Vhalla pulled her head back in shock, her eyes wide. Her heart pounded and she repeated his words in her mind. “What?” Somehow she’d pushed from her consciousness the notion of him having the same feelings for her as she had for him.

“I love you,” he repeated, a determined fire lighting his eyes. “It is one of the worst things I could ever do,” Aldrik confessed. “I swear to the Mother, I have tried not to damn you with it. But you’re a rather persistent, beautiful presence in my life. And, for once, the silver-tongued prince is tired of pretending.”

VHALLA SHIFTED A pile of blankets about her. Her head was hazy with sleep as she rolled over. Long fingers ran through her hair, snagging lightly on tangles. She nestled into the pillow, not opening her eyes. Vhalla reached out for Aldrik under the covers, finding him but unable to touch. Her eyes cracked open.

“Good morning.” Aldrik sat next to her on top of the blankets. He leaned against pillows and the headboard. His far knee was bent, a board with papers on top of it. Vhalla noted the fingers of his right hand were already stained with ink; he must have been at it for a while.

“Good morning, my prince.” She smiled up at him. Vhalla remembered curling up with him on the chaises for a thousand kisses the night before, but she couldn’t seem to recall how they’d made it to the bed. However, it was a mountain of fluff that she could sink into; her clothes were still in place; and she didn’t recall taking anything that would have made her lose her head, so she wasn’t particularly worried about anything untoward.

Vhalla propped herself up on her elbows, rubbing her eyes. The curtains in the side room had been pulled back a tad and the beam of sunlight cutting through the air told her that it was sometime past dawn. “What time is it?”

Aldrik shifted. He only wore a cotton shirt—black this time—and black pants. Vhalla mused over how she had never seen him in anything less than long sleeves and long pants, save for the night with Elecia. He pulled a familiar silver watch from his pocket.

“Just after eight-thirty.” He clicked the watch closed and stashed it away.

“Just after eight-thirty and you’re up and working. And you’ve bathed.” She noted his hair was fixed. “Do you sleep?” The pillow muffled the end of her words as she fell back into it.

“Normally, not very much.” His quill scratched against the parchment.

“Normally?” she repeated, twisting her face to look at him from under the blankets.

“I slept well last night.”

“How did we make it to the bed?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“I brought you in when I noticed you’d passed out. I suppose my story on the Kingdom of Mhashan was that boring.” Aldrik glanced at her from the corners of his eyes.

Vhalla laughed guiltily.

“Elecia was right though,” he continued. “I couldn’t find one complaint with the chaises.”

Vhalla chewed that over for a second. “Wait,” she paused, “you slept on the couches?” Vhalla rolled onto her side to look up at him.

“Of course.” His brow furrowed slightly. “Did you think I would creep into your bed as you slept and spend the night lying with you without your permission?”

Vhalla stared at him. She had assumed falling asleep in his arms after kissing half the night away to be permission enough, but the chivalry in the statement was noted. However, any tenderness over the sentiment was quickly lost to laughter.

“What?” he asked, staring at her queerly.

“I kicked the crown prince out of his bed.” She rolled onto her back with laughter. “Oh, that is a story I wish I could share with someone.”

Aldrik grabbed the blankets and threw them over her face. “You’re annoying in the morning,” he said with a hint of amusement.

It sent Vhalla into a fit of giggles. “Oh I am sorry, mighty Aldrik.” She sat up, throwing the covers off her. “Am I a disturbance to your routine?” Vhalla put her hands on the bed between them and leaned over.

“Very much so,” he smirked.

“Fine, then I shall leave promptly.” Vhalla swung her feet off the bed.

She heard the rustle of his papers as he reached and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her onto his lap. He leaned over, and his lips were on hers. Vhalla sighed softly, she could get used to waking in this manner.

“I haven’t cleaned my mouth yet.” She quickly covered it with her hand as he pulled away.

“I know. It’s foul too. Washroom is there.” He grinned and pointed at an adjacent door.

Vhalla glared at him as she stood. She never knew a man who could be such an ass while still being so handsome. The moment the bathroom door closed, Vhalla suppressed another fit of giggles.

It was absolutely insane what was happening. It was absolutely insane how happy she was. Vhalla hummed as she ran her hand across the counter. It was a dark black marble, and the spigot was cast in gold. The tub was large enough for four people to sit comfortably, like a small pool carved from stone. There was an adjacent closet filled with more clothing than she knew he carried with him on the journey. The whole room was as opulent as the building itself, and Vhalla couldn’t believe that she had a place here.

There were a few bottles on the counter. She noticed one or two mostly empty clerical elixirs among them. Vhalla mused over which one he used for his hair, smelling a few that had the fresh scent of eucalyptus, as she located the one to cleanse her mouth with. Vhalla washed her face and ran her wet hands through her hair. It stayed back slightly from the dampness and she laughed.