Chapter 12

I tried to struggle against him, but Chase was far too strong.

“Stop trying to get away! Look at me!” he shouted, and that made me freeze. Once again, that dangerous energy radiated from him—a real, palpable danger.

I froze and looked at him, feeling tears flood my face. His expression had been angry before, but when I looked at him, it softened. His grip on my wrists loosened enough that it seemed as though he was merely touching me there. Then he lowered one hand and waved it in front of my face.

It was wrapped in a white linen bandage. He untied the cloth, revealing a cut across his palm. A cut deep enough to...

It couldn't be...

“The blood on the sheet is from my hand,” he confirmed, proving my suspicion.

John Chase got off me and sat on the sofa, his eyes still fixed on me as he wrapped the bandage around his hand again.

“Nothing happened last night, but that doesn't mean people would think so. Most likely, your maids would have assumed you weren't pure when you married. I did it so there wouldn't be any rumors about your honor.”

I stared at him in shock at his revelation. He had cut his own hand the night before to make sure no one would question my honor. I swallowed hard at the revelation.

However, one thing still had no explanation. How was I wearing this silk nightgown?

“Did you put this nightgown on me?”

He looked at me, and something in his expression changed. He gave a sideways smile, as though remembering some joke. I suspected the joke was me.

“Answer me, John.”

“You put the nightgown on yourself, Helena.”

I stared at him.

“I was lying on the sofa, still awake, when I saw you get up. I called you, but you didn't answer. You simply walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and pulled out this nightgown. Then you took off your dress and put it on, all while keeping your eyes closed.”

I looked at him in horror and embarrassment, my cheeks burning.

“You could have closed your eyes,” I complained.

“Only if I were a madman,” he replied with a mischievous smile.

I huffed.

He stood, still wearing that playful smile, and said,

“Believe me, Princess, if I had slept with you last night, I wouldn't need a stain on the sheet to prove it. You would certainly remember.”

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he raised a hand and announced:

“Take a bath and pack your things. We'll leave before sunset.”

With that warning, he turned and walked out.

I remained sitting on the bed, wondering what my life would be like outside my country and what awaited me with Commander Chase.

Before sunset, we were leaving the palace and the life I knew behind. I said goodbye to the King and Queen and followed the Commander into the carriage pulled by black horses. When I looked at him, I noticed a tension in his eyes.

“Get in,” he ordered when I stopped on the first step of the carriage, taking one last look at the palace where I had been born and raised.

I gave him a disdainful look and climbed inside. He closed the door and rode alongside the carriage with his guards.

As I sat inside the carriage, I thought about Dimitri. Why had he kidnapped me, after all? And why had the Commander simply allowed him to walk away? It was so strange.

I had the feeling that men had died for far less at the Commander's hands, so why did he protect Dimitri?

After several days inside the carriage, I was already exhausted from thinking about all the secrets I knew he was hiding. One day, as the daylight gradually faded, I eventually fell asleep.

I woke to the sound of the carriage door opening. I sat up startled at the figure standing in the dim light.

“It's me,” the Commander said.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes?”

“We're near a village. We can spend the night at an inn there.”

“Okay.”

He closed the carriage door, and we continued until we reached the village. There, he took us to a two-story inn. His guard was far too large, and only some of them managed to get rooms. The others had to settle in the common hall or spend the night in the forest.

When we entered the simple room at the inn, I looked at the bed.

A wardrobe and a bed. That's all.

“You'd better sleep. We'll leave at first light,” he said, gesturing toward the bed.

I walked over and sat down, feeling uncomfortable. He looked at me, seeming tired, and I realized that since we had married, he hadn't slept in a bed. He hadn't even shared the carriage with me once.

I watched him walk to the wardrobe and open it. He pulled out a blanket and spread it on the floor. Then he lay down on it and closed his eyes.

I watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath. A moment later, I lay down as well, pulling the blankets up to my neck.

The night was terribly cold, and even beneath the fur coats, I was trembling. There was no fireplace in the simple room. I had never felt such cold as I did that night.

It was the beginning of winter.

When I looked at him again, I realized he wasn't trembling. Even lying on the floor with nothing but a blanket beneath him, he didn't seem to feel the cold at all, while I had begun to chatter my teeth, my hands and feet freezing.

I closed my eyes and turned to the other side, hoping to finally fall asleep, or at least stop my teeth from chattering.

That was when I felt a weight on the bed.

I turned my head to look, but in the blink of an eye, I was enveloped by large, strong arms and warmth like that of a roaring fire. I gasped as the heat spread through my body, warming me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, confused by the sudden warmth.

John pulled me closer against him and buried his face in my neck. He breathed against the nape of my neck, hot air brushing my skin. The heat emanating from him was surreal.

“Exactly what it looks like. I'm warming you,” he whispered against my neck.

“But how is that possible?”

“It's too late for questions like that. Close your eyes and sleep.”

I wanted to protest, but the exhaustion from the journey overcame me, and all that warmth made me fall asleep seconds after he spoke.

But before I completely drifted off, I thought I heard him murmur something like:

“At some point, you'll realize what I am.”