Page 78 of Kneel with the King
I brush past him, my shoulder colliding with his, and storm down the trail without looking back. If I do, I know what I’ll see.
And I’m not ready to feel sorry for him yet.
The King Who Falls
King
I don’t seeAsher again until we’re all lining up in pairs for the cross-country ski outing.
The field looks idyllic and picturesque with soft, undisturbed snow covering the meadow. The sky is high and a pale blue. It’s colder now, but the air feels good in my lungs—sharp and bracing, like a reminder I’m here and I’m alive.
Asher storms across the field with his boots crunching over packed snow, mouth set in a miserable line, cheeks flushed red from cold or perhaps fury. Perhaps both. I watch the way he avoids looking at me, as if not seeing me can undo whatever happened between us earlier.
Jacques appears at my side just as Asher trudges stiffly into the clearing, his body language broadcasting pure venom. Even in a snow jacket and goggles, he looks like he’s ready to murder someone with a ski pole.
Preferably me.
Jacques whistles under his breath. “Mon Dieu. That one always looks like he’s one step away from having a mental breakdown.”
“Long day,” I say, without elaborating, but feeling an unwelcome tug of defensiveness for my fake boyfriend. “Interestingday,” I add.
Jacques adjusts his scarf, giving Asher a long, thoughtful look before his attention returns to me.
“Interesting is good,” he says. “Keeps you young,” he adds, looking over at Walter.
My gaze follows his to where Walter is talking animatedly with the woman I presume is the ski instructor. Asher is a few paces ahead of me, bent slightly as he adjusts the strap on his ski boot. His profile is sharp in the white glare, jaw tight, expression unreadable.
Jacques claps a gloved hand on my shoulder.“Bonne chance,”he says with a grin that might be sympathy. “That’sgood luckin French. With the trail. And with him. He’s a feisty one, no?”
Then he pushes off into the snow with clean, practiced ease, leaving me alone for a moment to gather my thoughts. After a minute, I step into my ski boots and make my way over to him, where another pair of skis waits for me to step into.
Asher doesn’t look up when I approach.
“Your left boot’s twisted,” I murmur. “You’ll hurt your knee if you don’t fix it.”
“I’ve been skiing since I was twelve,” he replies flatly. “I think I’ve got it.”
Right. Of course he has.
I click into my skis and fall in beside him as the instructor starts giving us directions. And even though I say nothing, even though I give him space, I watch him out of the corner of my eye. He doesn’t say anything, but I feel the heat coming off him like a second sun.
The instructor calls for everyone to partner up and gather near the trailhead. Jacques watches the two of us for a beat longer, then turns and disappears into the crowd with Walter.
“You’re lucky I didn’t request a solo tour,” he mutters under his breath as he buckles into his skis.
“You’d get lost in five minutes,” I reply, adjusting my gloves.
He doesn’t respond, but his glare cuts into me like a blade.
The group begins to move in a slow, gliding procession—pairs side by side, following the narrow trail that cuts through the meadow and into the woods. It’s clumsy at first until everyone gets the hang of it. Asher keeps too much space between us like usual.
From the front, the instructor cheerfully gives everyone instructions about breathing techniques and core balance, but we’re a little too far behind to hear most of it. So instead, I focus on the rhythmic sound of our skis slicing through snow, the contracting muscles in my thighs, and the fresh air.
There’s something peaceful about it. Isolating, almost. And the fact that Asher is close enough for me to hear his breath, to feel his presence in every motion, only makes it worse.
“Why are you still hovering so close to me?” he grits out after a few minutes, his voice just loud enough for me to hear over the wind. “Don’t you have an empire to run somewhere?”
“Right now, my empire involves making sure you don’t face-plant into a pine tree,” I reply calmly.
