Page 22 of Enchanted Heir
“Not even a drop?”
I shook my head.
He looked genuinely perplexed. As if I was not even speaking the same language as he. “Did Keir know that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think so?”
He cocked his head. “So let me get this right, he was going to choose you to possibly be queen someday, and the two of you never discussed how a queen with no magic could possibly protect herself? Or address the question of if someone with Iron Will can even receive magic?”
Okay, when he put it that way, it sounded bad. Keir and I had spent too much time trying to fix our relationship to get that far. Maybe it hadn’t been as serious as either of us had felt. Maybe we just held on to what we could be for far too long.
I did five drops then stood up. Krew held a hand out and I handed him the dagger.
He tucked it away and then held his hand out again. “I wanted your hand.”
I gave it to him, and he wrapped a kerchief around it for me. Where he’d got it from, I had no idea. It felt like just the other day Keir was doing this for me and not Krew. “Thank you.”
He finished tying it and dropped his hands. “You are going to need to put some ointment on that.”
“And if I don’t, you’ll be sure to remind me?”
He pressed his lips together as if to keep from laughing. “Precisely.” Then he was grinning, and it was a thing of rare beauty. He never smiled like this. “What is it with you and this forest, love? First with Rafe and now this?”
I shrugged. “I want to save it too.”
Krew just shook his head. “Fine. Add it to the list.”
I snorted a laugh as we headed back toward the others.
Keir saw my hand already bandaged but fortunately said nothing about it. Instead, he asked, “Can we trust The Six to tell them about this? Or does this stay between the four of us?”
“We don’t trust The Six?” I asked. “But aren’t they your inner circle?”
“Yes. And also yes,” Krew stated. He thought on it a moment. “I trust very few people with everything. But I think eventually Hatchet could get her blood tested for us. Other than that, this stays right here.”
They all nodded their agreement as we headed back in.
I found this new development revived me and gave me something to look forward to in the coming weeks. I was no longer just waiting around for Krew to give me my freedom, I was going to figure this out. By the time I walked out of the castle, maybe we’d have a way to save the forest.
CHAPTER6
It was irresponsible at best to continue reading when I was as exhausted as I was. Krew told me the king suggested I stay away from the family dinners for a few weeks to give Keir time to adjust, so fortunately, I was off the hook for those. It was a welcome respite in the emotional whiplash of the last few days.
So, I got lost in the pages of a book, one I found on the bookshelves in Krew’s wing. Krew wasn’t back yet, and I didn’t know if he was serious or not about sleeping in the same bed, so I was half into the story and half just waiting around for him to return. If he was going to slip into bed with me, I figured I’d rather be awake for it.
The room was cast into total darkness other than the lantern-looking lamp beside me. It was late when he finally did return, still in the clothes he’d left for dinner in.
He strode toward the bathroom, stopping only to plop a letter at my knees on the bed. “I was to give this to you.”
My forehead creased. “From who?”
“Who do you think?” was the only response I got before I heard the shower water turn on.
It was my guess that it was so late because the princes had been practicing. Krew was still in his tailcoat, but I also saw the perspiration and dampness on his forehead. Plus, his skin seemed to slightly glow, as if his magic were still humming from using it recently.
He apparently wasn’t coming back until after he showered.
I looked at the parchment at my knees. I didn’t really want to open it. But I also didn’t want to wonder what it was Keir wanted to say. Would he beg me to return? Would he beg for forgiveness and ask me for what felt like the hundredth time to not give up on us?
