Page 50 of Enchanted Heir
So, I decided since I wasn’t sleeping anyway, I should just stay up and talk to Krew, find out what happened. I sat on the floor looking at the stars for a while, it being far too cold to go outside.
Just when I thought Krew wasn’t coming back at all, it already being the early hours of the morning, I heard some low talking at the door and there he was.
“Hi,” I offered from the ground as he attempted to shut the door quietly.
“What are you still doing up?” Concern was etched all over his face as his brow furrowed. He moved only to put his tailcoat over a chair in the sitting area.
“Is he dead?” I asked from where I sat. “Did Michael Noyer die because of me?”
“First of all, even if he was dead, it was because of himself, not because ofyou. And no, he is not dead. He received some lashings and is in prison. Where he will stay the duration of the Assemblages.”
“Oh.” Relief traveled throughout my whole body. I wondered if Krew had been present for the lashings and how he felt about them, but I wasn’t sure I was brave enough to ask him. I didn’t want him to have to further relive the horror that had been done to his back.
He continued, “And Aiyana is to be released from Keir’s Assemblage immediately.”
“Oh.” I should feel happy or more excited about that, right? She was finally gone.
Krew gave his head a shake. “Father wanted her to rot in prison next to him to torture him further, but Keir and I both fought otherwise. Until we know how far Aiyana was in on everything, she shouldn’t have to pay for his crimes too.”
“Oh.”
“But we will watch her in Savaryn,” he continued. “See what she’s up to. It’s likely she will never step foot in the castle again. Also, father has cancelled any and all weekly parties for the future with his Savaryn loyal. He’s not just punishing the Noyers, but all of his most trusted.” He shrugged a shoulder. “So at least one good thing came from this.”
I took all that in as well as how tired he looked. The way his shoulders were tense. And the way he had admitted to me earlier in the night he felt like he was failing me.
“Would you have killed him?” I found myself asking.
He looked me in the eyes as he said, “I wanted to.”
And it was that honest answer which had me moving, standing and walking across the room toward him. I wasn’t sure if he thought I was going to deck him or run, but he stood his ground, completely still. He kept standing as still as a statue while I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my head into his chest.
“What are you doing?” he asked after a moment.
“Giving you a hug.”Wasn’t that obvious?
He said nothing. He didn’t move his hands, he didn’t do a thing other than stand there rigid and tense.
“Hug me back, Krew,” I demanded. “There is a magic in hugs. But you must hug for a full minute to unlock their power.” I smirked as I said it, but I had no idea what he was thinking or doing because I tucked myself in under his chin.
I heard and felt him sigh into my hair and then he moved. One hand settled in my hair, another wrapped around my waist. He smelled like his bed but stronger. I still stood by my previous musings about that smell, the forest after it rained with a dash of something far more sinister.
We stood there for a full minute, just breathing. And in my case, trying to keep my heart from leaping right out of my chest. What was I thinking hugging him randomly like this?
When I finally went to pull back, he didn’t. Instead, he whispered, “I think I need one more minute. Double up? Double the power?”
“Overachiever.” I smiled as I rested my head back on his chest. It was easier talking to him like that. Without his eyes always on mine. “And here I thought you just didn’t want to hug me without someone here to see it.”
He snorted. “I was just... stunned. That’s all.”
And before I lost all courage, I told him, “You aren’t at all like your father, Krew. Can never be. Will never be.”
He sucked in a breath and tightened his grip. We stood there for a few minutes more, neither of us saying anything. No other words seemed needed.
Surprisingly, a few minutes later when my head finally hit my pillow, I was able to fall asleep easily. Because he was there. I wasn’t sure when exactly it happened, but in the middle of our giant ruse, Krew and I had somehow forged a friendship.
CHAPTER13
Owen and I were checking on the grass or flower or whatever the hell was growing by the lake the next day when a thought struck me, and I stopped in my tracks.
