprising him. “That’s why I don’t lie with her.” Because I know that if I did lay with her in my arms, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from touching her soft skin, and stroking her beautiful hair .

That’s why I had to keep space between us, my control around her was growing much too thin for my liking.