Page 27 of Prize for the King
I drift off, carried under by bone-deep exhaustion, lulled by the heat and the luxury of finally being alone. I am so exhausted, no thoughts or memories penetrate through the fog in my brain. It’s utterly perfect.
*
Oh no.
I wake up cold and unable to breathe. I splash around, trying to breathe in, only to inhale water. Disoriented and scared, I can’t get out. My hands slip on everything I touch.
No, no, no.
The longer I can’t breathe, the more I panic until I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, until it’s hopeless.
I think I’ll die, drowned in bathwater like a ninny, when a pair of strong arms pulls me out. My wet back is pressed to someone’s hotbody, and big arms wrap around my middle, helping me bend over as I cough, cough, cough.
Water and tears run down my face, and I heave in deep breaths of blessed air, only to cough more. It’s ugly and painful, but at least I’m alive.
A large, warm hand runs down my back soothingly. “There. You’ll be all right. Just let the water pass. You’ll be fine.”
When my breathing calms down enough for me to get my bearing, I moan in shame. Khay holds me, and I’m naked, terrified, and shivering from the cold. My breasts are squished under his forearm. His thighs press to my bum.
“L-l-let go,” I demand through chattering teeth.
“No.”
I shake my head with a whine of distress. “You h-have t-t-to leave!”
Still holding me, Khay reaches for a large, soft towel resting on the foot of the bed. He covers my front, keeping my back pressed tightly against him.
“No, little diamond. You lost your bathing alone privilege when you almost drowned yourself.”
I groan, trying to slip out of his hold, but it’s useless. He’s bigger and stronger than me.
“I didn’t d-d-do it on purpose!” I defend myself.
Khay snorts. “That’s even worse. Come on now. Let’s get you dry and warm.”
I shake my head mutely, squeezing my eyes shut. I can’t force him to leave, I can only endure it, so I make myself still and numb and try to forget he’s here. Any moment now, he’ll try to take liberties, and I am helpless to stop him.
I shiver harder and harder when Khay pulls away, wrapping the towel all around me, then gently squeezes water out of my hair. He hums a slow melody, something pensive and repetitive, lines ofsound unspooling and weaving all around each other with minor variations. Despite myself, I listen, the melody wrapping around me just like the towel, and then, Khay’s arms.
He picks me up and presses my curled up form to his body, sitting on the bed. There, he grabs a blanket and arranges it around me until I’m swathed in fabric. He dries my hair with a loose part of the towel, humming still.
My teeth stop chattering. I cough softly, and Khay presses me closer, never stopping the humming melody. He is big and solid, and when he doesn’t try to uncover or fondle me, I begin to relax.
One by one, my tense muscles soften. I sigh and shuffle around my impromptu nest, getting more comfortable. Khay holds me close, chasing the last of the chill away. I’m warm, and inexplicably, impossibly, safe.
“You can sleep if you want,” he says in a hoarse voice after a while when I lie completely still, warm and cocooned in his lap. “I’ll bring you supper to bed, even though Magnar will throw a fit if you’re not at the table with us.”
I blink my heavy eyelids open. Outside, it’s completely dark, the room lit only by the mellow light of the candles. Clouds must have covered the moons.
Khay’s breathing is even and slow.
“I… Yes, I’d rather eat here.”
He hums in agreement. “Good. I’ll be back with your supper soon. Please don’t go near the water while I’m away.”
He lays me on the bed, still wrapped up tightly, and leaves. I don’t move yet, trying to make sense of everything that happened. I was so certain he’d grope or rape me, because that’s what Agnidari men do.
But Khay saved me and helped me calm down without taking a single liberty. He made me feel safe—safer than I’ve ever felt with another person who wasn’t my mother. It is beyond mycomprehension, and I desperately need to think about it, but not today.
