I couldn't remember falling asleep. My head was pounding when I woke up. The sky was almost black, just a little bit of sun left before it disappeared behind the hills. I was lying on a thin mattress, a warm blanket draped over me. Above me was a tarp, closing me in. I pushed myself up and glanced around. Leon was sitting right next to my makeshift tent, his back towards me. Around the fire, the princes were scattered around. My heart stopped when I found Pride. His eyes were already on me, his eyes aflame with the reflection of the fire.
"You're awake." Leon moved to block the view from Pride. "How are you feeling?"
"Like someone trampled on my head."
"It's a side effect of the potion." He put the back of his hand against my forehead. "You don't have a fever, that's good. Want to try and walk around? Elmir coated the wound with a substance to ease the pain."
"Yeah, sure." Just as I wanted to toss the blanket off me, I stopped. "You called him Elmir."
"I did." He smiled.
"Did you know?"
"I did." He nodded. "Even if I didn't, I would have found out today like all of the others."
I groaned. "What did I say?"
"Of course, you don't remember." He chuckled and helped me out of the tent. "I'll tell you when we walk."
"Who dressed me?" I asked when I noticed I was wearing different clothes.
"That would be me. Don't worry, I made all of the princes turn around." He winked. "Even Pride. Though -" He tapped his chin like he was thinking it over. I could feel Pride's stare on me. "He hasn't taken his eyes off you since."
"I don't want to talk about him." I grumbled.
"Right." He nodded. He looped his arm through mine. "Lead the way, Lady Ava."
There was only a slight limp now. The pain was gone, just an annoying pull of my flesh. He started telling me what happened after I drank the potion. Just as Leon and I walked halfway across the clearing, Sevrin offered to take over. Then Griffin and Elmir. None of them asked me what happened the past few days. I wondered if they had grilled Pride about it when I slept. Because apparently, I had said some things when Elmir was patching me up. Just as Lucien guided me to the tree line, he stopped, his eyes looking through the dark trees.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"Just wondering what happened at the pond." He grinned at me. I punched his arm with a laugh. A laugh echoed over the clearing, the others at the fire looked in our direction. "Let's get you back, enough walking."
When we reached the firepit, I chose to sit next to Wymond. He threw his arm around my shoulder casually. I looked at him, his eyes trained on the fire.
"How did you find us?"
"Leon found it weird he didn't hear from you. He said you promised to contact him every other day." I nodded when he glanced at me. "So, he went over to Pride's with Sevrin and found out you haven't been back from riding. Since we know the rebels are after you, we knew something was wrong. Sevrin gathered us all and we started searching. When we found the horses in the safe clearing, we figured he would take you here." He glanced at my hand and lifted my bare finger. "Your portal ring."
"Sevrin has it. He's going to fix it right up when we get back. It broke when I fell from the horse. Must've hit a rock or something."
He lowered my hand and nudged his chin towards the dagger. "How is it handling?"
"Just fine."
"I saw you press it against Pride's neck."
"He had it coming." Wymond raised an eyebrow. "He saw my ring this morning." I pulled it out of my tunic. I glanced at Pride from the corner of my eye and saw him narrow his. "He accused me of being betrothed to you without his knowledge, that we did more than kiss. When I said I was engaged before..."
"Yes?" His voice ruff.
I took in a deep breath. "He told me, and I quote. "You keep the ring on your neck because you're still sad a poor mortal man left you. I think he's better off."
I should have figured he wouldn't let his brother get away with it. But I was too late to grab his arm as he stood up and marched to his brother. Wrath's temper was even worse than Pride's if you got him the wrong way. Pride stood up and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Wymond had punched him on the jaw. The sounds echoed loudly in the clearing. Then Pride punched back, but Wymond blocked his hand. The other princes jumped up and pulled them apart.
"I knew you have grown soulless over the years, but this must be the cherry on top." Wymond sneered at his brother. He was trying to get out of his brother's grip, but they held on tight.
Pride was standing still, his body tense. "I didn't know."
"Did you ask?" He scoffed. "Of course not. You just started accusing her!"
"What are you talking about?" Gideon asked. It seemed like he was the one trying to get peace between them. Wymond's head snapped to him but pointed at Pride.
"When he spotted Ava's ring, he accused her of being betrothed to me behind his back, of us rolling around in the sheets. Then when she said she was engaged before, he practically told her she shouldn't feel sorry for herself, and he left her. That he was better off without her."
He was seething, his breaths came heavy in his chest. But all the others looked at Pride with shocked expression maybe even disgust at his behaviour. Then his brothers let him go and Wymond pounced on him. I stood up and was ready to break them apart, but Leon stopped me.
"Don't." He said quietly. "There is a lot of tension between all of them. Let them sort it out." He pulled me next to him under the tarp and handed me a loaf of bread.
There was blood and bruises, cuts and maybe even a few broken bones before Wymond stopped. He had a few bruises himself, a cut here and there but nothing as bad as Pride. His eye was swollen, and his nose bloodied and broken. He was wheezing his breaths, so probably a broken rib or two.
When Wymond spoke again, it was in a hushed voice. "You keep Elmir and Leon apart because of the curse, but you're the one who's losing us the chance to break it."
I woke up before the others. It was Leon who slept with me last night. His arm was curled protectively over my stomach. I felt safe, but it wasn't the same as when Pride held me. I slipped from under his arm and passed the firepit that was only simmering now and made my way to the trees. After a few minutes, I stopped at the banks of the pond. I rolled up my breeches and sat down on a boulder, my feet dangling in the water. I leaned down to cup water in my hands and splashed it over my face. My mind wandered to Pride, and I wondered where this left us.
I heard a branch crack, and I spun around to see Pride standing there. Perfectly still and bloodied up. I turned back around. The prince didn't move for several minutes before he sat down next to me. He splashed his face with water and scrubbed some of the blood off.
"I'm sorry."
Pain shot through my neck when I wanted to whirl my head at him in shock but refrained. I stayed quiet and utterly still except for my legs which were gliding through the water.
"I shouldn't have said those things. Any of it. I was caught by surprise." He glanced at me, but I remained silent, my eyes on the water. "Even if he didn't die and the engagement broke off, it would've been his loss. I'm sorry you had to go through that, I'm sorry for your loss. I know it's hard."
I finally looked at him. His face was still a mess, but his nose seemed to be healed already. "Are you just saying all of this because of your brothers?"
"I wanted to tell you since you screamed the truth in my face." He placed his hand on the boulder between us, close to my hand. "When you told me, it was like I was hit in the stomach by a wrecking ball." His pinkie graced over mine.
"Why are you so focused on me and Wymond? I've told you the truth about us."
"You're close to all of my brothers. But with Wymond it's a different kind of close, isn't it?" He looked from our fingers to the water.
"It's different with all of them. My feelings for them are all one of a kind."
"But if you decide to stay and marry one of them, it would be him."
"I don't know." I whispered.
We sat in silence for a long time, his pinkie still covering mine as we glanced over the water. The red I saw in the corner of my eye made me cringe. I sighed and pulled my feet out of the water and sat cross-legged in front of him.
"Come on, princess. Turn."
A small smile appeared on his lips from the nickname. He knew we moved passed it. I haven't completely forgiven him, but I did have to stay with him for another two weeks. I took my dagger out of my sheath.
"Are you going to point your dagger at me again?" He asked as he straddled the boulder, facing me.
"Not right now." I cut a piece of his shirt, ignoring his grumbling about just getting a clean shirt and dipped it in the water. "Hold still."
I leaned forward and started wiping the dried blood from his face. Every few seconds, I dipped and rinsed the cloth in the water. There was a lot of dried blood. As I wiped the bridge of his nose, I asked.
"How is this healed already?"
"An advantage of being immortal. It will all heal, some faster than others."
I continued cleaning his face. Our faces were so close together I could feel his breath hitting my cheek. "Why hasn't this healed?" I asked, running my index finger over the bite mark. When he shivered underneath my fingers, I glanced up at him from under my eyelashes. His grey eyes found mine and something stirred in me.
"No idea." He breathed, then looked away.
When his face was clean, I didn't stop. I let the wet cloth run over his neck down to his shoulders. I knew Pride knew that the blood was gone, but he didn't say anything. His hands closed at his side.
"You said 'I know it's hard.' Who did you lose?"
"It's a long time ago."
I wiped the cloth over his collarbone. "Was it Marek?" He stilled under my touch. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
"Like I said, it was a long time ago. And it wasn't like -" He clamped his mouth shut.
"Did you love him?"
"I think I could have, given the time."
"Did you kiss?" I asked even though I had no idea where that came from. Grey eyes bore into mine, and one of his hands grabbed my waist. And I grew hot under his touch, I missed his arm around me. Fuck! What was wrong with me?
"He was old-fashioned. Wanted to be courted before... then he died our last night." I dropped the cloth between us and cupped his bearded cheek. "I wasn't sure he would have chosen me, he was really close with Griffin too."
"Must be hard being pulled into two directions, even more so with brothers."
"He knew we would respect his choice if he had the chance to choose. Like we respect yours." His grip on my waist tightened and pulled me a little closer. "No matter what I say, what anyone says, you do have a choice. Even if you want to marry the prince of England."
"Not really my type." I shook my head and Pride laughed.
I revelled in the sound of his laughter, I memorised that honest smile on his lips. He was beautiful when he laughed.
"Then what is your type?"
Yeah, what is my type? That is an excellent question. Jake was completely different from Wymond or Pride. Wymond was just a physical thing, but still his looks were totally different. Pride, oh, he made me feel things. I wasn't sure if it was all good or if this thing between us was smart, but just the touch of his hand made goosebumps appear on my skin. I must've been quiet for too long because he asked me something else.
"What was Jake like?"
I smiled to myself as Jack's face appeared in front of me. "He was sweet and kind. He was handsome, though he didn't see it himself. He had that young, boyish look about it. But, then again, we were young. Sevrin reminds me a lot of him, but Jake had brown curls. He was a quiet type, but once he talked about something that interests him, he wouldn't shut up."
"I guess he never shut up about you then." His eyes were sad. "He sounds amazing, Ava."
"He was." I didn't know I was crying until he wiped a tear from my cheek.
He stood up and held out his hand. "Let's go home."
We rode through the woods; I was sitting in front of Leon on his horse. That they were surprised to see me and Pride walking together that morning was an understatement. But none of them asked about it. When we were a half a day's ride from Pride's house, they stopped.
"We're not going to ride all the way back to the castle. You both need a decent night of sleep." Gideon said. "The blockage is gone from this point out." He made a portal that led to the front door of Pride's castle. I hopped off Leon's horse. "You two get some rest, we'll take the horses back."
I gave Leon and the princes a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for coming."
"Thank us later with a big feast, that you're not cooking." Griffin grinned.
"What about take-out?" I suggested with a smirk. They all nodded their heads fiercely, except for Pride who had no idea what I was talking about.
"I'll come by in a few days with your ring," Sevrin said, hugging me tightly against his chest. I let go of him when I felt Pride's hand on my back, guiding me towards the portal.
His hand stayed on my back as we walked through the portal. I could feel the eyes of the others on our backs. He leaned down and whispered. "What's take-out?"
The first thing I did when we arrived at the castle was take a long, hot bath. I didn't care that it was still early, I grabbed a set of my pyjamas and tugged them on. I needed something to take my mind off things, so I opened my laptop and put on a comedy. When the movie was nearly at its end and knock came from the door. My heart was pounding when I walked over, thinking it was Pride. But when I opened the door, it was Darren, standing there with a platter of food in his hands.
"Disappointed that it's me?"
"No, no. Of course not." I stepped aside to let him in. "How are you?"
He frowned as he put the platter next to my laptop. "I should be the one asking you that."
"I'm fine. Already took a bath and after a long quiet night in a soft bed, I'll be as good as new."
His eyes flickered to my leg before coming back up. He smiled. "I've brought you your dinner."
"Oh." My shoulders deflated a little.
"Pride thought you would like to eat in the comfort of your room."
"Where is he eating?"
"He left a few hours ago."
He left? Were the past few days so excruciating for him that he had to leave right after we got back here?
"He'll be back later tonight. Don't worry, you're safe here." He squeezed my shoulder. "Do you want me to tell him you want to talk to him?"
"That's not necessary." I put on a smile. "Thank you for dinner. But I'll have my breakfast downstairs tomorrow."
"Of course, Lady Ava." He bowed with a wink before walking out of my room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. I sat down in front of my laptop and food and stared at it. I wished I could read his goddamn mind.
The next morning when I arrived at the dining room, ready to ask where he had gone, Pride stepped out of the room. He masked his emotions. After a few days together, I knew what the signs were.
"Lady Ava -"
"Ah, back to Lady Ava then?" I interrupted. "So, the past few days just forgotten? Alright." I nodded, pushing down my anger. "Where did you run off to yesterday?"
"I needed to talk to my brothers about the attack."
"Okay." I could understand that, except for the fact that he is lying. "And now?"
"We're following up on a lead. I'll tell you when I get back." I didn't believe him. His hand moved a little upwards but then dropped it again. "I hope you had a good night's sleep."
"I did." I didn't. I haven't slept so badly in years. I think two hours of sleep was optimistic.
"Good." His voice was strained. "Breakfast is ready for you."
I walked past him, making sure I didn't touch him. I stepped through the door with one foot, before glancing over my shoulder. "Oh, and princess?" Pride stopped and turned to look at me. "Your brothers weren't even back yet when you disappeared." I closed the door behind me with a loud bang.
Two days passed where we didn't speak, where he ate before I arrived and went on to do whatever he was doing. I was throwing my dagger against a tree, waving my hand to retrieve it and did it again. Over and over until most of the bark was gone. Just as my dagger flew through the air again, a portal opened not far from me. Leon was wearing skinny jeans and a white shirt. I whistled at him as I went to get my dagger.
"You're looking handsome. Have any plans?"
"I do." He stepped closer. "With you."
"Is that so?" I asked, placing my dagger back in the sheath.
"Uhu." He nodded with a grin. "It came to my attention that Pride has been ignoring you. Again."
"Ah, the gossip mill is in full swing I see."
Leon shrugged. "It never stops. But thank goodness the gossip reached my ears, because I'm kidnapping you."
"And where are we going?" I asked as we walked inside the castle.
"That's a surprise but we're going for dinner and then we are going out." He fingered his pocket before he took out a ring. "Sevrin fixed it, it shouldn't break again when you fall."
I slipped the ring around my finger and instantly felt more relaxed. When we reached my bedroom, Leon went straight for my closet. With his head inside, he called out.
"You go freshen up, you stink of sweat."
"I was training." I called back but slipped into the bathroom anyway. When I came out, Leon had thrown different dresses on the bed as he muttered. When he saw me walk in with only a towel around me, he asked.
"Don't you have any red dresses?"
"Not in there," I answered. I pinned Lucien's pin in my hair and my towel turned into a red maxi dress. "This better?" I asked.
"That's a nifty trick." He chuckled astounded. "Gift from Lucien?" I winked at him. "The colour is good, but you're young, Ava. Make it cocktail."
"Alright." I looked down as the long dress was replaced by a red cocktail dress that reached just above the knees. The back was bare, and it had a V-neck showing off my breasts. "I'm not going shorter than this."
"No, this is good." He agreed. "You need to be able to hide your dagger."
"You want me to wear it?"
"Wymond said it needed to be on you the whole time."
"Fine." I put the sheath on my upper leg before covering it with the dress. I went back to the bathroom to do my hair, just putting it up halfway with a pin. The dress covered the scar but only just.
"Come on, gorgeous." He wrapped his arm around me as we walked down the stairs. "The princes know where we are going and they okayed it, knowing you could use a break."
"Hey, Orzon." I said before I spotted him. Leon jumped a little when he came out from the shadows. "I'm going out with Leon." I glanced at him. "To the mortal world?" He nodded. "So, you can report back to Pride. On your way now." I waved my hand and Orzon sprinted out of the room.
Leon chuckled. "Well, you sure got him in line."
"No, it's just what he always does. Let's go."
Leon opened the portal but wherever he was taking me, I didn't recognize it.