A Dove's Tale

Chapter 122

I vaguely remembered Chevalier leaving the next morning. He kissed me and told me to go back to sleep, and I did, snuggling into the pillows and blankets that smelled like him. The comforting smell of roses was still there when I woke up later, yawning and rolling onto my back. Bright sunlight streamed through the uncovered windows above his bookcase. The drapes over the window next to his bed were closed.

"Oh, so you're not naked."

I sat bolt upright. "Theresa?"

She smirked at me from her perch on the sofa, her words and the sparkle in her bright green eyes reminding me I was wearing one of Chevalier's shirts instead of my nightgown. I looked down at it and blushed. The bottom of the v-neck had shifted to the side of my chest while I slept, and the shirttails had ridden up to my hips.

"I - my nightgown was wet, and-"

Her laugh interrupted me before I got too far with my stammered explanation. "Look how red you're getting! You're so adorable. So, what do you want first, lunch or a bath? And keep in mind that you'll be telling me everything, no matter what."

"Lunch?" I asked, looking up at her again. "Is it that late?"

She got up and threw the drapes open. "Yeah, but I gather you had a late night, and Chevalier's cleared your schedule, so you don't have anywhere you need to be."

"Um, then, a bath, I guess," I said slowly.

"Okay. I brought clothes for you, too, so you're not stuck wearing that. Not that Chevalier would mind."

My cheeks flushed warmer as I stood up and tugged the shirttails down. "I hope he didn't look..."

"I'm sure he didn't," she said, leading the way into the bathroom. "Now, Nokto? He would've looked. Which brings us back to-" She spun to face me and grabbed my shoulders. "What on earth happened last night? I woke up, you were gone, there were guards outside your door, they never opened the gates this morning-"

"Theresa, slow down-"

"People are getting arrested, Ivetta! The place is swarming with guards. Sariel is interrogating people. Chevalier and Clavis came back in the middle of that storm last night. And I heard Nokto got poisoned? I thought you said he didn't?"

I stared at her wild green eyes, my mind spinning with all the information she was giving me. "That's what he led me to believe. They didn't open the gates?"

"Guards are bringing people in, but nobody's leaving," she said, removing her hands from my shoulders and dropping them to her sides. "You didn't know about any of that, did you?"

I shook my head. "Other than Nokto getting poisoned, no."

She sighed. "Let me get the bath water started, and then you can tell me whatever you know. I'll get your lunch while you're in the tub. And...probably a wardrobe change," she said thoughtfully. "I don't think the dress I brought is quite right for all this."

I couldn't care less about my wardrobe. They never opened the gates? I'd never even heard of that happening before. Arrests? Interrogations? This was a lot bigger than I thought. Although that would explain Chevalier getting up early in the morning to leave.

Chevalier got up early in the morning. On his own.

That never happened.

After Theresa left, I hugged my knees to my chest in the hot bathwater, inhaling the scent of roses drifting up with the steam. It made breathing a little easier. I'd told her about Nokto, leaving out his feverish words, and about Chevalier, leaving out my attempt to make him stay by seduction. I didn't know what her reaction to that would be, and I didn't want to deal with it right now. It was hard enough to breathe without reviewing that embarrassing incident. Chevalier, his brothers, Sariel, the entire palace guard - they were all protecting me, I reminded myself, and there was no reason I couldn't breathe. Everything would be fine. They would handle everything.