Page 60 of Quest for her Knights
“I know she hasn’t been sleeping well, so tonight, we’re not taking no for an answer. She’s gonna lie with us so she can actually get some sleep.”
Normally, Blaze and I take opposite shifts, so there's always one of us with her. He's also willing to let me have the first shift tonight, not wanting to argue with her about it.
Fine with me. I see the dark spots under her eyes, and they’re a reminder that we’ve been failing at taking care of her, and it ends tonight.
“Arrow?” I turn my head at the sound of her voice and she’s eyeing the blankets nervously.
“Did you brush your teeth?” I ask, and she nods, still looking unsure.
I pat the middle and offer up a small smile. “Come on, in you get.”
“But—”
“Nope,” I say, cutting her off. “You need to get some real sleep tonight. Blaze and I will take turns lying beside you. Now come on, come lie down.” I gesture again to the blankets. She bites her lip nervously before finally stepping forward and sinking down into our makeshift bed.
I pull a blanket back as she gets comfortable then pull it up to her shoulders.
“I’ll be right back, I’m just going to get ready for bed.”
I’m rummaging through my own bag when Ranger approaches.
“How is she?” he asks quietly.
“She’s embarrassed. But I got her talking today, and I’m going to make sure she gets some sleep tonight.”
When he doesn’t say anything I stand up and look at him. He’s clenching his jaw as he stares off blankly into the forest.
“Ranger?” His eyes dart to mine. “You need to let it go.”
“I crossed a line.” I let out a deep breath and push my hand through my hair. I knew this conversation was coming. I’ve tried to get him to talk ever since it happened.
“You didn’t know that was going to happen.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m supposed to be protecting her. I’m her knight. Her guard. I’m here to help her find her husbands. Getting close to her will just make it that much harder.”
“Harder for her, or harder for you?” I ask, making him frown. “You can admit you have feelings for her, Ranger.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t. It’s not right.”
“And you think forcing her to marry a group of lords that are more interested in her title than her, is?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not our call to make. The kings and Queen have spoken.”
He turns to leave, but I grab his arm, pulling him back. “Wait. Forget all that for right now. Elora is embarrassed about what happened with you, and I think you running away and refusing to talk to her has exacerbated it.”
His eyes narrow at me in confusion. “I didn’t run away.”
“That’s exactly what you did. You all but threw her off your lap and haven’t spoken to her since. After what happened, how do you think that would make her feel?” I grind my teeth, realizing this is probably the real reason for her silent behavior. She thinks he was upset by what happened. Upset ather.
“Shit. I made it worse, didn’t I?”
I sigh, nodding as I glance at where she’s lying down by the fire. “Yeah, I think you did.”
“How do I fix it?” The fact that my older brother is asking me for advice is hard to comprehend. He’s always been the wiser one, the one I’d go to for guidance. Never before has he wanted my opinion.
“I don’t think you should bring it up, but you need to start treating her as you did before it happened. Be her knight, her friend.”
He presses his lips together tightly before nodding at me once, then walking away to get ready for bed. Draven and Blaze will take first watch tonight.
