Mikhos jerked awake from under me causing me to snap back to consciousness. I hadn't even realized I had fallen asleep on him, I had been there beside him all night. Almost immediately I plopped myself down on the bed next to him and pressed my palm to his forehead. Mikhos tried to slap it away but he was still way too weak to have any success at it. Finally he just gave in.

"Hmm, still warm. Your fever has gone down at least." A clear look of confusion passed over his face as he glanced around.

"Where are we...some kind of cottage?" He laughed but there was no emotion behind it. "Holy fuck, am I dead?" I shook my head.

"No,no,no. You're quite alive. You better be after all the effort it took to get you out of there. We're in a village a far ways away from the Idorian capital. I came here and they directed me to the local healer who agreed to let us stay with her until you're healthy enough to travel. She gave you a change of clothes too, that big white shirt you're wearing belonged to her husband before he died."

"Oh joy. How did you get us all the way over here?"

"I ran...a lot. I also might have stolen someone's horse." Mikhos let out a small snort of laughter falling back against the pillows. I was so relieved to see him alive and well...conscious that I could hardly stand it. Last night had been frightening to say the least. After escaping from the hell hole that was the Idorian palace Mikhos had broken into a fever. The memory was still so strong, carrying Mikhos in my arms and trying to ignore the fact that he was practically burning up. He had felt so small and limp in my arms and it took everything I had in me to bite back my panic and just focus on escaping. Mikhos was watching me from lidded eyes now and he rolled over on one side to face me.

"Have you been here all night?"
"Yeah. I was worried you might kick it while you were asleep so I stayed to watch over you, I guess I must have dozed off near the end of it." There was something in his gaze...an emotion I couldn't pin point.

"Thank you. You saved my life." I never thought I would see the day when Prince Mikhos would bluntly thank me so genuinely.

"It's my job isn't it?"

"Yes." He sat up slowly, brushing the blonde strands of hair that had fallen into his face out of his eyes. "What happened after I...passed out?" I couldn't tell him my role in everything...he would need to get an abridged version.

"Aasiya told me she was planning on murdering Jaasim and taking over Idoria, to do it she planned to attack him while he was in a extremely secluded area which happened to be where the sacrifice would be occurring. She told me what they planned to do to you and that she wasn't going to stop them, then she tied me to a chair and left. I escaped, broke in, grabbed you, Aasiya's attack started, I cut off Sabri's hand and then escaped with you. I don't know much about what happened in the last 24 hours politically but I'm pretty confident that it's safe to assume that Jaasim is dead."

"You cut off Sabri's hand?"

"Yeah. I didn't even feel bad about it." Mikhos shook his head.

"I didn't know him well but he still remained at my court of months. If he lives I guarantee I'll hunt him down and mount his head on a spike. Being a traitor is one thing, but pretending to care for my well being and then betraying me...that will bring about my greatest wrath." I swallowed hard, I couldn't even begin to imagine how Mikhos would react if he found out that I had been lying about my intentions towards 'the prince' since the moment I met him. For the first time, now that I had officially and completely abandoned my duty to Edgar, I felt like I could actually be honest with myself. Yet, just knowing that I had planned on killing him still left me feeling a horrible tightness in my chest. I would most likely never be safe again...Edgar would hunt me down now that he knew I had defected. Then a sudden thought came to mine...Edgar had planned for it. He had kept me entirely in the dark and lied to me about the majority of his planning. He somehow knew the king would be dying in a few days which is why he moved his army...he made sure to keep me from knowing his real plans and he planned to have Mikhos killed in Idoria all along...he planned for me to defect. My head was spinning. There was something I was missing here...some piece of the puzzle...why would he give me such an important task if he never planned to be able to trust me to begin with. Nothing made sense.

"Edgar will make a move soon. He was behind this all." I faked shock.

"What? I thought he was exiled over a decade ago!" Mikhos nodded.

"Yeah, he was. We had all heard reports and rumors he was building an army but no one ever thought he was much of a threat. If he tried to have me killed it means he's planning something big, who knows if he's already attacked Pecore. Whatever the case we need to get back. The other Kingsmen...do you know what happened to them? The two I was with when I was captured were knocked out."

"I don't think they're dead. Jaasim wouldn't have had time to kill them and now that Aasiya knows you've escaped she won't kill them. She won't want to start a war."

"South of the capital is the Idorian coastal city of Neeve. If we can make it there we can get a ship back to Pecore." He moved suddenly to stand up and I quickly pushed him back down onto the bed.

"Mikhos are you crazy? You nearly died. I'm not letting you leave this bed until I know you're well enough to...well enough to..." as I spoke I came to realize that I was way too close to him, my hands on either side of his head on the bed caging him so he couldn't move. That warm feeling that had swept over me that night on the roof rushed back. He stared up at me with his dark eyes and arched a brow.

"I know it's your job to keep me safe but don't you think this is a little excessive?"
"No."

"I'll be fine. We can't waste any time. Edgar is going to have a much easier time claiming the throne if there's no visible heir to stop him. My place is with my people. My father is sick, he'll have trouble fending them off." The king had to be dead...Edgar would never have made a move if he wasn't. It wasn't like Mikhos to not put that together...was he just in denial? Mikhos went to move again and almost subconsciously I suddenly wrapped my arms around him pulling him into a tight hug.

"Nicky, what the fuck?" My grip on him tightened and I buried my face in the nook of his shoulder.

"I thought you were going to die."

"C'mon Nicky I would have been-"

"Shut up Mikhos." I was holding him so closely that I could feel the rise and fall of his chest. "You wouldn't have been fine. If I had gotten there even a few moments later you could have been dead. It's our job to protect you and we were all stupid enough to let you walk into this blatant trap."

"It's my fault. I gave the orders. Nicky, don't blame yourself, I'm just an idiot." My throat felt dry and my eyes stung.
"No I'm an idiot."

"No I am."

"No, it's me. I can't do anything right. People just use me and manipulate me and I'm so gullible that I fall for it every-" and then he kissed me. His lips against mine were gentle and soft and I felt like my heart was threatening to jump out of my chest. Mikhos drew back almost immediately, shaking his head.

"Shit...Nicky I'm sorry. That was stupid of me. I shouldn't have done that-" I cut him off my pressing my lips once more to his. Mikhos deepened it, his hand finding their way into my hair. We shouldn't be doing this...I shouldn't be feeling this...someday we would both regret this and it would be just another painful memory but now, at this moment, I never wanted it to end. I wanted to stay right here in his arms forever. When we drew back again my gaze locked with Mikhos.

"I wish Jaasim wasn't dead."
"And why is that?"

"Because I wish I was the one that got to kill him. I want to kill...anyone who tries to hurt you."

"I would promise the same thing if I didn't faint at the sight of blood." I pressed a light kiss to Mikhos's temple.

"Edgar better watch out because when I find him I'm going to run a dagger right through his heart."