Page 72 of Quest for her Knights
My breath hitches as we stare at each other. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
His eyebrows pinch together as his eyes bounce back and forth between mine. Finally, he pushes his hand through his hair and exhales heavily. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such an ass.”
He looks down at the glass he’s holding, staring at it in the same way I was moments before, looking upset and unsure.
“Hey.” I lean forward and place my hand over one of his, making him look up at me. “It’s okay. You’re the broody one.”He frowns at me. “I can work with that.” I try not to smile, but he narrows his eyes at me, and I let out a laugh.
“You’re trouble.” He flips his hand over and gently grasps mine and pulls it to his lips. When his mouth connects with the back of my hand, I feel a jolt through my body, as if his touch has awakened something inside of me.
I swallow heavily as he stands, releasing my hand and taking the glass to the sink.
My eyes move to Arrow, and he winks at me, helping to break the suddenly very thick tension in the room.
We spend the rest of the afternoon in the guest house, passing the time with some card games. We only stop when there is a knock on the door.
“Stay here,” Ranger tells me as he and Draven move to see who it is. Blaze moves to stand between where I’m seated at the table and the door, providing another layer of protection between me and whoever’s there.
A hand lands on my shoulder, and I look back to see Arrow standing behind me. He gives me a tight smile as he gently squeezes my shoulder in support, silently telling me that he’s here with me.
The creak of the door opening has my head spinning back the other way. I can’t see around Blaze so I just listen instead.
“Is the princess here?” It sounds like Rowan.
“Yes,” Range answers bluntly.
“May we see her?” Does that mean all three of them came to see me? Maybe they want to apologize. My stomach sinks. I don’t want to see them, and I certainly don’t want to have to pretend to accept their apology, as that’s certainly something a princess would do.
“No.”
“We wanted to speak with her, and ask her to accompany us for dinner.”
“You can send her dinner here, she’ll be eating here tonight.” My heart leaps with hope. Can I really avoid seeing them?
I don’t realize I’ve reached up and squeezed Arrow’s hand with worry until his other hand lands on top of mine, sandwiching my small one between his.
“At least let us speak with her.”
“You lost that ability. Now if you don’t mind—”
“You can’t treat us like this! You’re just a bunch of knights,” Edwin seethes. “We demand you step aside and let us in, or bring Elora out to see us.”
Oh no, he didnotjust say that! I stand and quickly step around Blaze, anger flooding my veins as I try to push Draven and Ranger apart.
They both look back at me in confusion, and when they see the look on my face, in unison, their hands move to their swords and they take a small step apart, allowing just enough room for me to slip through.
I stand so close I can feel their arms brushing my back as I cross my arms and glare at the three lords in front of me.
“Elora!” Jeremiah says in surprise. “Thank—”
“No,” I say sharply, cutting him off as I shake my head.
“No?” he asks, confused.
“Yeah. Do you even know what that means?” He glances at his brothers, but they look just as confused as he does. I roll my shoulders back as I continue. “This isn’t going to work. We’ll be leaving in the morning. Please have meals for me and my knights sent here for dinner and breakfast.”
“Is this about what you overheard in the parlor? Because I can explain,” Edwin says, but I hold up my hand to stop him, shaking my head.
“I don’t want to talk about that. There was no misunderstanding. I heard everything. Besides, I have no interest in anyone who treats my knights like they’re lower-class citizens.”
