Page 26 of A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart)

She flinched a little at the bite in his voice. He knew he was being a bastard again, but by the end of this, it would hurt her more if he was kind.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“You need to learn how to defend yourself against the next person who tries to kill you,” he said brusquely.

She eyed him skeptically. “You’re an instructor?”

He shoved away from the bedpost before she could look too closely at him. “I’ll give you five minutes. Then dressed or not, we start.”

“Wait!” Evangeline called. “What’s your name?”

You already know, Little Fox.

But once again, his thoughts weren’t projected loudly enough for her to hear.

Instead, he gave her the name he’d planned on. He knew she wouldn’t remember it, and he needed to make sure he didn’t forget it. “You can call me Archer.”

12Evangeline

Evangeline found Archer in the hall, leaning against the stone wall, arms crossed firmly over his chest, as if waiting was not a thing he was comfortable with. His jaw tightened as she stepped out of the room.

Something inside her tightened as well, right around her chest. The sensation was knifelike, biting, and uncomfortable. It felt even sharper as his eyes raked over her, darkening as he took her in.

She’d put on the clothes he’d given her. Although if she’d been more awake, she wouldn’t have. The full white skirt was actually the most practical of the items, as the other bits weren’t practical at all. The pale pink blouse was too sheer, the leathervest was too tight, and it felt even tighter as Archer’s eyes lingered on it.

She wondered then if following this guard was a good idea.

Just standing near him made her feel as if she’d already made a bad decision.

He’d saved her life, yes. But he didn’t seem much like a savior anymore. There was an almost inhuman sharpness to him, one that made her imagine she might slice her finger were she to accidentally graze his jaw.

His clothes looked a little too careless for a royal guard. He wore tall scuffed boots, fitted leather pants that hung low on his hips, and two belted straps securing a number of knives. His shirt was loose and undone at the throat with sleeves shoved up past his elbows, revealing lean, strong arms. She could still remember the powerful way they’d wrapped tightly around her, how good it had felt to have him hold her. And for a prickling second, she was jealous of anyone else he might ever hold.

This was definitely not a good idea.

And—where were her other guards?

“There was a threat,” Archer said upon noticing the shift of Evangeline’s eyes as they darted up and down the low-lit hall. “They went to investigate.”

“What kind of threat?” she asked.

Archer shrugged a shoulder. “It sounded like a screeching cat to me, but your guards seemed to feel differently.” One corner of his mouth slowly tugged up into an almost smile. In that second, his entire face changed. He’d been handsome before,but now there something almost uncomfortable about how beautiful he was.

But Evangeline didn’t want to think him beautiful at all. She had a feeling he was making fun of her, or that his smile was part of a private joke that she was not privy to.

She scowled.

This only made him grin wider. Which was worse. He had dimples. Unfair dimples. Dimples were supposed to be sweet, but she sensed this guard was anything except for that.

Evangeline asked herself one last time if it was wise to go with him. But then she decided not to answer the question. Because the truth was, she wanted to go with him. Maybe she was still delirious from her fall down the well or from lack of sleep, or maybe something besides her heart had been broken during the time she couldn’t remember.

“Have we met before?” she asked. “Do I know you?”

“No. I don’t usually play with things that easily break.” He uncrossed his arms and shoved off the wall.

Archer moved through the castle like a thief, his steps elegant and quick as he darted through halls and rounded corners. It was difficult to keep up in the ridiculously full skirt he’d tossed at her.

“Hurry it up, Princess.”

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