Page 42 of Façade

With a strangled cry he finally loosened his grubby grip just enough for me to pry his hands away and seize a grateful breath. None had ever felt so cool and refreshing, even as the relief of each struggling breath felt almost painful against my burning lungs, an unwanted remnant from the man’s attack.

I could still sense his presence lurking within the shadows. I expected him to attack me again…but to my surprise he didn’t. My awareness finally returned enough for me to notice him wrestling with someone nearby. Had one of my guards heard his cry and come to help me?

I tried to glance over, but my body seemed slow to respond, so instead I lay still fighting for breath, each a soothing balm for my aching lungs.

The struggle suddenly ceased, followed by athumpof something heavy collapsing to the ground…and then silence—thick, heavy, and almost eerie after the intensity that had previously filled the night. The darkness made it impossible to discern what had happened, but squinting, I detected two dark outlines—the first sprawled unmoving on the ground, and the other a dark silhouette looming over me. Though it didn’t move, its dark presence reached its invisible fingers to encase my heart with icy fear. Would I survive one attempted murder only to fall prey to another?

Terror urged me to move, to resist. Adrenaline propelled me to action, allowing me to push through the exhaustion of the near smothering that had robbed me of breath. My grip tightened around my knife as I bolted upright and braced myself for another attack.

…but it didn’t come. Instead the room flooded with welcoming light as the door opened and one of my attending guards hurried inside. At his approach the lantern’s glow illuminated his familiar face, taut with worry. “Are you well, Your Highness?”

My response trapped in my throat much as my breath so recently had. I managed to shakily sit up to glance towards the ground where I’d last seen the outline of a body…only to find nothing. I gaped in disbelief. Where had it gone? There was no sign of anyone—not my attacker, not the other presence of whoever I’d heard fight him; there was simply…nothing, as if whatever I thought had happened had been entirely swallowed by the shadows.

“That man…where—?”

The guard’s eyes bulged. “There was a man here?” His brows drew together as he followed my gaze to the empty floor. “No one is here, Princess, and we saw no one rush past us when we entered the room.”

He scanned the room again, slowing to narrow his eyes at the balcony. He barked an order for his accompanying guard to investigate while he remained by my side to examine me carefully, his gaze flickering briefly to the spot of blood staining the sheets from where I’d stabbed my assailant.

“Are you well?”

I was certain I appeared disheveled, but considering the assailant hadn’t wrapped his hands around my throat to perform his nefarious deed I doubted there were any physical hints as to what had transpired. I debated the wisdom of telling him I’d been attacked, but then it’d undoubtedly get back to Ryland, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted him to know; my trust in his honest heart and motives didn’t extend so far as to confide in him.

Several endless minutes passed before the other guard returned bearing a grim expression. “We discovered no one outside the princess’s bedroom, nor any sign of anyone on the grounds, though I have several guards still searching.”

Confusion seized my heart. Did that mean whoever had been in my room had been highly trained so as not to leave a trace and easily escape…or had I imagined the entire thing?

“Your Highness?”

The guard’s concern had deepened. Unlike my husband, he wasn’t accustomed to my usual inattentiveness. Unable to form words, I managed a nod, bidding him to continue.

“Shall we inform His Highness—“

“No!” This raspy plea was strong enough to wrench past my sore throat. “There’s no need to inform him about a silly nightmare.” But my still-aching lungs, along with the blood stain on the tip of the knife peeking out from its hiding place beneath the covers, were testament enough that the dreadful experience hadn’t been a nightmare at all, but all too real.

The guards exchanged concerned glances, seeming unconvinced. A silent conversation passed between them before the one nearest me finally nodded in acquiescence. “Very well, but just to be certain, we’ll continue patrolling the grounds. We will be duty-bound to inform Their Highnesses of the incident should we find anything of note.”

I managed a weary nod and settled back against the pillows the moment the guards took their leave. They left their lantern on my nightstand; its warm glow reached across the room to dispel the shadows lurking in every corner. Yet its comforting brightness wasn’t strong enough to reach inside me to chase away the terror tainting my memories, still so vivid my lungs ached as if transported back to the moment when they’d been deprived of all breath.

I’d thought I’d been prepared to die when I’d chosen to marry Ryland and had even almost welcomed it upon his discovery I was merely a decoy; a martyr felt the preferable course to facing an uncertain future. Yet the moment I’d been faced with death I’d stubbornly clung to life, desperate to reclaim the breath robbed from me even without a purpose to live for. What had changed?

I took in the door separating me from my husband. The sweet memory of his presence beside me earlier tonight returned, gradually soothing away the lingering pain from my attack. Did I want to live…forhim?The notion was ridiculous, especially considering whether I lived or died, our futures could never weave together, not when they diverged down two very different paths. And yet…

It was foolish to possess even the beginnings of a tentative trust for him, especially since it was highly likelyhe’dbeen the one to hire tonight’s assassin. He might have qualms about killing me himself, but he could easily rid himself of me with a bit of coin without dirtying his own hands. While this explanation felt the most logical somehow I couldn’t believe that of Ryland, especially after he’d so kindly tended me; I doubted even he could fake such a deep show of concern or the protective way he’d clung to my hand.

Suddenly, a desire so intense it almost left me breathless overcame me: I wanted to be near Ryland. The need felt far too acute considering I only had claim to two experiences of Ryland’s comfort, but both special moments had been carved into my heart, making me feel closer to him than was likely wise considering the circumstances.

I valiantly fought to resist my heart’s persistent tug towards his door before finally relinquishing the fight when I realized that despite my resistances to his presence, my ordeal had left me too frightened to pass the night alone. All we’d been through together no longer seemed to matter in this moment when I desperately needed his comfort.

I tugged my coverlet from the bed and carried it with me as I tiptoed to the connecting door and eased it open to peer inside his room. All was dark and still save for the soft, rhythmic sounds of his breaths as he slept, a sound as soothing as a lullaby. It beckoned me closer, drawing me to his soothing nearness.

I stepped fully into the room and settled in a chair near the glowing embers of the hearth, tucking the blankets around me in a cozy cocoon. The chair wasn’t particularly comfortable, but almost the moment I closed my eyes, my exhaustion lulled me into a deep, dreamless sleep, a welcome reprieve to this terrifying night.

It felt as if I’d barely drifted off when I felt myself jostled. The movement yanked me from the comforting folds of sleep. My eyes fluttered open to find Ryland kneeling beside me, the dawn of the early morning illuminating his wrinkled brow, furrowed with confusion.

“What are you doing here, Evelyn?” His lips quirked up slightly at the corner. “When I awoke to see you, I admittedly feared you were an assassin after all and had snuck into my room to rid yourself of me forever.”

I ached to smile at his familiar teasing, but his quip was too reminiscent of the events from last night for me to manage it. At my silence, his half-smile faltered.

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