Page 54 of Cinder's Trial
“You risked yourself. Nicola told me of the route to get in and out of her home.”
“Bah, I wasn’t in any danger. I ran her security gauntlet all the time growing up.”
“Fine, but you ditched your duties to the prince to waste time fetching me.” I grew tired of him making light of what I saw as a grand gesture.
“It was not a waste of time!” he practically bellowed. “You could have been hurt or killed by her actions.”
“So you admit you did it because you worried about me.” I couldn’t have said why I needed that confirmation.
A mighty scowl twisted his face. “Yes, I worried. Happy?”
“Yes.” I approached him so I could put my hands on his tense forearms. “Thank you. Thank you for rescuing me.”
His expression melted. “I would do anything for you, princess.”
I cupped his cheek. “My sweet Knight.”
“Sweet?” he snorted. “Are you trying to ruin my reputation?”
My lips curved. “So sorry. I promise to not tell anyone.”
“You’d better not,” he grumbled, sweeping me into his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you back to the room.”
“I can walk, you know.”
“Don’t care.”
He really didn’t. He carried me to the room, ignoring those who called out to him on the way, and then, despite our pinging phones, made fierce love to me that ended with him whispering, “Maybe I should have let you make the bargain with my mother.”
It killed me to realize he feared I’d break his heart.
17
The rest of that day and the next, Levi didn’t let me out of his sight. If he went to check on the prince, I went too. When I had to talk to the ball organizer about the stage setup, he sat in, arms crossed, glowering in a corner. On the outside, he seemed grumpier than usual, but that changed the moment we were alone.
Every few hours we’d head to our room, and the moment that door closed he’d kiss me. Touch me. Make my toes curl with pleasure. But there was a franticness to the lovemaking, as if he feared every time would be our last.
His dread proved contagious. It didn’t help that the crush of Cinderellas outside had grown yet again, to the point actual guests cancelled. I couldn’t blame them. No one wanted to be there when the prince had to face and ultimately disappoint them.
I didn’t want to go to the ball either. The fact that I kept being taunted by nursery rhymes didn’t help. I’d seen the banjo-playing cat again, singing the same song and, for some reason, kept finding wedding dress brochures every time I turned around.
What did it all mean?
Things came to a head late in the afternoon of the ball. Everyone walked around on eggshells, partially because Levi kept snapping but also because we kept having random Cinderellas somehow making it past security. The times they managed to make it into Killian’s presence, we averted disaster by playing the part of a happily engaged couple, which sent them fleeing, oftentimes mumbling about how they didn’t know what came over them.
Seeing as how it kept working, at least on an individual basis, I shouldn’t have been surprised when, during our last planning session, Hannah brought up her idea again.
“You know, we might be able to avert catastrophe if Killian and Cinder make a public announcement.”
The suggestion fell into a dead silence, broken by Levi’s firm, “No.”
Hannah glanced at her boss. “We have to do something. Many of those women outside are determined to snag the prince, by any means necessary. And before you even say it, no, we can’t mow them down to solve the problem.”
Better her saying it than me. I did worry about Levi’s state of mind. This situation wouldn’t be solved with violence even if it might devolve into it.