"W-What…do you know…?" The words that escaped her lips were barely a panicked whisper.
In a surge of raw emotion, Arlan closed the gap between them, their faces close enough to make her feel his breath fanning against her cheeks.
"I know," he simply said, his voice laced with apology and something else, "so you are not allowed to leave me. Stay by my side like nothing has changed."
In his earnest voice was a silent plea.
'He knew…? Does he really? Since when…?'
Oriana's resistance crumbled as nervousness began to set in.
"Your Highness—"
He put a finger on her lips to stop her from speaking. "You are not permitted to speak, unless it is to say that you will stay by my side."
Her heart raced, and its heartbeats were so loud it seemed to drown everything else. She closed her eyes momentarily as questions flooded her mind. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, she witnessed a side of him she never expected to see again.
