Page 59 of Legacy of Glass
“And what if I was? I was trying to consider you—your resources, your feelings—by not involving you. Is that a crime now? I was trying not to use any resources except my own time, but I still respected what you’d said about bringing an escort. If I needed a larger escort, you should have made that clear. How was I supposed to know?”
She was almost vibrating with the force of her anger by the time she finished. Distantly she recognized she wasn’t being fair, but the aftermath of her recent flight was still coursing through her, roiling her emotions in its wake. Not to mention whatever that had been between them when he had held her so close.
Julius didn’t back down, meeting her gaze fiercely as sparks leaped from his eyes to hers and back again.
“Do you really think I was worried about using the palace’s resources?” he asked with none of the usual princely polish in his voice. “I was trying to protectyou!”
Olivia wanted to scoff at the suggestion, but she couldn’t entirely dismiss it. Even so, she wasn’t ready to let him off the hook.
“But that’s my choice to make,” she snapped, “not yours. If you truly wanted to protect me, you should have accepted that this is important to me. We could have worked together to find a safer way. I won’t let you stop me from doing what I believe is right. If I let you control me in the name of keeping me safe, where does that end?”
Her breaths heaved in and out, and there was no space left between them. Their eyes locked as something intense and charged bound them together, too much emotion overflowing the small alley.
Distantly, behind her anger, she wondered how he had found her. He must have ridden across the whole city in her wake. What had driven him to do so? Was it really only his sense of responsibility toward her?
The tension built, and unconsciously Olivia swayed even closer to him, her eyes dropping to his lips.
“You’re right.” Julius stepped back, breaking the tension.
Dazed at his sudden movement, Olivia blinked at him. “What?”
“I shouldn’t have dismissed your determination to help your friend—even if I was doing it for your sake. And by the same token, you shouldn’t have acted alone in the name of protecting me. You’re right that we’ll do better if we work together and not at cross purposes.”
Olivia drew a steadying breath, nodding her agreement. She had blamed him for trying to protect her when she had been doing the same thing to him.
“On that note,” he added, “if you’re going to start roaming the city, interrogating the populace, you would save me a great deal of stress if you take a squad of guards with you.”
Olivia glanced toward the street and shivered. “Yes, I can see now that it was naive of me,” she said quietly. “But I’ve seen your father riding through the city, and I didn’t think there was any danger.” Her lips twisted.
Julius sighed. “If you’d stayed on horseback, there probably wouldn’t have been. And honestly, in a few years’ time—when the excitement of both the betrothal and the wedding is past—you can probably visit the beach with a single groom and be fine. But right now, you’re a novelty. The city is intensely interested in you, but no one is used to seeing you yet. You need to give them time to adjust.”
Olivia nodded slowly, trying not to place any weight on his phrasing—the assumption that their wedding would proceed. It gave her a fluttery feeling inside that she wasn’t ready to analyze.
The rest of his words made sense. But nothing in her life had prepared her to even consider such matters. It was yet another reminder how out of depth she was in her new role.
“Thank you for coming for me,” she said softly. “I know they weren’t trying to hurt me, but I was truly frightened back there.”
Julius’s face softened. “You’re my betrothed, Olivia. If I think you’re in danger, I’ll always come for you. Just as you are doing your best to protect me and my family with those endless lessons.”
Olivia smiled at him, but her heart wasn’t in it. His words depressed her a little instead of providing the reassurance he obviously intended. It wasn’t Olivia he had ridden out to save but the public figure of his betrothed.
She turned her thoughts to more practical matters. “So if I take a squad of guards in the future, I’ll be safe?”
“You should be.”
She sighed. “They won’t help me when I’m trying to talk to the people of the city, though.” She hummed to herself as she considered the possibilities. “What if I took Cade with me as well? He could stay at my side while I talk to people, and the guards could hang back a little, ready to step in if needed.”
“Cade?”
She frowned, confused by his sharp response. “He said he was happy to be my escort whenever I needed one, remember? As a younger son, he has more free time than a crown prince. And then I’ll be safe without needing to bother you at all.”
“Not bothered?” Julius almost growled, running a hand through his hair. “When did I say I didn’t want to be bothered?”
Olivia’s frown deepened. “But back at the palace, you said?—”
“I said that I didn’t wantyoubothered. It’s not the same thing.” He sighed and let his hand drop. “If you’re determined to come out with a squad of guards, of course I’ll accompany you. I’m sure I can find some windows of time in my schedule. If you run into trouble, I’ll be more use to you than Cade.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said, surprised at his insistence.
