“I know it couldn’t be easy for you to have followed your mother to Vindica. I hope it hasn’t all been horrible.” A lot of it has been horrible. She has those tentacles to show for it, but I still wished she’d grow to like it here. After the conflict with Felroth was resolved, if not sooner.

Vindica hadn’t seen this many unpleasant encounters in one week during my lifetime. And while we did attract the occasional danger and were hated wherever we went, it was normally rather quiet in the reservation.

“No. Not all bad,” Isay confessed with a shy smile, and my heart leapt.

Chapter 28

ISAY

WHEN I WOKE UP THE ARMCHAIR WAS EMPTY. A FEW WEEKS BACK, the thought would have relaxed me after I’d had nightmares of someone observing my sleep, a horrifying thought. Now, Karmuth’s absence felt somehow worse.

Searching the chamber left me staring at Regar leaning against the wall right next to the door at the far side of the room.

“If you’re looking for your lover-boy, he hit the bed about an hour ago,” he drawled.

He’d left? My mouth pressing into a thin line, I refused to feel the disappointment staining the high of last night. After everything we’d shared, he’d left me. I should’ve known better than to just assume he’d actually cared for me. His words meant nothing.

Regar tutted, “Don’t look so grim. If it was up to Kar, he’d go through the rest of his life on no sleep if that meant he’d be right next to you.” He grinned brightly as if the idea amused him. “It took some supreme convincing to get him out of that chair. I’ve got strict orders not to move from this spot unless you’re in danger.”

I wasn’t grim. Not anymore. My lips tugged upwards, and I hid my smile with my hand as I pretended to yawn.

I still wished Karmuth was here; we had never discussed what had happened between us. I hoped I could thank him when I woke up, feeling more confident after the much-needed rest. I hoped he’d tell me he’d liked it as much as I did. I’d hoped we could do it again. Nervous flutters stirred in my stomach and I took a deep breath to compose my thoughts.

“So, I’m stuck with you, huh?” I teased good-naturedly.

I liked Regar; he wasn’t as serious as Sinister or as cocky as Hiko. He also never looked at me like I was something to conquer like Ferro, although he did enjoy taunting me.

“Just until he’s up and running again.” True to his word, Regar did not step deeper into the room, didn’t even look at the lounge area as if it’d be a perfect place to relax his posture. He kept standing by the door, fully alert despite the banter. “He warned me against watching you get dressed, but I’m willing to deny it if you are.”

My eyes widened, and I sputtered a laugh. “What? No!”

Regar chuckled. “Had to try.”

He did look away when I pushed the covers off and did not shift until I confirmed I was decent. I was sure it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with his respect for Karmuth, but I appreciated it, nonetheless.

“Would you like me to have a maid bring some food?” Regar asked when I crossed the room to go in search of a bite myself.

My brows pinched. “Can’t we eat in the dining hall?”

“Of course, Princess.” He said it with a tightness in his voice that contradicted his agreement.

“You don’t sound happy about it,” I noted but still pushed the door open to see him following me out of the room. “You’d rather be confined to this tight corner?”

He hesitated. “No. But I would rather use the least amount of effort to keep you safe. The court is in disarray this morning. Furious with Felroth. The rumours about last night are spreading already.”

I stopped in my tracks, reconsidering my decision. “They wouldn’t take it out on me, though, would they?”

“Not intentionally. The fae have grown to admire you, Princess.”

I couldn’t help but make a face. “Stop calling me ‘Princess’.”

“Do you prefer ‘beautiful’?”

I blushed at the word Karmuth had chosen. Coming from Regar, it somehow sounded dirty. “Shut up! My name would be sufficient, thank you.”

Shaking his head light-heartedly, Regar agreed to stop calling me princess. He grew more sombre again when we neared the dining hall.

“You’re not seriously thinking I’m in any danger there?” He made me nervous with his tentativeness, especially since he didn’t seem like the careful type.

“I’m sure it’s fine.” He attempted a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “After you m’lady.”

“Not better!” I commented on his new choice word to address me. “Stick to Isay, why don’t you?”

He scoffed, “Where’s the fun in that?”

“You can’t have fun and be serious at the same time.”

We soon entered the dining hall and several heads turned our way, making Regar tense despite him having some fun on my account.

None of them looked malicious, however. Not like I’d perceived the court when I first arrived. I didn’t know if it had anything to do with my worsened eyesight, or perhaps my first impressions had been terribly wrong.

A few of them even smiled at me as I passed by to the table at the corner I’d started to associate as my spot.

When nothing threatening happened, during the next few hours Regar trailed me across the reservation on my daily exploration walk, he seemed to ease into his usual relaxed posture.

I could almost fool myself that he was simply there to keep me company and not watch my back. We were both taken off-guard by a scream that pierced through the gardens that stretched from the palace to the Northern gate. There were several accommodations spaced between where we stood and the exit, and it could’ve been anyone screaming, but with the wind coming from the North in a strong gust, I was certain it came from the tower post.

It had to be the guard. And that meant the Felrothians had come for me. Terror snaked down my spine, my eyes meeting Regar’s.

It appeared he had come to the same conclusion as me. “Isay, back to the palace. Now!”

He ushered me toward the looming structure, doing everything in his power to get me to move short of pulling me along with him. He would not touch me—out of fear, respect for the king’s orders, or because Karmuth warned him off.

But I could not budge. There were people between me and the gate, people who were not all brought up as warriors.

Death fae, sure, but otherwise completely normal fae, like Ronya and Sela. I didn’t know them, but they were going to become casualties in the dispute I’d started. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Isay, for death’s sake, move or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you back,” Regar’s voice was harsh in his alarm.

His one and only priority was keeping me safe, and I was much more trouble than he’d anticipated. If he’d known I tended to run toward danger more often than away from it, he wouldn’t have chosen to guard me today.

I seethed, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh yes, I would. Your safety is my top priority, and if that means I’ll have to grab that ass, I will face whatever punishment follows the impropriety of groping someone else’s mate.”

“What?” I gaped at him as whatever danger creeped closer through the gardens. I knew it did, as the air of dread foreshadowed its arrival just like a cloud of smoke foretold the presence of a delther pack.

“Move!” Regar repeated and I finally obeyed, but not in the direction he wanted me to go.