Page 109 of Frost Bound

“Don’t leave me.”

Her simple plea struck him right in the chest.

His mouth went dry, and he could feel all eyes on him. “I won’t,” he muttered.

Neve couldn’t have left her even if he tried.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Neve

He cracked his eyes open.

The sun hadn’t yet risen and there was a warm body snuggled next to him.

Neve rolled his head to the right and stared down at Dahlia pressed to the right side of his body. She’d healed slower than he’d liked in the last week, but at least the swelling had gone down around her eye, so she had her vision back. The skin beneath her eye was an ugly yellow-green, but thevalleshad assured him it was normal.

Her assurance had plagued him. How did she know how quickly a black eye healed? It’s not as if she was a street urchin looking for fights. He had a feeling it had something to do with her brute of a father.

Who hurt you?

He rolled his head back to the middle of his pillow and closed his eyes. This was his favorite part of the day. He had always been an early riser, the complete opposite to thevalles, not thatshe knew that. Every day for the past month, he’d pretended to be sleeping when she awoke and slunk away in shame.

He understood her feelings. If you didn’t acknowledge it, then it wasn’t real.

Liar, liar.

Neve’s eyes popped open, and he stared down at hisniliave, his hand playing with the tips of her soft rose-gold hair. The bloody fact of it all was that he liked waking up with her in his arms. In sleep, she was soft and pliant—not on guard like she was all the time. Sure, she’d softened since she’d left Florrant, but it wasn’t enough.

He wanted … more.

And yet, how could he take more when he didn’t trust her?

Dahlia hadn’t done anything outright dangerous, but she was always going missing and coming up somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. She’d made loyal friends all over his castle, servants and highborn alike, but she kept him at a distance…

Except in her sleep.

Even now, her right hand rested over his upper heart as if she were seeking to be closer to him.

She stirred, her lips falling open as she pressed her cold toes against his calf. Neve wrinkled his nose. That was one thing about humans he’d learned rather quickly. Their hands and toes werealwayscold. At least Dahlia’s were.

He sighed, hoping she didn’t wake soon.

Once his wife was out of bed, it meant he’d have to endure the day.

It was Lumi’s judgment day.

As soon as Neve could leave Dahlia once it was safe for her to sleep, he had gone straight to his sister. She had been laid up in bed with a knee so swollen it looked fake. Lumi hadn’t begged or cried when he told her she was to be locked in her room until judgment could be passed on her behavior.

Lumi had admitted everything to him outright, no embellishments.

His sister had almost killed thereilleveand Dahlia had saved her anyway.

Today, his sister would be punished.

His breath sped up and his hearts began to race. Neve closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Lumi was his closest family member. For her crime, she could be executed or banished. Despite how difficult she was at times, he still loved her.

The fingers on his chest flexed, and the feeling of being watched washed over him. He cracked open his right eye and Dahlia stared up at him, expression sleepy but serious. She didn’t say anything for a long moment, nor did she scuttle away like she normally did.

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