Still, she had never had these kinds of feelings about anyone. So the entire concept might as well be foreign.
“I have never been anywhere. Never, not in my life. Coming here to Petras was the first time I had ever been outside Tirimia. And since coming here...I haven’t left the palace.”
“Well, you will be leaving today.”
“I see you have everything all planned out. It would be nice if you would share those plans with me.”
“We are going to a Christmas play.”
Zara sputtered. That was about the last thing she had expected for him to say. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Several of the local schools are putting on a program. Kairos and Tabitha were unavailable and someone from the royal family needs to be there.”
“So we are going.” She was a part of the royal family now. She was a part of the family. The thought made a warm sensation bloom in her chest and start to spread outward, making her fingertips, her legs, her toes feel warm too. She hadn’t realized until that moment just how cold she had been.
“Yes. Your clothes have already been selected and are being sent up.”
“If you aren’t careful I could fall into the habit of letting you take care of things for me.” She took a deep breath. “It’s sort of nice not to have to worry about details.”
“I’m not worrying about your details. Untold legions of palace staff are. I prefer for them to worry about mine, as well.”
“It is quite a luxury.”
“I’m surprised to see that you aren’t hissing and spitting. I should have used sex to quiet you down from the first moment.”
She glared at him, completely annoyed with herself as she felt her face heat. She was certain she was not looking angry so much as flushed and eager. How irritating that being with him had in fact stolen some of her thunder.
“I did not fight with you for no reason. I’m hardly going to do it just for the sake of it.”
“Yes, I know, it was all about your freedom.”
The warmth in her chest only grew in intensity. She felt...understood. She could not remember the last time, if ever, she had felt that. A knock on the door to the bedchamber broke the tension between them.
“Those would be your clothes. I will leave you to that.”
“I’m wrapped in a blanket!”
“Yes, but the stylist is going to dress you anyway. Probably for the best that you are starting out undressed. Saves time.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Okay.”
“I will meet you downstairs.”
Without another word he turned and walked toward the door, opening it for the stylist and leaving her alone with the woman holding a garment bag.
An hour, some makeup and some hair products later, Zara was in the back of a limousine with Andres, driving away from the palace. The roads were clear, but there was snow on either side of them, covering the ground and the pine trees beyond. Little bits of green velvet showing through the pristine blanket of white.
It wasn’t so different from the landscape in Tirimia, and yet, as they wound away from the private drive that led to the palace, it started to appear more and more foreign to her. They had driven over the Tirimian border at night when she was brought here to Petras, so she hadn’t had a chance to get a sense for the city. Added to that, she had been terrified.
But she was seeing it now. Old churches stood alongside modern high-rises, Georgian-era homes placed near trendy boutiques and bakeries. She was transfixed by the movement. The cars on the road, the people on the sidewalks. It was anything but lonely. Every piece of stone was part of something, touching something else.
She turned to face Andres, suddenly conscious of just how quiet he had been the entire drive. His eyes were on her, assessing. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“That isn’t true. You’re looking at the scenery. Quite prettily, I might add.”
A rush of adrenaline and satisfaction filled her. “I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of doing anything prettily before.”
“You’re very pretty. Everything you do is done prettily as a result.”
“Even when I hiss and spit and gnaw on chicken bones?”