Royalty? It's Not What You Think. (ON HOLD)

Chapter 31: Approaching Limits

So, I finally got a chapter ready for you guys, and I was pretty eager to upload it, so this is unedited and put up during school. LOL I'll edit it later and put a name for the chapter, so for now please don't mind the mistakes too much. Thanks!

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“Brother…Brother, please listen to me!” I trotted after Gavin as he strode to the other side of the chamber. “Please! I know you might be angry, but you must listen to me!” I tugged on his arm for only a few seconds until her snatched it back away leaving my hand hanging inches away. “Brother!” I leaned towards him again and he stepped away from me with a disgusted look on his face.

Snapping his head in the other direction, Gavin ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. I noticed a scowl on his face as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Brother…!” Still no response. “GAVIN!” I cried.

He stiffened at my volume and stood completely still. I walked around his unmoving body and faced him in the eye. His brows were taught in contemplation and his lips turned down into a frown.

“Listen to me.” I asked pleadingly. “Everything that Lord Percy said was a lie. You have to believe that.” I touched his hand tenderly and gazed steadily into his crystal blue eyes that appeared turbulent. “I would never lie to you…One of the things I would never be able to stand is losing your trust. I love you too much to hurt you, Brother…” I paused. When Gavin still refused to say a word to me, I continued. “Lord Percy threatened me,” At this, he flinched just a bit. “He warned me to keep my mouth shut or else he would kill you.”

Gavin’s head snapped in my direction and his eyes darkened angrily. “He what?”

I nodded hanging my head. “He told me that if I ever spoke a word to anyone, he would poison you. If he could not do it himself, he would have someone else do it for him. He said that he had spies everywhere—even in Creeyn.”

“I can take care of myself, Evelynn.” He said flatly.

“I know you can. I know that, but…” I gripped his hand tighter fighting back tears that threatened to fall at the thought of hurting my brother. “I could never let anything happen to you on account of me. Ever. I would not be able to live with myself.”

“And did you think that I could stand to watch you suffer?” His tone was softer. It seemed like he understood me. I raised my down cast eyes to meet his and was relieved to find him calm once more. Gavin cupped my cheek. “Thank you for looking out for me, but is it not my job to protect you as well? As your older brother, it is my duty to be certain that you can always smile and be happy. What kind of brother does it make me to stand by when my dearest sister is in such pain?”

His face turned down as if he was ashamed, and he dropped his hand.

“No! It is not your fault!” I blurted. “Not at all!” I ran into his arms, not taking care of my injured shoulder and pressed myself into his chest. “I am sorry that I kept this all on myself. I just wanted to protect you…I thought I should tell you and the Prince together, but I could nit muster the courage. I did not want to find out what else Lord Percy was capable of.” My voice began to tremble as images of the king’s dead body with the arrow protruding from his back filled my head. The terrible sensation of the Lord’s fingers grinding into my wound made my skin crawl, and I could not help but shudder.

Gavin wrapped his arms around me enveloping me in his warm and homely scent. I gripped the back of his tunic as I waited for the unpleasantness to subside. I sucked in a breath and moved pulled out of Gavin’s arms as my shoulder began to throb from the pressure.