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I stride inside the cabin with her, kicking the door closed behind us, shutting the world out. I carry her straight to the armchair in the corner, settling onto it with her in my lap.
"I need you to promise me something," I murmur, running my hands through her silky hair. "Promise me that you won't go outside without me."
Her sapphire eyes fly to mine, welling with tears. "Y-you're going after him."
"No." I catch one on the pad of my thumb when it spills over. "I promised you that I wouldn't, angel. But there's something I need to take care of back in Stonehaven. Something important." I want to beg her to come with me, but I know she won't. She's still too goddamn afraid. Until I erase the reasons for that and make sure she knows that she has absolutely nothing to fear from me or anyone, she'll continue to be afraid.
That's my fault. Mine and her father's. We're fixing it. Right fucking now.
"Oh." Her bottom lip quivers. "W-will you be gone long?"
"Not even long enough for you to miss me." I smile, brushing my thumb along her bottom lip. "By the time the sun sets, you'll be back in my arms where you belong."
She bites her bottom lip, gathering her courage around her, and then nods bravely. Christ, she's so fucking incredible. I don't know a single other princess with the nerve to do what she did—to leave everything behind in a bid for freedom. She didn't hesitate.
This whole world is foreign to her. Fable Forest is full of magic, failing portals, and mythical creatures. But she ran here anyway, without a second thought. And she's stayed. Despite my rough ways. Despite the filthy things I've demanded of her. Despite everything, she's stayed.
I've never been more unworthy than I am of the gorgeous little angel sitting on my lap. But my heart is hers anyway. Every piece of me is hers. And one way or another, I'm going to ensure she knows that she never has to run again. She never has to worry again.
The words are right there on the tip of my tongue. The truth—I love her. But I swallow it back. The first time I say it to her, I don't want it to be when I'm preparing to leave her. I want it to be when she knows that I'm never leaving her side again—when she knows that I know exactly who she is, and I mean every damn word.
"My soul is yours, angel," I breathe instead, pressing my lips to hers in a hard kiss. "I'm leaving it in your hands."
When I arrive in Stonehaven, I go straight to see my father. I find him in his study. He looks frailer than ever behind the massive mahogany desk, his gray hair thin, his face lined and gaunt. I'm not fooled, though. His body may be weak, but his will is still forged from steel.
"Come to argue your case again, Troy?" he asks, eyeing me wearily.
"No." I push the door closed, leaning up against it. I study him for a long moment, curious how he became this man. I always thought the loss of my mother drove him mad—that he was a kind, benevolent king before she died. But since finding Thalia, I find myself questioning my memory more and more.
I think, perhaps, he was always the man he is now. My mother simply softened his rough edges. Without her here to keep him in check, the harsher parts of his personality have grown wild. If there's a tyrant in this room, it's him. I'm simply a product of my raising.
When you live with snakes, you learn to strike.
With Thalia, I don't have to be that man. I won't be that man. She deserves someone better. My mother did, too. I hope, for her sake, my father gave her better while she was alive.
"I came to ask her name."
"What?"
"The princess," I repeat. "What is her name?"
He cocks his head to the side, eyeing me. "Now you want to know who she is?"
"Tell me her name, Father," I growl.
"Thalia Rosewood."
"Did you plan on telling me that she's missing?"
His eyes widen in shock.
He didn't know.
So, he didn't send the man in the forest today. I didn't think he had, but I needed to be sure. I searched the forest high and low before I left Thalia alone, worried about leaving her out there. But I found no traces of him. He was long gone, tire tracks leading away from an old dirt road a mile from the cabin.
He didn't stick around if someone sent him out there to spy on us. She's as safe as she can be in the cabin. She won't leave it, and she won't let anyone inside.
By the time I finish here today, no one will be looking for her anyway. They'll know I have her and she'll stay with me until our wedding.
