“Wendy.” Loki groaned and rolled onto his back. “Why do you have to say something like that now?”
“Because.” I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. The sheets hung over my legs, but my back was bare to him. “I don’t want you to…” I sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have.”
“It looks like I hurt you, actually.” Loki sat up and touched my arm. “You have a bruise.”
“What?” I looked down and saw a purplish blotch on my arm. “I don’t remember you doing that.” I’d probably have bruises on my thighs, but Loki didn’t grab my arms. “Oh. This isn’t from you. It’s from Tove.”
“Tove,” Loki sighed. He didn’t say anything for a minute, then looked over at me. “You’re going back to him tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“He is my husband.”
“He hit you,” he said, but without much conviction. Even Loki knew that Tove would never have done that, not if he was in his right mind.
“He won’t hit me again,” I said. “I married him for a reason, and that hasn’t changed.”
“What reason is that?” Loki asked. “I know you don’t love him.”
“The Trylle don’t want me to be Queen,” I said. “They don’t trust me because of who my father is, among other things. Tove’s family is very influential and helps balance it out. If I wasn’t married to him, his mother would be leading the campaign to get me overthrown. Without Tove, I’d never be Queen.”
“Why is that a bad thing?” Loki asked. “These people don’t trust you or like you, and you’re sacrificing everything for them. How does that make sense?”
“Because they need me. I can help them. I can save them. I’m the only one who can stand up to my father, and I’m the only one that cares enough to fight for the rights of the trackers and the other Trylle. I have to do this.”
“I wish you didn’t say that with such conviction.” He put his arm around me and moved closer. He kissed my shoulder, then whispered, “I don’t want you to go back to Tove tomorrow.”
“I have to,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “But I don’t want you to.”
“You can have me for tonight, though.” I gave him a small smile, and he lifted his head so his eyes met mine. “That’s all I can give you.”
“I don’t want only one night. I want all the nights. I want all of you, forever.”
Tears swam in my eyes, and my heart yearned so badly it hurt. Sitting there with Loki, I don’t think I’d ever felt quite so heartbroken.
“Don’t cry, Wendy.” He smiled sadly at me, and I saw the heartbreak in his eyes mirroring my own. He pulled me to him and kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, then my mouth.
“So, if this is all you’ll let me have, then I will take it all,” Loki said. “No talking or even worrying about the kingdom or responsibility or anyone else. You’re not the Princess. I’m not Vittra. We’re only a boy and a girl crazy about each other, and we’re naked in bed.”
“I can do that,” I nodded.
“Good, because I’m determined to make the most of it.” He smiled and pushed me down on the bed. “I think we broke the bed a little bit last time. What do you say we see if we can destroy it?”
I laughed, and he kissed me. Tomorrow I might regret this. Tomorrow I might have hell to pay. But for one night, I refused to think or worry. I was with Loki, and he made me feel like the only thing in the world that truly mattered. And in that night, he was the only thing that truly mattered to me.
A knocking woke me in the morning, and I was surprised that I’d even slept at all. The night washed over me in a hazy, happy blur. Everything felt like a wonderful dream, and I’d never known that I could feel that close to another person or that… happy. Loki’s arms were strong around me, and I snuggled deeper into them. I wanted to stay curled up next to him forever.
“Princess?” Aurora called from outside my bedroom, and it was like a cold slap pulling me from my dream. “Are you up? I need to get my clothes.” Loki’s arms tensed up around me, and without waiting for an answer, the bedroom door creaked open as Aurora walked into the room.
17. Consequence
The curtains were still drawn around the bed, but if Aurora pulled them back, she would find me naked in bed with a guy that was not her son. I heard her moving about the room, and I was too scared to speak or even breathe.
My mind raced to remember what had become of our clothes. Were Loki’s pajamas pants on the bedroom floor? And what became of the panties he’d torn off me?
“Princess?” Aurora said again, and I could see her silhouette through the curtain. She was right outside. “Are you in here?”
“Yeah,” I said, afraid that she would open the curtain if I didn’t answer. I tried to quiet the panic in my voice. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. I’m really… out of it. Yesterday was… exhausting.”
“I understand,” Aurora said. “I’ll take my whole bag so I can get ready and give you time to wake up.”