Page 130 of Arrows and Gems
Helena ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and tried not to enjoy it. “It looks so natural,” she mused. “But I can see the redder color at the roots.”
“Jean-haut has a way with plants,” he explained. “He and Rouge worked together to make something that looked right and didn’t smell.”
Her face crumpled. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her forehead to his shoulder and wailed.
She’d never cried in front of him before. Not like this.
Telling himself that one more time wouldn’t hurt, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close while her fingers dug into his shoulders.
And itwasthe last time. Once they escaped, he would send her to Marielle. Even if he left the forest before she left Amitié, he could never hold her like this again. Not when she was destined to marry someone else.
“So it’s really true?” she murmured against his shoulder. “You really are the crown prince?”
Before he could respond, another voice spoke up. “He is. And I’ll thank him to keep his hands off my beautiful fiancée.”
CHAPTER 46
Helena
Whirling, Helena pulled out her bow and plucked an arrow from her quiver. General Valentin stood in the doorway with a mild expression.
“I’ll thankyounot to call me that,” she growled. “I regret ever accepting your help with Luther. Especially since it didn’t work.”
“It may have started as fake, but I always wanted it to be real,” the General said earnestly. “And you can stop pretending to have feelings for Raphael. You’ve done your part by stalling him.”
The prince tensed. After the conversation they’d just had, surely he didn’t believe the General’s hogwash?
But then, hadn’t she believed it herself?
“The only time I’ve ever pretended feelings was for you,” she said with a smirk. “And that was only to keep Luther away and to free my friends.”
General Valentin’s chin jerked back. “Are you saying you actually care for this murderer? For someone who would kill his own father for power?”
“I lived with Cap for months,” she laughed. “I don’t believe for a minute that he’d murder anyone.”
“Ah, yes.Cap.” General Valentin shook his head with a wan smile. “Raphael did a fine job crafting that persona, didn’t he? Someone like Prince Michael, but a little less devoted tobeing a perfectly charming prince. Someone, instead, with eyes only for you.”
The General’s eyes were sympathetic. They begged her to listen to him. But she fought it. He’d twisted the truth before, about both Cap and herself.
“That’s a lie,” Cap seethed.
“Is it?” The General’s eyebrows bounced up. “What about Rouge?”
But had he lied, or had he only been mistaken? He might have believed what he told her.
“Rouge?” Cap sounded confused. “What does she have to do with anything?”
The General turned to Helena. “Wouldn’t you agree? Is our Rouge not enamored of Prince Raphael and his charms?”
She risked a glance at the prince. He’d been just as confused when she suggested it. But shehadsuggested it before. Shouldn’t he understand this time?
“Yes,” she finally answered. Clinging to the memory of his adorable stammering after she accidentally kissed him, she added, “But I don’t think he ever encouraged her. He’s a bit clueless when it comes to women.”
“I am not!” Cap protested.
Oh, she was going to enjoy this. “If that were true,” she replied, innocently batting her eyes at him, “you would know when one is about to kiss you.”
“What are—”
