Alexander had kept the small wooden cup wrapped in a piece of cloth among his belongings since leaving Verdura. Ariella had prepared the herbal mixture for him before he left, insisting that he take it whenever the long journeys or restless nights made sleep difficult.
He hadn't expected to use it tonight. But when he saw Elysia sitting alone by the river, he remembered how she had barely slept since arriving in this world. The tea might help. He picked up the cup and made his way toward her.
***
I didn't tell anyone about the eyes. By the time I reached the camp, the soldiers were still asleep. A few guards glanced in my direction as I made my way toward my tent, but no one stopped me. I kept walking. The image stayed with me. Those pale eyes between the trees.
I had no idea what had been watching me, and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out. Tumblefluff's words bothered me even more. You're not supposed to be here.
I had already accepted that I was trapped inside a novel. What I hadn't accepted was the possibility that the story itself knew I didn't belong. I slipped into my tent and lowered myself carefully onto the bedroll.
My ankle protested. "Ow." I rubbed it and pulled the blanket over my legs. Sleep should have been easy after everything that had happened. It wasn't. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the Frostbane. Then Tumblefluff. Then those pale eyes. Eventually, I gave up trying. I sat there in the darkness, listening to the camp settle around me.
A few minutes passed. Then I heard footsteps outside. I looked toward the tent flap.
"Princess?"
Alexander. Of course. I hesitated before answering. "Yes?"
The flap opened slightly. Alexander stood outside.
"You are still awake."
"So are you."
"I was looking for you."
That made me sit up straighter. "Why?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he held up a small wooden cup. "I brought you something."
I stared at it. "What is that?"
"Herbal tea." He stepped inside and offered it to me.
I accepted the cup cautiously. Warmth seeped through my fingers. The smell was familiar. Mint, herbs, something faintly sweet.
"Ariella made it," he said. "She prepares it for people who have trouble sleeping."
Ariella's tea? I looked at the cup again. Interesting. Very interesting.
I looked up. "You have trouble sleeping too?"
"Sometimes." He sat a short distance away. "She insisted I take it."
I raised the cup to my lips. The tea was warm and mild. There was a little bitterness beneath the sweetness, but it wasn't unpleasant. I swallowed. "It's good."
Alexander smiled. "I thought you might like it."
I took another sip. The warmth spread through me almost immediately. My shoulders relaxed. I hadn't realised how tense they were until then. "Ariella really is good at this."
"She is."
There was something in his voice when he said it. Not longing. Not the kind of affection I remembered from the novel. Just genuine respect. That bothered me. According to the story I knew, Alexander and Ariella were supposed to be deeply in love. Yet every time he spoke about her, I saw something completely different.
I decided to test it. "You seem to know Princess Ariella well."
"We've spent some time together."
I watched him carefully. "Is she someone special to you?"
Alexander's expression softened. He looked down at the river for a moment before answering. "Ariella is a dear friend."
I waited.
He continued, almost as though he needed to make the distinction clear. "We share a strong bond, but it's built on friendship and mutual respect. She's always been like a sister to me."
My fingers tightened around the cup. A sister? For a moment, I wondered if I had heard him correctly. What?
In the novel, Alexander and Ariella were supposed to be madly in love. Not friends. Not siblings. Lovers.
I took another sip of tea and stared at the cup afterwards. Maybe the herbal tea was stronger than I thought. Or maybe I had somehow landed in a completely different version of the story.
"What is it?" Alexander asked.
I looked at him. "Nothing."
His eyes remained on me.
I forced a small smile. "I'm just surprised."
"Why?"
I couldn't exactly tell him that I knew the original story. So I chose the safest answer I could find. "I suppose I expected you to be closer."
"We are close."
"That's not what I meant."
He tilted his head slightly. "Then what did you mean?"
I hesitated. The answer was obvious in my head, but saying it aloud felt dangerous. "Never mind."
Alexander didn't push. That should have relieved me. Instead, it made me more suspicious. If he really wasn't in love with Ariella, then what had changed? Or had it changed because of me? The thought made me uncomfortable. And there was still Seraphina. I hadn't even had the chance to ask about her. Maybe that was for the best. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear another answer that contradicted everything I remembered.
Alexander shifted his attention back to me. "But what about you, Princess?"
I looked at him. "What about me?"
"Do you have someone special in your life?"
My mind went blank. What kind of question was that? I felt heat rush into my cheeks. Correction. Not my cheeks. Elysia's. Apparently, her body had decided to betray me. "I... I haven't thought about it."
Alexander waited.
I looked down at the cup. "My focus has been on trying to understand this place. Everything is still so unfamiliar."
He nodded. "That's understandable." His voice was quiet. "You've been through a great deal since arriving here. You don't have to figure everything out at once."
I glanced at him. For a man who had just spent his time hunting monsters, Alexander could be surprisingly gentle. It was confusing.
He leaned back against the tent post. "You have friends here who care about you. You don't have to face everything alone."
Something about those words caught me off guard. I looked away. "Thank you." The tea had begun to take effect. My eyelids felt heavier with every passing minute. I blinked several times.
Alexander noticed. "You should rest."
"Yeah." I tried to keep my eyes open. They refused to cooperate. I yawned. "Urgh. I haven't even finished asking you questions."
A faint smile appeared on his face. "You can ask them tomorrow."
"I wanted to ask about..." My thoughts drifted.
"About what?"
I couldn't remember what I had been about to say. I looked down at the cup. "Ariella's tea is working."
Alexander gave a quiet laugh. "So it seems."
I leaned back against the pillow. Cool night air brushed against my face through the slightly open tent flap, while the warmth of the tea lingered in my chest. I was tired. Far more tired than I should have been.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have allowed a stranger to come anywhere near my bed. But I was too tired to argue.
"You need to lie down."
"I can manage."
"You can barely keep your eyes open."
I wanted to protest. Instead, I yawned again. That seemed to settle the argument. Alexander helped me lie down on the bedroll. I rubbed my eyes as he pulled the fur blanket over me.
I stared at him. This was far too intimate. He certainly shouldn't be tucking me into bed. But my body had apparently decided that this was the perfect time to abandon all resistance.
My limbs felt heavy. My thoughts were becoming blurred. I looked up at Alexander. He was smiling. Not the charming smile he used when speaking to other women. Something quieter. Almost serene.
I wanted to ask him what he was thinking. I wanted to ask about Ariella again. I wanted to understand why everything was so different from the novel. But none of the questions made it past my lips.
My eyes closed. The last thing I saw was Alexander standing beside my bedroll, his expression unreadable.
Then sleep finally took me.