Page 45 of Tears of Gold

“As you command.”

I wake a short time later as a servant delivers a pallet bed. Once Vanrey dismisses him and locks the door, I sleepily tell him to drag it beside my bed where I can see him. I can’t say exactly what drives me, but I’m not entirely sure I won’t die at any moment and I crave closeness.

The Elite elemental turns out the lights, and I hear him settle under the covers. Considering how many gates he’s been through tonight, he must be exhausted too, but his breathing doesn’t deepen.

I rise on one elbow to find the water on my bedside table, hissing with every movement. After a deep drink, I wipe my mouth. “He said . . . you were intended . . . to be his . . . E-Elite. Is that why you volun . . . teered to assist me?”

Vanrey’s voice returns softly in the darkness. “Yes, my lord, but it was not simply a matter of escaping him. I desired to enter your service.”

“Why?”

“I consider myself a good judge of character. Ever since I joined the Elites and began my training, I’ve watched your family closely. I guess I could say I’d rather stand on the sidelines with a good man than be top of the world with one whom I cannot . . . respect.”

His compliment stirs an unusual pleasure in my heart. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve come to appreciate Vanrey’s insight. But how far can I trust him? “Do you . . . report to . . . my father?”

“Only in the sense that all citizens bear obligation to report if asked.”

“And if you are n-not asked?”

“Then my lips are sealed for eternity.”

His profession of loyalty makes my fragile heart flutter, and I drop my hand over the bed edge. “Swear it to me.”

He takes my hand in the dark and swears. “I devote my life to yours, my liege, Prince Erritt Exerin, to hold it more precious than my own. Your secrets will be my secrets and your wish my command.”

I feel his honesty shining like the evening star. I keep hold of his hand. “You’ll f-find I’m a little . . . unorthodox.”

“Your personal habits and preferences are no one’s business, Your Highness.”

“Didn’t I tell you . . . to address me . . . informally in private?”

“I am, my lord.”

I snort. Stubborn. “So, you know things . . . about me?”

He hesitates and the darkness grows heavier. “I’ve guessed things, my lord. And that’s the way it should stay, don’t you think? I can’t give up any information I don’t know. But, while we are on the topic, I’d like to apologize for the way I spoke about Miss Ava earlier this evening. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Smiling into the dark, I drift off to sleep. I’ve been blessed with a good servant.

∞∞∞

I wake slowly, an ache in my shoulder telling me I’ve slept with my arm hanging over the bed all night. The bright light streaming in through the tall windows must be from a midday sun. I roll over with a groan, then freeze as my body spasms, the pain in my shoulder flaring everywhere.

Vanrey pauses in warrior stretches by the window. “Good morning, my lord.”

That’s what I should be doing, but my whole body aches as if an ant colony lives inside of me, the workers busily digging tunnels into my nerves.

“Vanrey,” I murmur thickly.

He comes to my side immediately.

“I don’t . . . think I c-can get up.”

“Can you not stay in bed for the day?”

I shake my head. I have to see my father today, and if I’m very lucky, return to the academy before this damn palace kills me.

While my aide hauls me upright and gets me showered and dressed, all I can think of is Ava. Does she really remember me? What have she and Skye been doing all night? And, strangely, what do I do about Harper who is clearly trying to weasel his way in?