Heart Over Sword - Chapter 96

Arawn left Evanna standing in the bath, flabbergasted by his words, her body’s reaction to him and why she was still fully dressed in the walk-in tub. She began pulling down her dress when the doors opened again. Evanna tensed and covered her chest with the loose clothing.

“My lady. His highness requested me to help you..” Rina trailed off when she saw Evanna already in the tub, holding her green dress against her. Her face heated when she saw Rina’s brows raise and then make a small ‘o’ with her lips as she seemed to deduce something between her and the prince.

“I fell in,” Evanna exclaimed, feeling the need to defend herself. She already had rumours flying around about her being the crown prince’s mistress, and now her handmaiden walked in on her half-naked and soaking wet.

It looked a lot worse now than it did earlier, but if Rina came in any sooner, then she would see how close she and Arawn was to kissing. Evanna felt her cheeks burn even more as she looked down.

His lips were so close to hers…

Rina cleared her throat, “Should I take your gown?”

Evanna snapped out of where her thoughts were taking her, scolding herself and wondering what was wrong with her. She sighed and walked towards the edge of the bath and dropped the wet garment on the ground.

“Rina, do you mind finding another dress for me. I would like to be alone for a while.” She turned her back on the handmaiden, not waiting for an answer as she became lost to her thoughts once more. She did, however, hear the doors close softly behind her.

Before she started thinking more about what happened between her and the prince, her eyes rested on the tree. Now that Evanna was alone, she remembered what happened. She couldn’t believe how much of a daze she was in to get into the bath fully clothed in front of the prince. All so she could touch this mystical tree.

A tree that spoke to her..

Evanna shook her head; she knew from the first few days of entering Direwood forest that she could talk to trees. But that was the last time she did, and they didn’t form words back to her then; she sensed and could tell what they wanted from her and the group. Was that the first stage of this power? Or was this something else?

She had so many questions.

‘It is time.’

The tree whispered to her. Time for what?

“Ugh!” She splashed the water on her face before bending her knees to let the water fully cover her head. Maybe if she touched it again, it might speak to her? Evanna abruptly straightened, her head rising out of the water again and letting it stream down her face as she looked at the white tree.

Reaching out once more, she touched the bark and felt the life force flow through her again. Evanna sighed from the warm feeling brewing in her chest and waited on the tree to speak. But after minutes of looking like a fool, she gave up. The tree did not talk to her.

“*Thanks a lot,*” She whispered her frustration and dropped her hand.

Evanna quickly washed herself and her hair but did not leave straight away. She wanted to relax further in the warm water and sort through her feelings before seeing the prince again. She floated onto her back and stared at the stars.

Arawn almost kissed her earlier, and she almost let him. Was she lost in the moment? Evanna tsked and shook her head, immediately stopping when the water almost went into her eyes. The prince was teasing her; that’s all it was. She was his prisoner and was most likely manipulating her.

Evanna couldn’t let herself fall for such tricks. They were getting too friendly, too close, or so it seemed. He was a smart man and could be befriending her or seducing her for information. She would not be tempted, even if he was the finest man she had ever laid her eyes on.

He was also her father’s enemy, technically hers as well. If the accords were not in place, she guaranteed they would be at war with one another, and this little luxury as a prisoner would never happen. The prince would never spare her.

Evanna pursed her lips and calmed her rambling thoughts on stuff that had not happened. She closed her eyes to calm down, taking deep breaths in as she floated there and felt herself beginning to relax. That was until a thought shattered her moment of tranquillity.

Evanna gasped. He called her princess! She dropped her feet from her floating position and stood up, her eyes rounded as she stared nowhere in particular. Did he know she was a princess? If he did, then surely he wouldn’t be acting the way he did?

No, she shook her head. If he knew she was the princess of Dunhurst, the prince wouldn’t keep it to himself. The king would know, and there would once again be war between the kingdoms.

The princess from a human kingdom.. the ‘human’ princess who stole from the Flori, broke the accords by crossing over to the elven land and breaking the law there. Evanna shook her head and slowly started to ascend the stairs again, looking for the towels. No, the prince did not know, but why did he call her princess?

She wrapped the towel around herself and decided she would ask at dinner. But would Arawn’s answer unsettle her? She had a feeling it would. That was all he seemed to do, using his charmingly good looks to wiggle his way into getting answers from her.

“My lady, his highness is waiting,” Rina pulled her out of her reverie.

“Of course.”

Rina helped Evanna slip on a subtle golden pink dress that shimmered in the light. This one still showed off her shoulders, but the loose sleeves flowed down her arms providing more cover on her skin. It was a simple yet stunning dress that she knew would go well with her, the pink hue on her cheeks whenever she blushed. Which, she knew all too well, would be a lot.

This wasn’t a dinner hosted by the king in a grand hall; it was something quite intimate. Her cheeks already heated from the idea, and she bit her tongue when she saw Rina smile.

“He won’t know what hit him,” Rina gushed as she stared at Evanna’s reflection in the mirror placed in the small entryway between the bathroom doors and the bed chamber door. Rina fluffed up her hair slightly, making Evanna internally roll her eyes. The handmaiden wanted to do something extravagant with her raven locks, but Evanna liked her hair down.

She liked being the ‘wild and rebellious princess’. Her father had scolded her many times over the past few years; now that Evanna was older, she should dress more appropriately. But he never did punish her for it; it seemed even though he reprimanded her, he also did not want her to grow up so quickly.

Evanna’s gaze dropped down as her heart became heavy at the thought of her parents. When she looked back at her reflection, she could still see the sadness buried behind her eyes as she slid into her mask of a composed lady. With her head held high, she strutted into Arawn’s bed chamber and frowned when she could not find him.

Looking to her right, she realised the patio doors were open, the sheer curtains blowing slightly from the gentle breeze. Evanna blinked at the view and halted her steps when she was halfway on the balcony. A small table had been set up for them, a few lanterns were set on the balcony ledge to provide some light. But like on her balcony, shimmering flowers were trailing up the trellis.

But what made her heart flutter was the otherworldly handsome white-haired elf walking towards her. Evanna watched as his gaze followed along her body greedily, leaving a trail of fiery and icy kisses on her skin. Followed by goosebumps.

Arawn stopped in front of her and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, putting a small glowing red rose into it and keeping it in place. He brought his hand back and gently lifted her hand to his face, his smouldering gaze locking her in place as he kissed her hand.

“*You look breathtaking.*”