Page 62 of Across an Endless Sea

“That hasn’t stopped you snuggling me like I’m your personal teddy bear every other time.”

I blink, dread pooling in my gut. How many times have I ‘snuggled’ Caed?

“This is a bad idea. The floor is—”

He cuts the idea off. “Not an option.”

“Fine.” I cross to the stone platform, testing the furs with one hand.

It’s hard, but I’ve slept on worse, and the furs are soft, fluffy, and have the same faint smell of almonds and sweetness that I’ve learned is Caed’s natural scent. I climb into them with a sigh as Caed crosses the room and climbs in on the other side.

See? This is fine. This bed is perfectly large enough. Even if I stretched, I could barely touch him from this edge.

I expected to toss and turn, or stay rigid forever, but exhaustion catches up to me fast. I fall into a deeper sleep than I have in days, uncaring of the enemy lying mere feet away from me.

Twenty

Rhoswyn

Maeve’s face, hovering inches from my own, is possibly the most terrifying thing to see the moment I open my eyes. Worse still, her mute yelling means that her mouth is wide open, so I’m treated to a detailed view of the back of her throat.

I know from experience that she’s nagging me to get out of bed and do my drills, but I wave her off, hoping that I can grab just a few more minutes of sleep.

Only, when her ghostly outline dissipates, I come face to face with Caed.

Oh Goddess. I’m wrapped around him like ivy.

Shit, I think I’ve drooled on his arm.

Sleeping Caed is quite possibly the biggest threat to my sanity to date, and that’s not just because he’s silent and can’t possibly piss me off. There’s a softness to him like this that doesn’t exist when he’s awake. The constant furrow between his pale brows is gone, and his lips are parted slightly.

He’s also moved as far over to the other side of the stone bed as possible. His body practically hanging over the edge. I’ve chased him across the space in our sleep, and now our legs are knotted together, my body anchoring him to the furs.

How on earth can he sleep like that?

There’s no way he initiated this.

Which means he was right; I basically attacked my enemy with cuddles. Great.

Can I really judge myself when he’s so warm and he smells so good? Ugh, I’ll remember how much I hate him later. I can’t even really bring myself to regret it while I’m still half asleep.

He kept his promise, I realise, trying not to let the hope bloom. He protected me from an assassin, took me to his own room to keep me safe, then practically fell out of bed to keep his word.

Does this mean I’m finally getting through to him?

Maeve floats between us, waving her arms, and I let out a silent sigh, nodding.

“Fine,” I mouth at her.

Untangling myself from Caed and creeping out of the room without waking him is surprisingly easy. He must be a deep sleeper. The second I leave the furs, his body seems to relax, and he rolls onto his front, alleviating my worry that he’ll fall. Unfortunately, this grants me a spectacular view of his bare ass.

What happened to the shorts he was wearing?! Please don’t tell me I sleep-snuggled those off him.

Oh, phew. They’re on the floor by the bed. I suppose he must’ve kicked them away in the night.

I’m not sure why my mouth goes dry. I don’t want to examine the reaction closely, so I scurry after Maeve. She’s left Caed’s bedroom and is waiting in the living area where the other two have also gathered.

Caed’s sparse rooms have one benefit—less iron than almost everywhere else under the mountain. It shows, because when Mab gives me a half-hug, her non-corporeal body is much easier to see. My bangle prevents me from touching her, and her arms slip through mine before she retreats to the bench by the door and takes a seat. Titania, however, gives me a ghostly full-body squeeze, making a shiver run down my spine. She stares deep into my eyes and says a few things, which I assume is her asking after my welfare.

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