“Ten years.”
“Interesting,” the guard said slowly, opening the front door for her.
She blinked. “What?”
“Nothing.” He cleared his throat and nodded at the people they passed as he led her to the stairs. “Nothing at all.”
They reached her door, and she gripped the knob. “Again, let me know when you hear something.”
“I’ll send word when I can.” He bowed at the waist, staying low for longer than he had before. “Miss.”
She nodded once then closed herself inside her room.
Alone. Again.
Covering her face, she sank down to the floor, leaving her back against the door as she waited. Time passed slowly, so slowly she was seconds from ripping her clock off the wall and checking the batteries. At some point, a servant knocked on the door with food, dropping it off for her to eat.
It was on the table, cold and congealed, and she sat in front of it, waiting. At half past ten, there was a soft knock, and she stood, stretching her sore muscles as she straightened, crossed the room, turned the knob, and ripped the door open. Expecting to see the guard she’d spoken to earlier, she was surprised to instead find Leo standing there.
His jacket was buttoned up all the way, and his pants were impeccably pressed, and on the outside he looked like the perfect picture of a flawless prince who didn’t have a worry in the world. But when she looked in his eyes, she saw a completely different picture. She saw the real Leo, the man who she’d known all those years ago as a boy, and he was calling out for help now. He was broken.
There were a million reasons why she should refuse to let him inside her room. He’d broken her heart, and if given the chance, he’d do so again. He was a prince, quite possibly a king, and she was just…well, her. He’d abducted her, forcing her to stay with him. And yet, he looked at her, eyes bloodshot and empty, and she did the only thing she could, because she could feel his pain.
He needs me.
And, deep down, she needed him, too.
So she stepped back, letting him inside.
He flexed his jaw, came into her room, and shut the door behind him, locking it. The second it closed behind him, he sagged against the wood, closing his eyes. “He was fine earlier. I’d talked to him on the phone before he took off. He was joking with me, and telling me, like usual, that I needed to get married, and he was…he was fine.”
Slowly, she backed up, putting a chair between them, as if that would somehow guard her heart, when it was already lying on the floor between them. All he had to do was pick it up and crush it in his fist to put an end to this. “Is he…?”
“After I left the hospital, I couldn’t think of anywhere else I wanted to be than with you,” he said, his voice raw and broken. When he opened his eyes and looked at her, she saw the answer to her question before he opened his mouth. She recognized that utter, complete look of loss, in his eyes. “I didn’t even get to tell him I loved him one last time before…before…”
His voice cracked, breaking off.
“He knows.” Swallowing hard, she closed the distance between them, one step at a time, knowing what would happen if she got too close but past the point of caring, because he needed her. “Believe me, he knows.”
He let out a strangled groan, covering his face, and without thinking, without letting herself question what she was doing or why, she closed her arms around his neck, hugged him close, and didn’t let go. No matter how many times she told herself she’d grown up stronger, wiser, and that she didn’t need him by her side…she was lying.
A part of her still loved him. Probably always would.
She’d give him everything he wanted.
All he had to do was ask.
Burying his face in her neck, he wrapped his strong arms around her, hugging her so tightly she might have heard a rib crack, but it didn’t matter. He clung to her like he’d never let go. All that mattered in this moment was helping him get through a pain she understood all too well.
A pain she wished he’d never had to feel.
“I’m sorry, Leo.” She kissed his neck gently, closing her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks at his pain. “So, so sorry.”
He nodded, not speaking, just holding her for a while, and then he took in a deep breath and let it out. They didn’t move from their position at the door, and neither one of them spoke after that. By the time he loosened his grip on her, the sky had darkened even more, and there was quiet in the castle as the people inside it mourned.
He didn’t cry. Kings probably didn’t, but she had a feeling he was weeping uncontrollably on the inside. Holding him brought back the memories of her father’s death, and that gut-clenching sorrow tearing her apart. Leaving her lifeless and hollow.
Slowly she stepped back, lifting her eyes to his. He had bags the size of cotton balls under his eyes. And he looked so…so…lost. So she did the only thing she could think of to make this night a little easier on him, the only thing she could do, here and now. She finally stopped fighting the inevitable. Reaching up, she cradled his face gently, and rising up on tiptoe…