Page 38 of To Steal the Sun

Gwen watched her go in astonishment. She had always been the one restraining herself in her mother’s presence. It was surreal to see that reversed.

When the door closed behind the queen, she waited a breath and then two and three. But the door didn’t swing back open, the footsteps retreating away down the corridor.

“You can come out,” she said on a long exhale.

Easton burst up from the floor, sucking in gulps of air. “I was afraid to even breathe in case she saw the curtain moving. I’ve been doing a delightful experiment on just how shallow you can make your breaths without passing out.”

Gwen winced. “Sorry. I’m just glad we managed to hide you in time. That was way too close.”

“Do you have a key for your door?” He eyed the lock dubiously.

“Sadly, no. I used to, but she changed the lock while I was gone.”

Easton surveyed the room as if looking for a more comfortable hiding place. Unfortunately Gwen’s destruction of the room had removed most of the options.

“Wait!” she said. “How could I forget?” Walking across to the wall, she pressed on a spot at hand height, revealing a hidden latch.

Easton’s eyebrows rose. “How did I never notice that door? It’s just like all the storage cupboards around the palace corridors—designed to blend in with the wall but not so well disguised as to classify as a hidden room. But why would the princess have a storage cupboard in her bedchamber?”

Gwen smiled wistfully. “We used to love playing spies in those cupboards. This room isn’t for storage, though. It’s the sleeping space for a servant. When I was a child, Nanny slept in here so I was never alone.” She stepped involuntarily back as she remembered what it had been used for after Nanny’s death.

Easton stepped into the small space, peering around. When Nanny had been alive, Gwen had loved to sneak in there and burrow into Nanny’s bed, insisting she read her stories or brush her hair. But after Nanny died, the queen had used the space for Gwen’s punishments, and she hadn’t voluntarily stepped inside for years. Once she had become so compliant the punishments had stopped, she had managed to push the memory of the room almost completely from her mind.

“It’s not much bigger than those storage cupboards,” Easton noted, and Gwen felt a rush of guilt. “There’s barely room for a cot in here.”

As a child it had merely seemed cozy, and she’d never questioned why she had such an excessively large room while Nanny had a tiny one. It was only after the woman was gone, when Gwen was older, that she started asking questions like that.

Easton smiled and held out a hand to her. “We can talk in here. That way if anyone comes, you only have to dash out and close the door on me.”

Gwen reluctantly stepped inside, waiting for the panic to overtake her. But it didn’t come. With the door open and Easton at her side, the space had transformed back into the cozy haven of her young childhood. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“I still miss Nanny sometimes,” Easton said with a sigh. “She was always as kind to me as she was to you.”

Gwen swallowed against the looming tears. “I miss her all the time. But I’m also glad she wasn’t around to see what happened with my mo—Celandine. She would have been heartbroken at the way she treated me. And if she had spoken up in my defense and Celandine punished her, I would have been beside myself.”

“I always felt that way when she punished you,” Easton said, his voice soft and warm and laced with regret. “I used to dream of racing in to rescue you, but…”

“You did rescue me.” Gwen took his hand, raising it to her cheek. “You were everything to me.”

His cheeks warmed beneath her touch, his eyes riveted on her face. “You were the beautiful princess from a fairy story and also my best friend. It never felt quite real to me,” he whispered. “There isn’t a day that’s gone by since we were parted when I haven’t thought of you.”

“Me either,” she whispered back.

“Gwen.” The word sounded torn from him.

It hit her heart with a shot of pain. For her, being back in his presence was nothing short of beautiful and miraculous. Every moment felt precious.

But he sounded broken and unsure. If he truly didn’t want the life here, she couldn’t tie him to it because of his feelings for her. If she let him do that, he would come to resent her and that would be the worst thing of all.

So how could she be sure of his true feelings? He would never want to hurt her, and neither would he abandon an entire kingdom—his kingdom.

He wouldn’t lie to you, a voice said inside, and she recognized it instantly as the truth. If she wanted to know how he truly felt, she only had to ask. But that required the courage to hear the answer.

She drew a breath, willing herself to say the words, but his eyes were no longer on hers. They had dropped to her lips, and Gwen could no longer remember the sentence she was trying to form in her mind. All she could think about was their close proximity, the warmth of his hand against her cheek, and the way his eyes darkened as they looked at her.

Here in this private, close space, it felt like the rest of the world had disappeared. Like their problems no longer existed, and there was only the two of them and the vast ocean of love and belonging that tied them together.

“Gwen,” he murmured again, his voice even more ragged, although this time it was a different sort of torment in his voice.

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