To All a Good Knight

~ ZARA ~

I lay in the dark in my bed, pretending to sleep. All the curtains and blinds in the apartment were closed. Ash lay on a mattress on the floor in front of the door into my bedroom—which he'd left open so he could see into the living room, "just in case."

Sometimes, when my mind wandered, it felt the way it had when I'd been Select and Ash was behind the Tapestry—hearing his breathing, hearing the rustle of him moving nearby. I just tuned it out because it felt normal.

But other moments, when I woke up and remembered where I was and what was going on… my skin crawled.

I believed Ash when he said he was protecting me—believed that, at least in his mind, that was his goal.

But I'd seen that wild look in his eye when he took his sword out of its sheath. I couldn't shake the memory of him grabbing me up and clapping that hand over my mouth. The way he'd carried me away from the guards and David and…