Page 16 of Of Masks and Fury

I dropped my gaze like a submissive princess would when what I wanted was to glare right back, to grab him and shake him and demand to know if that anger was real.

My father laughed, the sound rich with satisfaction. “I like him already. Exactly the firm hand she needs.”

She, as if I was a thing to be watched over. Not a person with thoughts, feelings, and needs.

Trew reached out and adjusted my necklace, his fingers brushing my neck. “Every impulsive decision has consequences, Princess. I’m a very thorough man. When I commit to a task, I don’t stop until it’s fully complete. No matter how long it takes. No matter how much you might beg me to finish.”

His touch burned through me like lightning, like coming home, like every desperate prayer I’d whispered into the darkness since I’d left him.

He was close enough now that I could see the pulse hammering in his throat, racing despite his controlled exterior.

Hmm. Not as unaffected as he appeared, then.

“I’ll keep a good eye on her,” Trew said, turning back to my father. “She won’t leave my sight.”

Was that a threat or a promise?

“Excellent.” My father waved a hand toward us. “Take her back to her chambers. Familiarize yourself with her routines. Do not allow her to wander.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Let me know if you need further assistance.”

“Oh, I’m sure I can handle your daughter.” There it was again, the sneer I’d come to know and despise not long after I met him.

Trew gestured toward the door. “After you, Princess.”

I walked past him on trembling legs, feeling my father’s gaze on my back until the door closed behind us.

Victor stood outside my father’s office. He straightened when we stepped out, his expression remaining neutral.

“Blain Torreth,” Trew said in a dry voice. “I’ll be supervising the princess from now on.”

Victor shot a look between us before dipping forward in a bow. “The king wants her watched at all times.” His voice carried a warning.

“Understood.” Trew’s voice came out flat, professional. “I don’t anticipate any trouble from this one.”

As if I were a problem to be managed rather than?—

Victor’s smirk made me curl my hands into fists. “She’s a timid thing. She won’t make you lose any sleep, though I’ll be happy to take over when you need a break. Send word and I’ll be there.” He curled his lip as his gaze traveled across my body.

Trew’s low growl rang out. He angled his body between Victor and me. The movement would appear casual to any observer, yet I read the claim written in every line of his stance. A wall of flesh and bone, placing himself between danger and what he treasured. His shoulders broadened, his jaw hardened. Though he wore another man’s face, he was the king who’d vowed to shield me from harm.

With a snort, Victor walked past us, his footsteps echoing in the corridor. He disappeared around the corner.

I didn’t dare look back at Trew as I started walking toward my rooms, but his presence loomed, charged with unspoken fury. His growl lingered in my mind, shifting the air between us from threat to promise as we moved through the fortified halls.

Trew leaned close and kept his voice low. “Your escort will be comprehensive, Your Majesty. I’ll be monitoring your sleep schedule very carefully. If you can’t rest, I have methods to ensure exhaustion. I’m particularly skilled at repetitive exercises. I’ll work you until you can’t stand, until you’re trembling and boneless and completely spent.” He paused, then lifted his voice for any servants within earshot. “The king wants you well-rested and compliant.”

My legs trembled from his comments. His smirk told me he was well aware of what he was doing to me. He fell back behind me at the proper distance for a guard, not too close but not so far he couldn’t snap out a hand and latch onto my arm.

I was aware of everything about him. The cadence of his footsteps, different from his usual gait. Shorter strides, heavier on the heel. Disguised, like everything else about him. The sound of hisbreathing, controlled and measured. Nothing like the way he breathed when he held me, when he kissed me, or when he whispered my name in the dark.

The space between us filled with unspoken words. His presence pulled at me, a tide I fought not to turn toward. My skin prickled with awareness of exactly how many paces separated us. Too many and yet not nearly enough distance to cool the heat building beneath my calm façade.

The air felt different with him near, charged with something that had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with the invisible cord that had tied us together from the moment we’d met.

We passed servants who bowed, guards who nodded our way, their eyes sharp in the heightened security. Every single one of them saw their princess and her new bodyguard. None of them saw the two people who’d found each other in a foreign land, who were now forced to behave like they were strangers. A passing patrol forced us to step aside, their gazes lingering, a reminder that privacy here was an illusion we couldn’t afford to shatter.