Page 53 of Revert
I pressed the blossom to my chest and let myself feel what I so often tried to silence. The warmth of the memory stirred me as the pieces of the night before slowly returned. Castiel and I had remained in this quiet room long after he’d tended to my wound. Sometime in the hush between midnight and dawn, my body—exhausted from fear, pain, and too many questions—had finally surrendered.
I didn’t remember falling asleep, only the sensation of leaning against him, the protective cradle of his arms around me, the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek. My shoulder still throbbed faintly, but the pain had dulled, swallowed by something quieter and safe.
He hadn’t spoken as I drifted, but I’d felt the concern he couldn’t voice in the steadiness of his presence, in the stillness as he remained by my side, and in the way he didn’t let go. In that pocket of comfort, I’d finally closed my eyes.
And now, even in his absence, the daffodil acted as a wordless message:I’m still here. Had that same care been present in our courtship all along, hidden in the spaces between his silences and distance, and I’d just been too determined to see only the danger to notice?
His departure came as no surprise. Mornings were always claimed by duties and meetings, and today was no exception. Yet even knowing that, it took me a disorienting moment to name the foreign ache in my chest: I missed him.
The flower trembled slightly in my hand. I knew I should be focusing on the assassin, an attack that hadn’t happened in the first timeline, one of many anomalies that had been present since time had reverted. Castiel had changed everything—especially himself. Whether the attempt on my life had come because I was fated to die no matter who wielded the blade, or because I had once again diverged from the original course, I didn’t know.
I’d stopped trying to make sense of the deviations weeks ago. Castiel’s every action altered the path in unpredictable ways…as did my gradual acceptance of him that, try as I might, I couldn’t prevent my heart from accepting.
And yet…despite all these unanswered riddles pressing at the edge of my thoughts that urged me to action, I didn’t rise immediately. Even without him beside me, I wanted to remain in this moment a little longer. A fragile pocket of peace rare in Thorndale, untouched by assassins or kings, a place where it was possible for me to believe for a fleeting moment that I was safe.
But I had already been absent too long. Lingering now would only draw unwanted attention—and attention was something I couldn’t afford; I already courted death, I couldn’t decrease my chances of survival any further.
With a sigh, I stood and gathered the cloak more tightly around me as I moved to the door. Just as before, it was locked, but Castiel had left the key tucked inside the inner pocket of his cloak. My lips twitched upward at the memory of the last time I’d seen this key, a moment once tinged with irritation now softened into something almost pleasant.
The quietclickechoed too loudly in the stillness. I cracked the door open an inch, peering into the corridor. Morning light touched the far wall, but the corners were still thick with shadow, enough places for another assassin to lurk. To imagine there’d come a day when I would long for the presence of the prince I once feared.
“I see you’ve finally awoken.”
I startled and spun towards the voice. Halric stood just beyond the threshold, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword—not in threat, but as though it had lingered there for some time, ready to draw should the need arise. He inclined his head in greeting before glancing back down the hall, ensuring it was clear.
As my assigned guard, his presence shouldn’t have surprised me…and yet he hadn’t been there when Castiel found me, hadn’t appeared when I bled on the floor, or when the prince held me through the night. But he was here now.
“Where is His Highness?” I asked.
“He has business this morning, but he asked me to remain with you…for your protection.”
My protection.The words echoed strangely in my mind, stirring a memory I hadn’t yet named. I glanced down at the cloak still wrapped around my shoulders. A detail clicked into place, something that had tugged at the back of my thoughts since the morning I’d first awakened in this altered timeline.
“The changing of the guard,” I murmured slowly. “Prince Castiel is the one who arranged for your appointment as my guard, wasn’t he?”
Halric said nothing, but I didn’t need his confirmation—I saw it in the stillness of his silence, in the slight shift of his gaze. I nodded to myself and pulled the cloak more tightly around me, as if by doing so I could draw Castiel closer.
“He trusts you.” And that’s why he had done it. Even when I still thought him my greatest threat, he had placed someone loyal at my side—not to watch me as I’d once assumed, but to protect me from a threat I couldn’t see.
I started down the hall, stopping abruptly at my guard’s sudden solemn words. “Trust I don’t deserve. I’m deeply sorry, Your Highness.”
I turned to look at him in confusion. Halric’s usually impassive face was creased with something that looked like…guilt. Uneasily, I took a step back, wondering if he could have been in league with the assassin. Was that why he’d conveniently disappeared just before the ambush?
“When you were attacked…” His eyes dropped and I edged another step back. “I was supposed to be protecting you.”
“What happened?” I whispered.
“When you left the king, I was to follow you discreetly. But one of the king’s guards summoned me, saying the king wanted to meet with me in the throne room. I was unable to let the prince know, but hoped I could catch up with you quickly.”
“What did the king want with you?” I asked.
Halric frowned. “Nothing. He wasn’t there. I waited for nearly an hour before I was sure he wasn’t coming. I don’t know if it was actually him who sent the summons or someone else who wanted me out of the way, but I am so sorry for leaving you defenseless.”
“You couldn’t have done anything differently.” But my mind was racing. Had the king arranged for the assassin? Or was another force at play? I looked up at Halric as his eyes swept the corridors, as if also searching for what might lay hidden within the shadows.
I had known from the start that darkness and danger filled every corner of the court, but this suggested a deeper threat, hidden beneath the surface…something that extended beyondmy mission and assassination attempts. Whatever had driven Castiel to make such a move, appointing his personal guard to protect me, had been looming long before the assassin struck.
My fingers brushed the silver clasp of the cloak at my throat. I should have felt overwhelmed, frightened. But instead, all I could feel was that strange ache in my chest—the one that had begun last night in the circle of his arms.He trusted me enough to act…and I hadn’t trusted him at all.
