Addison

I release a small sigh of relief, now that Oliver has a sword. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to see Richlan, but Oliver is stronger and more skilled than him.

“Oliver,” Sel says low. “You don’t know what you’re doing. I’m not your enemy.”

“I’m protecting the woman I love. That’s what I’m doing.”

Sel raises his bow and arrow, trying to line it up. He dodges Oliver’s sword each time he tries to slice the bow from his hands. With Oliver moving, I can see around him. Sel jumps backward and pulls the arrow toward his body and releases it. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see it come at me, then all sound ceases to exist.

“Addison? Are you okay?” Oliver asks. He grips my upper arms in his strong hands and gives me a small shake. I open my eyes to find him staring intently at me.

“Am I dead?”

“No, you froze everything, including the arrow.”

“What?” I peer around Oliver to see Sel frozen in place, his arrow was on course to miss me, going right over my shoulder. “I didn’t realize I did it.”

“I know, love.” He pulls me into an embrace. I absorb his warmth, love, and protection. Then something changes. His body stiffens.

Looking up, I see his eyes wide with anger and fear. “What is it?” I ask. He juts his chin to the space behind me. When I turn around, I gasp and bring my hand up to my mouth. Only a short distance away is another arrow suspended in mid-air, but this one would have hit the back of my head had I not frozen everything around us.

“Where did it come from?” I ask. “It wasn’t Sel.”

Oliver steps away from me and walks into the forest in the direction the arrow came from. “Do you see anything?” I call to him.

“Yeah,” he growls. “I do.” He stomps back to me and walks in a slow circle around Sel. He takes in the direction Sel’s arrow was traveling and walks toward where the other arrow came from. “He was trying to protect you.” I hear him say.

“Me?”

“Yes,” he confirms, as he appears once again. “The arrow he released wasn’t meant for you. It was aimed at the one who sent this one flying.” He plucks the arrow, which was aimed for my head, from the air then flicks Sel’s arrow to the ground. “He wouldn’t have made it in time, but Sel’s arrow would have ringed true and hit the person who released this one.”

“Who shot it?”

Oliver takes my hand and leads me into the darkness. There, in the high branches of a pine tree, is Anese with a bow in hand and a malicious look on her face.

“All this time, I thought it was Sel I had to be worried about,” Oliver says angrily. “Sure, I knew Anese was jealous, but this…” He waves his hand in the air toward her. “I didn’t know she was capable of such things. I’m going to have her head.” He picks up the sword and begins to walk toward her.

It slams into me that I almost died. My knees buckle and I collapse to the ground a heaping, sobbing mess. Oliver quickly lands beside me and takes me into his arms. “Shhh, I’ve got you.”

“I…she…”

“I know and I didn’t do anything to stop it.”

Looking up, I see the sheer anguish on his face. He’s beating himself up internally. “You didn’t know. You thought it was Sel.”

“I should have figured it out. I should have been smarter. I’m so sorry.” He pulls me in closer, his face buries into the side of my neck. My skin starts to dampen.

Sitting back, I notice tears pooling in Oliver’s eyes, one slipping down his cheek. “I almost lost you,” he says with a shuttered breath. “I would die beside you, if you are ever taken from me.”

“Oh, Oliver, you were protecting me. You didn’t know it was Anese. Only Sel did.” Then my mind puzzles through how he could have known. “How do you think he found out she was after me? He appeared in the forest not too long after we did.”

“Anese is his sister.”

“No! You never mentioned it.”

“I didn’t think it was important. I figured she told him how I rejected her, and he was angry at me for hurting her.”

“And you never thought to tell me this?” Unbelievable! Why didn’t he say anything?

“Because I didn’t want you to be worried, Addison! I had Sel under control.” I hate when my thoughts slip through!

He stands, his face hard as steel. “I told you I want to hear everything you think. Stop trying to keep me out.”

“You mean the way you keep me out of your head?”

“That’s different!” He steps away and begins to pace. “I have my reasons for that!”

“It’s no different, Oliver, and you know it.”

“Can we stop discussing this and focus on the real problem at hand?”

I ball my hands into fists at my side and stand as well. “There are two problems at hand. One is that bitch, sitting up in the tree, who tried to kill me. The other is my boyfriend refusing to let me into his mind, even though he insists I let him into mine.”

He stops pacing and stomps over to me. “Do you really want to know what I’m thinking? Are you positive?”

“Yes!” I scream.

His eyes bore into mine. “Here you go, love. Enjoy!” His words in my mind are full of anger, but I know no matter how mad he is that he still loves me.

Then his thoughts hit me. He was going to propose to me today, out here. He knows how special I think the forest is and thought it would be the ideal place for him to ask me to marry him. How he has the ring he had custom-made in his pocket, and couldn’t wait to hear me say yes, and slip it onto my finger. His love and devotion pour through, making tears well in my eyes, knowing how much I mean to him.

“You were going to propose to me?”

He cups my cheek in his large hand. “Yes, love. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Letting go of me, he reaches into his pocket then drops down on one knee. He extends his hand to me, and he’s holding the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. It’s a large, square diamond in the middle. There are heart-shaped stones on either side of it. One is an emerald and one is a sapphire. Gems are very rare here, but where there is a will and a lot of money, there is a way.

“Addison Azure, since the day we first touched, you’ve infiltrated every one of my senses. Your sweet honey smell, your heart-stopping beauty, and your voice which sounds like beautiful music to my ears. Your silky smooth skin, your delicate fingers as they touch and render me speechless, and the intoxicating taste of your skin beneath my tongue. I belong to you and you alone. Would you do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?”

Everything before me becomes wavy, thanks to the tears in my eyes. I reach up and furiously wipe them away so that I can take in everything around me. We’re in the forest, which I’ve long dreamed of being in. I almost died a few moments ago, thanks to a crazy, jealous woman. Without my ability to freeze everything, except Oliver, I would have surely been killed. Sel, who I thought wanted my blood on his arrow, was only trying to save me from his sister even though it meant killing her. Then there’s Oliver, on his knee before me, holding a ring, asking me to marry him.

While this wasn’t how I thought I’d be proposed to, I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything in the realm. Okay, maybe it would have been better if I wasn’t almost killed a few moments ago, but this is definitely something I will always remember.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He slumps forward in relief then straightens his back to place the ring on my finger. It’s a perfect fit. I don’t know how he got it right, but he did.

“Your mother helped me with the size.”

“Of course she did.” I smile. “She must have known you were coming to see my dad.”

With the ring on my finger, Oliver stands and embraces me tightly. “You’ve made me so incredibly happy, Addison Azure. I will cherish and love you for all of my days.”

“I love you so much.”

We seal our engagement with a gentle kiss. When we pull apart, I remember everyone is frozen in place because of me. “I need to let them free.”

“One moment.” Oliver climbs the tree Anese is in, pulls her quiver of arrows from her back then jumps down. I thought for sure he would kill her, but he must have other plans.

“I do. She’ll be banished. Giving her a quick death wouldn’t be just. I want her to suffer.” He slings the quiver over his shoulder. “I don’t want to take any chances of her nocking another one.”

“Smart man.”

He walks over to Sel and relieves him from his quiver as well.

“Can you unfreeze them?” Oliver asks.

“No, I still don’t know how to do it intentionally.”

He closes the distance between us and hoists me up by the waist. My legs wrap around his hips as he backs me to the nearest tree. “I seem to remember the last time you unfroze them was when we were kissing passionately. Let’s try it again.”

His mouth descends on mine, our tongues touch and tease one another. His pelvis grinds into me, letting me know how one simple kiss can drive him wild. Then there is sound around us again. Birds chirp overhead, all of the sounds of nature are once again back as they should be. And Richlan calling out Sel’s name in fury.

“What just happened?” Sel asks, looking around curiously. “How did you two get over there?” He reaches to his back for his arrows. “And where is my quiver?”

Oliver places me on my feet and walks over to him. He claps him on the shoulder, which causes Sel to go rigid. “Richlan,” Oliver addresses. “Get Anese down from the tree over there.” He points into the forest. “And throw her in the dungeon until I get back. She has attempted to take the life of Princess Azure.” Anese tries to flee, but Richlan is much faster. He tackles her willowy frame to the ground and pulls her hands behind her back. With some rope in his pocket, he ties her hands together then lifts her from the ground. She gives me one final death glare before being hauled away.

Oliver turns to Sel. “Thank you for defending us. I thought you were going to attack, not the other way around.”

“I might not like your choice of the woman in your life, but I would never want to harm her physically. Women, regardless of which kingdom they belong to, should be treated with respect.”

“And Anese?”

“She tried to assassinate royalty, which is a grave offense. I have no respect left for her.”

“She will be dealt with as soon as we get back and speak to King Pine.”

I walk to where Oliver and Sel are standing. Reaching up, I gently squeeze Sel’s arm. “I know I’m not your favorite person, but you were willing to harm your sister to save me.”

“Half sister,” he corrects. I wonder how close they really are.

I continue, “I will never forget what you have done. Thank you.” I lean in to hug him, even though he’s not someone who cares for me. He saved my life and I’m hugging him, whether he likes it or not. If I’m not mistaken, I can see a slight blush rise to his cheeks.

“I’m only doing my duty, Your Highness.”

Oliver smiles. “Your Highness, huh? It appears you might have broken through his tough exterior a little.”

“Maybe so,” I reply.