Shattered Assassin by Wendy Knight

pushing Heath to the rear. “What’s wrong?”
    “Princess Kazia fell asleep.”
    His eyes snapped to her face and she stifled a groan. “I’m fine.”
    “We’ll stop here for the morning,” he called.
    “Honestly, Captain, I’m fine.”
    He didn’t look at her, and the rest of them stopped their horses and busied themselves making a temporary camp. Benjamin helped Kazia down, and she wandered away from him, trying to stretch her legs, Nakomi by her side. She didn’t realize she was out of ear shot of the others until Luke was suddenly at her elbow. “You used to be such a smart girl, Kazia. What happened?” he growled, leading her back toward the fire. She jerked her arm away.
    “I walked twenty feet away, Captain. And I have a wolf the size of a horse with me. I think I’m okay,” she snarled back at him.
    “Okay, out with it.”
    She frowned, her tirade cut frustratingly short. “What?”
    “Yell. Tell me how much you hate me. Tell me I broke your heart. We have to work together, Kazia, so you need to get over this.”
    She jerked her chin in, wishing for a little light so he could see how hard she was glaring at him right then. “I need to get over this? Are you kidding me?”
    He ran his hand through his short-cropped hair. “I handled it badly. I’m sorry. What do you need, closure?”
    “What do I — what?” She dropped her hands to her hips, letting Nakomi edge between them. Otherwise, she was pretty sure she would hit him. “What I need is to get to Abeta so I can marry Prince Randolf and be crowned queen and put this all behind me.”
    “And you really think marrying him is going to solve your problems? You’ve never even met him!”
    “Don’t you yell at me, Captain,” she screeched, and with a monumental effort, lowered her voice as well. “He is kind. If I have to spend the rest of my life with someone, there are many things worse than kind,” she hissed at him.
    He paced back and forth on the other side of Nakomi. “Kazia…” He trailed off and she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting, trying not to look for blunt objects to attack him with. “We were friends. Just a few days ago, we were friends. Why can’t we go back to that?” he finally said, turning toward her.
    “Fine. We’re friends. Let’s move out before the sun comes up.” She went to brush past him but he stopped her.
    “Kazia, wait.” His hand on her arm shook, and she looked up at him in shock, but this far away from the fire it was too dark to see any expression on his face. “I thought I was doing the right thing — that night I told you we shouldn’t talk anymore.”
    “Yes, Captain. You’ve mentioned. Heaven help us if your career had been at all jeopardized,” she snapped.
    “No, for you.” Suddenly he didn’t sound like the formidable Captain of the Royal Guard. He sounded young and frightened. “I thought I was doing the right thing for you. I knew… I knew how you felt. I didn’t want you to give up the throne, not for me — if something had happened to Brodi.”
    Her jaw dropped as her heart froze in her chest. She forgot to breathe. “You… what?”
    He tipped his head back, staring at the canopy of trees above them as if heaven might drop down and save him. “I was worried about my career, yes. But Brodi told me you had asked your father what would happen if you married a commoner. I knew what you were thinking and I couldn’t ask that of you.”
    “It was my decision to make, Luke,” she said stiffly, pulling her arm from his grasp.
    “I wasn’t worth it, Kazia. I’m still not worth it.”
    “Also my decision.”
    She started to walk past him but he darted around in front of her. “If it’s your decision, then give me time.”
    She shook her head, once, her eyebrows clashing together. “What? Time for what?”
    “Don’t marry Randolf, Kazia. Not yet, not until you’re sure it’s the right decision.”
    “It’s the smart decision. And nothing has changed.