Page 82 of A Girl and HER Prince
The only life Venice could offer Livvy was full of pain and despair, always on the run from Myrdons, never a moment of privacy… and if he gave in to his father, she’d have the constant headache of ruling a far-off country entangled in political turmoil. He’d been so selfish. His fate wasn’t for his Nightingale.
She was alive, but for how long? He wouldn’t be able to protect her if he couldn’t figure out how to stop himself from bleeding out. They needed shelter. Food. Warmth. Sleep.
There were blankets in the boatyard. He’d noticed that after their many trips there. They could use those tonight and even tear them apart to make bandages.
He groaned at the never-ending ritual. They’d been so close to being done with this struggle for survival. They should be on that boat together, blissfully sailing away from his responsibilities and any guilt over what he was doing to the woman he loved.And that kind of thinking isn’t going to help us.
He needed to get a grip, freeze out his emotions, go numb! Taking a deep breath, he tried to coldly take in his surroundings: it was better sleeping in the boatyard away from the house. Besides avoiding the reminders of his uncle’s cruelty, they couldn’t risk him coming back in the middle of the night and discovering their prey waiting for them like lambs for the slaughter.
And if his uncle was gone for good? What then? The thought of setting up aSwiss Family Robinsontreehouse away from civilization made him grit his teeth with frustration.
Someone had to be coming for them soon—their survival depended on whether it was friend or foe; they werethatvulnerable. His next thought went to weapons—he hadn’t seen any yet. Strange that there hadn’t been any in that mausoleum of his uncle’s home, but perhaps they’d been hidden?
First things first. “Livvy.” He found her arm under the heavy pall of dark clouds—he’d seen a touch of pink before the night took over the horizon. That meant rain. “We’ll take shelter in the boatyard tonight.”
They’d take the donkeys with them for an alarm system, and maybe also to keep Livvy company—he’d be useless tonight with his tired and dismal thoughts, especially since he knew what he had to do after this night.
He had to let her go.
The shelter wasn’t too far away, and they stumbled through the heavy sand to reach the door he’d broken open earlier. Discovering the light inside, he snapped it on and incredibly, it still worked. Livvy broke from him and searched through the cupboards for food. She let out a grunt of disappointment when she pushed past bottles of whiskey and gin, until she discovered the jerky and protein bars.
“Oh good! Real food!” She quickly shared in the bounty while he began clearing the wood from an area on the floor for them to sit.
He couldn’t eat. Instead, he felt like a walking corpse as he worked. His lips had lost all feeling while he fought to breathe through his exhaustion.
Livvy was in the middle of shaking out the sawdust from woolen blankets when she turned and took him in with a startled exclamation. “Venice! You look terrible! Sit down right now.”
He surprised himself when he did. The blood rushed to his head and he had to lie back before he completely collapsed.No, no, not now. I’m useless this way!He couldn’t move.
She was immediately at his side, tucking the blankets around him, making a cozy nest for him that wasn’t complete without her. Again, despair filled him at the thought of losing her. It made him want to surrender to this darkness.
“I want you to talk to me, okay, Venice?” she said.
“What?” he asked. He stared up at the uncovered light bulbs burning into his eye sockets. “What do y-you want me to… say?” He closed his eyes.
She made a warning noise. “Open those eyes. Just keep talking.”
“I can do that…” he muttered.
Could he?
He listened to her shredding sheets. It was part of the muslin that had been used to build that majestic sail. “Isaidopen your eyes!” she commanded. Her fingers found his shoulder and she shook him.
The pain jerked him awake to her beautiful face. “Angel,” he said. There was a spattering of freckles over her nose.
Her hand immediately went to his head and she winced. “So hot!” She swung around, rummaging through the tools over the workbench. “They made a sail. I wonder if there’s some needle and thread here…”
“Oh great… we can just complete this day by—by stabbing me over… and over… and over again. How about you find some of that whiskey instead?”
“Be more serious.”
His father’s words echoed through his mind. Strange. It almost sounded like he was here. Remorse flooded through him. His father had sacrificed everything for them and now? “I’m a horrible son,” he muttered.
Livvy’s hand went to his shoulder. She’d returned from the work bench. “It’s okay. We’ll get these on you and… we’ll figure out the rest. Maybe the salt water cleaned the wound and we won’t need anything… else?” Her forehead creased with hope that he already knew was in vain. He was fading fast.
“I’m sorry… Luvvy. You wouldn’t be here if I’d—I’d just done my… duty…”
Did that just come out of his mouth?
