Page 29

W hen sleep finally released its hold on me, I found that I was much warmer than usual.

Forcing my eyes open, I looked up to see Robyn cradling me against his chest, being held in his lap. It was as though he never let me go after he picked me up—like he’d been holding me this entire time.

I shifted my eyes over to look out the window—the sun was beginning to set now—and realized we were in Robyn’s room, on his bed, his back against the headboard.

I recognized the small space from when I peeked in, searching for him early this morning.

It had a bed in the center of the room, two windows in the corner, a door leading to a washroom, a wardrobe, and a small table and chairs, but that was it.

Nothing that screamed royalty, let alone king .

It struck me as odd, how modest he was as a ruler.

Without thinking, I moved my head closer to him, soaking in his warmth. I heard him take a sharp breath, and finally he looked down at me, our eyes meeting.

The relief I felt coming from him was instant, the moment our eyes locked.

I offered him a small smile, and he returned it with one of his own.

“Hi,” I said quietly, feeling slightly sheepish.

“Hey,” he murmured in response.

He seemed to notice our position suddenly, and made to set me down and move away. I quickly reached out and placed my hand on his chest, causing him to pause.

“Stay?” I asked softly, shifting my gaze to meet his eyes again.

I could feel the surprise radiating from him like the warmth his body emitted. He searched my eyes, probably wondering if this was some kind of trick. But I held his gaze, letting him search all he wanted.

A heartbeat later, he relaxed against me. He nodded, then pulled me closer to him, our bodies flushed with one another. I noticed a small smile playing on his lips.

We stayed like that for a few moments, simply enjoying each other’s presence. I rested my head against his chest, relishing in his warmth and his scent—magnolia blossoms and fresh spring rain.

“Aviva?” Robyn called my name softly. I realized in that moment just how much I enjoyed the way my name sounded on his tongue.

“Hm?” I mumbled, content to stay here forever.

“My love, we need to talk,” he said, still speaking quietly, as though he didn’t want to scare me.

At that, my muscles stiffened. I knew he could feel the shift in my body language from the look in his eyes.

“You’re alright, I promise,” he reassured me. “We agreed on open communication, right? This is me finally holding true to that,” he explained, still holding me. His grip on me tightened, like I might fade away.

Nonetheless, I could feel myself starting to worry.

I gently detangled myself from him and moved to sit beside him—though my body screamed at me not to—until my back rested against the headboard next to him.

Though, I didn’t have it in me to move myself further, our shoulders and sides flushed with each other.

“Alright,” I said after a silent moment. Though my heart had started to pick up its pace in my chest.

He reached over and gently grabbed my hand, holding it in both of his. From there, I could see both of our tattoos—where we took on each other’s family crest. The symbols for two different nations. It still felt surreal, to see the ink on our arms.

“Why didn’t you just tell me you could wield? Especially so many zirilium?” he asked quietly, and I could hear the hurt in his voice as he spoke. My heart ached at the sound.

I let out a sigh. “You don’t understand.

Father forced me to hide what I was for my entire life—even from Dimitri, my twin.

The only one who knew was Aurora, my best friend.

Father wanted Dimi to be his heir, not me.

But the laws state whoever can wield more zirilium is to be the heir, so Father had me hide that part of me away so the title would revert to Dimitri.

I… never had a choice,” I said the last part softly, remorsefully.

Robyn ran his thumb thoughtlessly over my hand, and my skin ignited from the innocent contact. “That explains why you never told me about the Northern zirilium. Good job on hiding it, by the way.” A small swell of pride overcame him, surprising me. “But what about the Southern zirilium?”

“That, I had no inkling of until that day the flowers sprouted from my tears. From what I’ve gathered, the elixirs my father had me take every day nullified any part of that.

I didn’t know I had any Southerner in me at all until after I smashed the remaining elixirs and the flowers sprouted.

When you left to go to Hollis, I did as much research as I could in the library.

I met another Northerner there, Laurence.

He said Chess saved his life years ago, and he’s been helping in the library ever since.

Anyway, he said he remembers when Father and Mother got married.

And he, along with records, helped confirm it—that my mother was originally from the South. ”

Robyn’s idle strokes on my hand came to a pause. “You trust Laurence to know this kind of stuff about you?” he asked.

I nodded. “I trust him.”

Robyn seemed to think on this for a moment, then nodded.

“I remember him. If you’d like, and if he agrees to it, we could appoint him as your personal guard.

He’s definitely still got the qualifications for it.

I hadn’t appointed you one yet because I didn’t want to scare you, but it will be necessary when we return. ”

For a moment, I was stunned. I was surprised he was allowing me to have a say in any of this.

“I’ll ask him about it when we get back. If I must have one, I’d like for it to be him,” I said, though the idea of a personal guard made me wary.

For a wing-beat, we sat in silence, his thumb rubbing the skin along my hand once again.

“Training is going to be necessary. You understand that, right?” he asked, but there was no venom in it. Just pure concern.

“Definitely. I’ll start first thing tomorrow morning,” I said, nodding in agreement.

Suddenly I felt a wave of nerves overcome me, and I remembered he must feel it too when he asked, “You’re nervous?”

I nodded again, forcing myself to be open and honest for one of the first times in my life. “I don’t know the Valwain all that well yet. And… I’m scared of hurting people. I’ve never had any official zirilium training,” I admitted sheepishly.

I saw a smile cross his face out of the corner of my eye. “We can fix that.”

Suddenly he hopped out of bed, staring right at me. My hand was still warm from where he had been holding it.

“Join us for dinner tonight. They want to help, Avi,” he said. This idea obviously brought him much joy, as he was glowing .

I couldn’t help but smile back, and I agreed, stating that it was a good idea.

“When is it?” I asked.

“Sunset,” he responded, still grinning like I’d offered him the moon in the palm of my hand.

“What? That’s any minute!” I said, scrambling to get out of bed. I double checked the window and saw the sky painted different shades of orange, the sun sitting on the horizon.

I heard Robyn laugh as he watched me stress, obviously not at all pressed.

“They’ll wait for us, it’ll be fine,” he reassured me, but I was already heading for the door.

“Give me five minutes! I need to change!” I said, after having looked down at my still damp and dirty clothes from this morning.

A few moments later, I was standing in front of the full length mirror in my room, quickly braiding my hair into a single plait down my spine and fluffing out my bangs. I opted for black, cotton pants and a silk, silver shirt, two things I found at the top of my luggage.

The North was rich in silver, which is why I seemed to have grown so fond of it. Meanwhile, Robyn seemed to feel the same about gold, which was the South’s most valued ore.

Instead of tucking my necklace into my shirt, like I’d done for years, I let it hang loose, openly adorning my neck. I looked into the mirror one last time, taking in my simple yet modest appearance, then headed out of the room.

I found Robyn waiting for me in the hallway, leaning against the wall behind him.

When I stepped out, I watched as his eyes roamed my body, drinking the sight of me as though it was all that mattered to him.

It didn’t take me long to do the same to him.

He had on a pair of deep green pants so dark they were nearly black, with a white shirt adorned with gold detailing and buttons.

These types of shirts, I noted, seemed to be among his favorite.

His long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off the different markings on his arms. His top two buttons were loose, showing off a sliver of his smooth, muscled chest.

I found myself thinking once again about how he was the sun to my moon. He lit up my dark world anytime he was around, and he didn’t even have to try. Just existing near him made my stomach do flips.

And while it was terrifying to think about my feelings about him, I was also starting to accept it.

I was falling for my own husband.

I shook my head at the sound of Robyn clearing his throat, a small smirk on his face displaying his dimple.

I felt myself turning pink and stood up straighter, focused once again.

He reached across the space between us, holding out his hand.

I looked up into his face, still worried this all might be some extensive mind game. Part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But when I saw the genuine, open look on his face, my worries melted away. I found my lips tugging into a small smile as I placed my hand in his. Our fingers intertwined, and I listened as our footsteps softly sounded against the wooden floor below us as he led us to the dining room.

“There’s no servants here,” I said suddenly as we walked, “who’s doing the cooking?” I asked.