Page 59 of Façade

Ryland arranged for us to stop earlier than usual and ordered the servants set up camp. The clearing where we settled was much more spacious than the one from the night before, yet once more only a single bed was prepared. To my own surprise, I made no objection.

We waited to go to bed until darkness had fully settled around us, leaving only enough light for me to see him scoot closer. For an agonizing moment he lay completely still…before quite suddenly he enfolded me from behind the moment I rolled onto my side, trapping me in a cage that, as startling as it was, was surprisingly comfortable.

My breath caught. What…what was he doing?

“Is this alright?” His voice somehow sounded louder and almost scandalous in the surrounding night. “I need to do my part to prevent you from using the darkness to make your escape. I can’t risk you thwarting our annulment.”

Wasthatwhat he was doing? It felt more like he was trapping not just me but each ragged breath and every beat of my frantically pounding heart. I couldn’t answer, not when it was currently a struggle to remember how to breathe.

“The good thing about this particular arrangement,” he continued, oblivious to the agonizing death I was suffering at his hands, “is that come morning, I shall be the one to suffer embarrassment when we’re discovered in such a position by the guards rather than you. It seems a husbandly thing to do.”

“I find it strange you’re suddenly invested in being a good husband with the end of our marriage so imminent.”

He went quiet, as if unsure how to answer, and I spent the silence engaged in an inner battle between wrenching myself free and giving up the fight by accepting our cozy position. Considering the chill of night, it wouldn’t hurt to remain in his hold…for the sole purpose of practicality and warmth, of course.

With a defeated sigh, which I made as exaggerated as possible so he knew just how put out he’d made me, I finally settled myself more comfortably in his hold in preparation to rest…or at the very least attempt to. Though my back faced him, I almost swore I could feel his triumphant smirk, even through the darkness.

It was surprising how quickly I adapted to the cozy feel of his cradling embrace wrapped securely around me. The one problem this position posed was that it would be too difficult for me to use the cover of night to sneak away in order to investigate my strange emerging powers.

No, not thesole problem, I hastily corrected myself.There are a myriad of problems with this arrangement.

Yet despite my raging inner battle, I found myself unconsciously snuggling against his chest, subtle enough I hoped he wouldn’t notice, if I could be so fortuitous. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn his hold tightened around me. Though I had no doubt he’d been teasing me when he’d initially trapped me in his hold, he made no move to pull away…and for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t ask him to.

Apparently he had one more bit of torture in mind before he’d leave me in peace for the night. He reached up to brush my hair aside and leaned towards my ear. “Goodnight, Evie.”

His whispered nickname caused my settling heart to beat anew. I swallowed. “Good night, Ryland.”

He stroked my cheek once with his thumb before settling his hand back against my waist, leaving my cheek yearning for his touch.

This journey was turning out to be much more confusing and dangerous than I could have ever anticipated.

CHAPTER19

RYLAND

If I didn’t know for certain that Evie didn’t possess magic, I’d wonder if she’d cast a spell upon me with how often the intriguing woman consumed my thoughts, a ploy to seduce me into preserving our marriage to protect the true princess of Estoria. It was working far more than I wanted to admit, considering she already occupied far more of my attention than was prudent with the time we had remaining. The seed had been planted the night I’d carried her to her room, been nourished by our time wading through the stream, and blossomed last night, the first night we’d slept beside one another.

Unbidden, the memory of last night returned so vividly I felt transported back to that moment, the details fully preserved with how often I revisited it…particularly the moment she’d cuddled up to me. My breath had caught even as I stiffened in shock.

For an endless moment I lay completely still, my mind consumed with her nearness and every warm contour of her body pressed against mine. Rather than push her away as I knew I ought, I found to my utter surprise I liked her sleeping so close. Instinctively my arms wrapped around her to hold her close.

The floral-scented warmth of her nearness had made sleep impossible, as had the all-consuming curiosity of whether or not the improper princess snored. I’d fought against my own exhaustion luring me to sleep in order to solve that particular mystery.

Though she slept quietly, the thin moonlight of the clearing had illuminated her adorable sleeping face just as it did tonight, even as I missed her spirited expressions and the hints of fire that always seemed to simmer beneath the surface, which I should have found annoying but instead which never ceased to entertain me. Our interactions breathed life into my previously monotonous existence in ways my dutiful royal life never had.

Despite the lengthy travel awaiting me with tomorrow’s arrival, I stayed awake most of the night, basking in our remaining hours before she slipped away forever. I focused on the feeling of her cradled in my arms, striving to memorize it so that I could remember it long after we separated.

As the night stretched on, she melted more fully into my embrace, snuggling closer in a way that caused my breath to hook and my heart to palpitate wildly. I felt awash in the sensations of holding her, a closeness I’d begun to crave since the moment I’d first embraced her the first night I’d comforted her. She fit so perfectly against me, as if my arms had been built solely for her.

I unconsciously stroked her hair; she released a contented sigh and snuggled herself closer, a cute sound she never would have made if she’d been awake. My settling heartbeat flared back to life. I’d miss this contentment even as I looked forward to our impending word spar I never tired of.

Dawn had never brought such disappointment, signaling not only the end of this last tender moment but the day we were due to arrive to the monastery. The light cast dancing golden patterns against Evie’s hair and across her face, so peaceful in sleep, with no hint of the spirit that both vexed and charmed me to equal degrees even as it made her infinitely interesting, drawing me to her despite my valiant attempts to stay away, despite how much Ineededto.

My touch immediately froze the moment she stirred awake, her brow wrinkling with her effort to emerge from the comforting folds of sleep. I held her a moment longer before reluctantly loosening my hold and carefully unwinding my arms from her, so that by the time she fully awoke she wouldn’t realize I’d been cradling her moments before.

Her eyes fluttered open and her bleary gaze took me in before her expression brightened in a way that made me hope she welcomed waking up to me…but the look vanished almost immediately, eclipsed by one of her cute pouts. “Darn, you’re still here.” She heaved a dejected sigh.

Amusement twitched my lips. “Of course I am, my dear. I would never abandon you knowing how much you’d miss me.” My longing for my words to be true made them almost painful to speak.

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