Page 87 of A Kingdom's Heart
His fists stayed tight at his sides, knuckles pale against the light. For a second, he looked seconds away from punching the wall behind him, from saying something he’d regret. But he didn’t.
Instead, he drew in a slow, loud, breath. His eyes met mine one more time, sharp and unreadable.
“As you wish, Your Highnesses,” he said quietly.
The words came out tight, controlled, but there was something in them that felt like the crack of a blade.
Then he turned. The door closed behind him with a dull, final sound, leaving the air thick with everything he hadn’t said.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
WILLIAM
The sun slipped through the tall windows, painting the chamber in soft streaks of gold. I stood near the balcony door, my hands clasped behind my back, pretending to be focused on the view outside.
Servants moved quietly around the room, fastening the ties of the princess’s gown and adjusting folds of silk until it draped perfectly. I told myself to keep my eyes forward to stay still, to be what I was; her guard. Nothing more. But every time one of them brushed her hair over her shoulder or pinned the silver at her throat, my gaze betrayed me.
She looked radiant. And untouchable.
The gown was the color of Valebran’s sea, its silver thread catching the morning light. When she turned slightly, I caught the faint shimmer of pears along her sleeves. She didn’t even have to try. She was born to look like this. A princess. A prize. Someone who didn’t belong to men like me.
And yet the memory of her voice from last night echoed sharp in my head.You must leave.
The words burned deep. Now I watched another man’s arm settle around her waist, and the heat of it came roaring back.
Lorenzo leaned close, smiling at her reflection in the mirror.
“You look beautiful,” he said softly.
Something inside me twisted. My jaw locked until I could feel the ache in my teeth. The same woman who had once cried against my chest, who had looked at me with something real in her eyes, now stood perfectly still under his hand.
I turned my gaze away before it showed, before she could see what it did to me. But in the mirror, her eyes flicked toward mine for the briefest second. A heartbeat of silence. Then she looked away.
“Alright,” Lorenzo said, his tone bright. “Ready to see Valebran’s finest village?”
She nodded, a faint smile softening her face. “Yes, I think so.”
He offered her his arm, and she took it.
I quietly followed as they left the room. Every movement was a quiet war between duty and everything else I wasn’t supposed to feel.
The walk through the corridors was quiet save for the faint sound of their footsteps and the echo of laughter from servants preparing for the day. When we reached the courtyard, sunlight spilled across the stone, catching the silver of the carriages lined before the gates.
A few other guards joined us. Lorenzo took Iris’s hand, helping her up the step with a smile that made my jaw tighten one more. She placed her fingers in his, her voice soft as she thanked him.
The sound of it stirred something sharp in my chest.
I climbed in after the others, taking my place across from then. The door shut. The horses started forward, and the wheels creaked
against the cobblestones as the castle fell away behind us.
The carriage swayed with the rhythm of the road. Lorenzo’s arm slipped easily around her waist again, like it belonged there. His voice came low, smooth. “You are absolutely stunning,” he said. “And I will say it every time I see you.”
She giggled, light and quiet. The sound hit harder than it should have. “Thank you, Lorenzo.”
“Ah,” he said, smiling wider. “I love hearing you say my real name.”
She said it again, softer this time, and I felt it like a blow.Lorenzo.The word hung in the air, too intimate, too easy.
