Defeat

I wish I had found you earlier in life.

—Faraway

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Eva focused her eyes ahead, not looking anywhere near the ground or at the man that was holding her close to his chest. She was sure that her face would be close to a burning furnace and the way to their room seemed too long as if each passing second was teasing her.

His legs walked in long strides and Eva counted the seconds one by one and the door appeared in sight when five minutes were up. She sighed internally, feeling relieved as he kicked open the door and entered the room.

"You could've opened it less... brutally," she advised but Theo only raised a brow in reply, not saying anything for a moment.

"And you could've been more careful but neither of us listens to each other now do we?" he asked, placing her gently on the black silk sheets.

He went back to shut the door close and kneeled on the ground before her, and Eva felt a little panicked.

"What are you doing?"

He said nothing as he pulled off the ribbon that held her braid, leaving her silver locks cascading down her back. She hadn't been prepared or she would have fought for it. Instead, she stilled, exposed under Theo's gaze. He sat back on his heels as his eyes traveled over her body. They lingered longest on her torn shoulder, catching in all the places her creamy dress clung. She drew an arm over her chest, trying to maintain some modesty, and then Theo came up onto his knees, bracing his arms on either side of her. From this angle, his face was level with hers. She felt his breath on her lips when he spoke. It smelled of whisky and a hint of mint.

"Which side?" he asked.

She kept his gaze a moment before reaching for his hand and pressing it to her side. She was surprised by her boldness but rewarded with his touch. It was warm and healing. She sighed and leaned into him. If anyone entered his room at this point, they might think he was listening to her heart with the way he was positioned—pressed between her legs, head turned away.

Eva saw him get up with a hint of a smile on his face. Looks like she made him smile again, she thought and followed his movements as he went towards the cupboard and pulled out the healing kit. The box was getting used daily, now that she thought about it.

All because of her clumsiness which always ended up embarrassing her.

He crouched down on his knees again, his long slender fingers taking up a large amount of ointment which he then proceeded to apply gently on her shoulder and down her arm.

She took a few deep breaths until she no longer felt the ache of her bruised shoulder. After a moment, he turned towards her but did not pull away.

"Better?"

His voice was low, a husky whisper that trailed over her skin. She resisted the urge to shiver.

"Yes."

"Are you hurting anywhere else?" he asked, his hand resting on his knee as he gazed up at her. "Don't lie to me."

There was something… raw and primal in his eyes she knew she couldn't argue with, so she shook her head. "No, I'm fine." and it was the honest truth, without a bit of falsehood or deception.

He stared at her for a while before nodding his head as if he had confirmed something. Placing the medicine back in the box, he stood up on his tall legs and went to deposit the kit back in its original place.

She was feeling a hundred times better than before and gathered the power to ask him a few questions that had been bugging her since he arrived to take her away from the gardens.

"Is he your friend?"

"Who?" he questioned, his fingers going to the top button of his shirt. Eva looked away, trying her best not to feel flustered.

"Lysander."

His eyes narrowed slightly and he took a step near her. "It took you quite a while to call me by my name yet you still have a problem saying it. It didn't take you so long to call him so intimately."

Eva's lips twitched and she tried her best not to burst forth into giggles at his reaction. "He said that it was okay for me to call him by his name," she answered, blinking her eyes innocently as if she had no clue what he was talking about.

Theo tried not to scoff yet he did. Eva allowed herself to smile as she got up, taking his hand in hers without any reluctance. It was the only move she could make without hesitating, though she couldn't help the blush that arose on her face.

"He helped me and I thought he was a friend of yours. So I felt comfortable with him and decided to talk to him openly," she explained and saw his eyes relax down as he cocked his head to a side, surveying her expression.

Eva and Theo stared at each other for a minute before he opened his mouth to speak.

"He is the King of Lorvil, Lysander Ashdown. We... can be called friends I guess, we support each other though of our own free will. He manages to drop a surprise visit each month to disturb me."

Eva's smile widened as she saw him explaining everything in detail without any hesitation. "Then you shouldn't mind if I also become friends with him. You trust him, don't you?" she asked.

Theo looked as if he was considering her question. His frown cleared as he slowly nodded his head in answer. "I do trust him but I don't trust anyone in your matter."

"You can rely on me. I can keep myself safe," she assured.

"Was it your doppelganger who fell face-first into the fountain?" he asked with a smirk while Eva gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"It's not my fault that you catch me at my bad moments. I can easily defend myself if the chance arrives."

"Which won't arrive as long as you are around me," he spoke, pulling her wrist as she crashed into his chest and felt him wrapping his arms around her.

Her body didn't relax instantly but as his familiar warmth engulfed her, she buried her face deeper into his neck inhaling his intoxicating scent. For the first time in her life, she felt safe after her father's death. Her shoulders dropped and she slowly patted his back with her small hands.

She was starting to understand what he had meant when he said that you can end up falling for a monster.

She never knew that a monster could make her feel so safe and warm which nobody else had managed to do in such a long time.

Eva closed her eyes, another one of her walls falling down in defeat.