Chapter 24
KARIN POV
“You never grew tired before so easily,” Ansel teased me as he continued to play his piano.
I leer at him. “I also was much younger, and you could play without botching a note. I guess a lot of things have changed.” He returned my glare, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Our banter has grown into something that I look forward to everyday. It reminded me of when we were younger and though he was sickly, Ansel could mentally spar with me better than anyone else.
“Fine, Little Wolf, if you think you’re up for the challenge, how about we put your pointers to the test?”
I arch my eyebrow at him. “What do you have in mind?” Instead of responding, Ansel changes the tempo of the song to something unfamiliar. “I don’t think I know this song,” I say.
“That’s because I’m making it up as I go. You know I’ve always been one to keep you on your toes…literally.”
His smug expression as he continues to play gets under my skin. Closing my eyes, I listen closely to the sound of his fingers hitting the keys. Ada paces inside of me as if absorbing the sound, too. I suddenly feel stronger, and my determination to beat Ansel at his own game kicks in. Every note that he plays is no longer foreign to me, but feels like I’ve known them all my life. My movements match perfectly with them, and I can see the shock on his face.
“You never cease to amaze me,” he says with a glint in his eyes.
“Funny, I was thinking the same about you.” The connection between us extends to more than just us, and I know he feels it, too. With every keystroke, every dance position, Jeff and Ada link as well. It’s almost electric how deep it runs. Ansel and I can’t stop looking at one another, but neither one misses a beat. It’s like we are somehow privy to a peek into each other’s hearts, and the result courses into the art we make together.
As I draw closer to Ansel, the heat of our connection intensifies. He stands from the piano and twirls me in his arms. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite ballerina?” he says into my neck.
I giggle. “Yes, but I still love hearing it.”
“Karin, you are my favorite ballerina.” He spins me again and ends with a dip. My heart hammering in my ears, I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Karin!” Ansel shouts as his strong arms hold me tightly. Slowly, I open my eyes and see a look of concern spread all over his face. “Get in here, Doc! She’s awake!”
The room comes into focus. Medical equipment, and the buzz and whirl of machines surround me. My entire body is sore, but Ansel keeps me steady. He picks me up and lays me down on the soft cotton sheets. Maggie and the doctor bustle in the room, and the doctor begins to examine me.
“What happened?” he asked Ansel.
“I don’t know. She was moving a lot in her sleep, and then she almost flipped out of the bed, but I caught her. It almost looked like she was dancing in her sleep.”
The doctor turns his focus on me. “Lady Karin, can you hear me?”
Though my throat is parched, I force myself to speak anyway. “Y-yes.”
“Do you remember what happened to you?”
“N-no.”
He looks up at Ansel who had started to pace.
“Karin, you were brutally attacked. I had to place you in an induced coma so that you could heal.”
Small flashes of a woman play in my mind, and my color drains. “No…Lady Cherry—.”
“Attacked you with her gammas,” Ansel says, his jaw tight. “I got to you just in time.” He turned away from me, but not before I can see his anger.
“Did I hurt her?”
“No. You didn’t fight back at all. She almost killed you because you wouldn’t retaliate or let anyone help you.”
Maggie and the doctor avert their eyes, and I realize why Ansel is angry. “I’m sorry,” I say as my bottom lip quivers. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought that if I hurt her, you would be angry because I messed up—” He rushes to me and captures my lips in a soft kiss.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he whispered.
“I won’t. I didn’t want to cause any more problems for you.”
Nodding, he stood and folded his arms over his chest. “Take good care of her, Doc. I’ll be back tomorrow to see how she’s doing.” Saying nothing else, he leaves and shuts the door behind him.
“Lady Karin, don’t worry,” Maggie says, sensing my sadness. “I’m sure the Second Prince just doesn’t want to overwhelm you. You’ve been through a major ordeal that is still spotty to you.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing that it is,” I reply. “I want my memories, but not of me almost dying.”
She rubbed my hair and soothed me. “All that matters is you’re here. You’re alive and we’re going to help you anyway that we can.” The doctor nodded in agreement, and I mustered up a smile.
“You’re right. Thank you both. I will never forget the kindness you have shown me.”
The doctor sat beside me on the bed and placed his stethoscope on my chest. Looking up at the ceiling, I let the whirls of the machines around me take me to another place.
The Next Day
“How are you feeling? The doctor told me you’ve been making great strides in recovery,” Ansel says from the doorway of my room.
Looking up, I smile at him. “I’m doing alright. How are you?”
“Fine.”
He enters my room and closes the door behind him. Sitting across from me, he puts one leg over the other. The heat of his gaze makes me look away. “I must look horrible,” I say.
“No. You look like a woman healing from her trip to hell.”
“That too.” The quiet between us grows, causing me to shift my weight in my bed out of nervousness. I can’t tell what’s on his mind, but whatever it is leaves him looking at me almost without blinking. “Is there something wrong?” I ask, unsure of what else to say.
He clasps his hands in front of him and the intensity of his gaze grows. “Now that you’re doing better, there are two things that I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Number one; Cherry is not my fiancée. It was over before the night I rescued you, so please let go of any guilt you may harbor about our arrangement. I have no, nor have I ever had any desire to produce an heir with her.”
I let go of the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in. “Okay, well what’s the other thing?”
Ansel continued to look at me as if he could see into my soul. “The jig is up, Little Wolf,” he says. “I finally found out what you’ve been up to the last five years.”
