The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,134

primped as I’d always wished to do, astounded by the opulence of every product, I cleaned my teeth, plaited my freshly cleaned hair, and donned the clothes he’d left for me—the finest undergarments money could buy and a gorgeous pink gown made of the softest material, with side buttons I could easily latch.

“Saxon?” I called.

Hurried footsteps, as if he’d been waiting for my summons. He blazed into my stall a second later, a dagger drawn.

I stumbled back, hand fluttering over my mouth. Never had I seen a more ferocious expression. “Whoa.”

His gaze darted. “Someone threatens you?”

“No, no,” I assured him, melting inside. Like me, he’d bathed and dressed. He now wore battle clothes. A white tunic paired with black leather pants and combat boots. “I just wanted you to see the end result.”

The tension drained from him, and he sheathed the weapon. The one I’d designed. A smile bloomed. As he roved his gaze over me, his irises heated and his pupils expanded.

Did a hint of possessiveness radiate from him?

“There is no one in this world who compares to you, Asha.”

Melting faster. I bit my bottom lip and stepped toward him, a bit shy, a lot eager. Drawn... He stepped toward me, too, closing the remaining distance. My heart galloped, as if I’d been dropped into the middle of a race.

I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him so bad.

Click, click, click. Uh-oh. A dragon must have awoken.

Sure enough. Pagan barreled into the stall and squawked. As she ran over and rubbed against my leg, Pyre did the same. They were stronger than they realized; if Saxon hadn’t wrapped an arm around my waist to hold me up, I would have fallen over.

I laughed. “Daddy wasn’t kidding, was he? Look how much you’ve grown.” Soon, they’d be too big for the stable, too, but that was a worry for another day.

Saxon pressed his lips against my temple. “Do you trust me, Asha?”

“Mostly,” I hedged.

“Do you trust that I will not harm you?”

After the roar of devastation I’d heard? “I do.” This boy had saved me from his family, despite our differences, despite our rocky past. Honestly? I was beginning to think he would never harm me, no matter the circumstances.

Something had changed between us. Something significant, all hint of animosity just...gone.

He rewarded me with a glorious, bone-melting grin that set my cells on fire. Then he wrapped a strip of cloth around my eyes.

Except for an internal spark of excitement, my world went dark. “What’s going on?”

“I have another gift for you.”

“Another?” I squeaked.

Saxon led me through the stable...and outside? The temperature cooled, the scent of hay replaced by pine.

My heart pounded a frantic beat, my excitement doubling. “Where are we going?”

“Not much farther.” He continued leading me forward, being careful with me.

I heard the whoosh of dragons’ wings overhead and knew the babies were playing. When he stopped, he moved beside me and untied my blindfold.

Sunlight penetrated my vision, and my eyes burned and watered. I blinked to clear the blur and the landscape came into view, revealing...hmm. What was I looking at? A glittery wall of...what was that? It looked like the portal in my secret passage, just bigger and without a frame. No, not true. Whatever it was, it stretched up, up, creating a dome all around us.

“It’s beautiful, and I love it.” Or I knew I would love it, whatever it was. “But, um, what is it?” I asked.

“A magical dome, created by Ophelia. Inside these walls, nothing and no one can harm you.”

Truly? “That’s wonderful.”

“Her magic revolves around energy. We will—I mean, we can, if you agree—spend the next seven days here. You can finish recovering in peace. I can teach you self-defense and...other things. We can do anything we desire.”

Seven days with Saxon and my dragons? No worries or responsibilities? And mmm, mmm, mmm. His voice had deepened there at the end, turning husky with promise. I shivered.

There was still a problem. “What of Dior?”

“I will never wed her, even if I win. I told her so, and she understood,” he said. “This, I swear to you.”

I almost shouted, Yes. Because I wanted this. I wanted to be with him so badly. But he must have had to pay the witch a never-ending fountain of gold for this. I didn’t want him emptying his coffers for me. If we got rid of Leonora, I’d be in charge of half that money. I didn’t want him wasting it. Especially since I hadn’t yet