**Rosalie’s POV
I left the hospital tent quickly, trying to keep the heat out of my face. Ethan had been so quick to dismiss , telling to just go do what I needed to do, and I felt embarrassed for even being so concerned about him to begin with.
Especially when he was wearing the ring that he had given to Madalynn.
I knew he didn’t ever have feelings for her, but it was still hard to swallow that he once planned to marry her. It wasn’t fair, I got it, but my emotion didn’t always agree with my logic.
I sighed and headed around the camp, doing the chores that I’d listed off to him, but also doing other ones as well.
My goal was to try to forget about Ethan for the ti being and concentrate on other urgent things.
Now, I knew how he had felt when I used to dismiss him and ignore him when he was the Rogue King, and I was his prisoner. Granted, the situation was different then, but still... being rejected hurt.
“Are you all right, my Queen?” one of the citizens who was helping in the supply closet asked as we stacked supplies next to one another.
“I’m fine,” I reassured him, but it wasn’t true. My mind couldn’t stay off of Ethan. I just kept thinking about everything that had happened.
He took the risk to go after Madalynn because he thought I was in danger. I knew Ethan cared about . He’d done a lot to help and support ; he had even given his life for . But I still wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about .
Was it guilt? Was it because of Rowan? Or was it because of... maybe he did have feelings for ?
But then... if that was the case, why had he been keeping his distance? I felt he interacted with just like he interacted with other people. When I was just in there with him, why did he dismiss so quickly?
It was confusing, and it left bewildered as I finished up in the supply tent and went back to the other dical tent to check on patients there.
As I walked over, I thought about the other dream I’d had, the one in the Moon Goddess’s temple.
“Have you ever loved ?”
His answer was, no, never.
Was it real?
If it was, should I continue to pursue him like a foolish girl?
If it was, I needed to stop that. I needed to stop embarrassing myself.
However, it was just so hard to stay away from him. Whenever we were together, he caused my heart to flutter like a schoolgirl in love.
But I wasn’t a schoolgirl; I was a queen. And I couldn’t afford to act foolishly. It could affect my people.
I was almost to the dical tent when a ssenger caught up to . He ca rushing over, waving a paper in his hand. “My Queen!” he shouted, and I paused mid stride to turn to face him.
“What is it?” I asked him.
He was out of breath from running, so he simply handed the piece of paper.
“Your Majesty,
For so reason, Kal’s troops started moving away from us. More to confirm, but wanted to give you a heads-up.
Sincerely, Vandough.”
I read over the letter twice before I told the ssenger, “Thank you. Please let General Vandough know that it would be best for him to send scouts out to tail the main force of King Kal’s army so that we don’t lose track of them.” I wanted to make sure and determine whether this was simply a repositioning or a feint that we needed to be prepared for.
“What was that?” Georgia asked, coming up behind .
“A ssage from General Vandough that King Kal seems to be retreating,” I told her.
Georgia’s face broke into a wide grin. “That’s aweso!” she said. “I knew we’d get them on the run eventually. They’ve lost so many of his warriors in the past few weeks, he’s probably almost out of people to fight.”
“I don’t feel that Kal is a man to give up easily,” I said.
Was it possible that Soren’s part of the plan was finally working? Could it be that Damian had finally attacked and had drawn King Kal’s attention away from us?
I had no way of knowing at the mont. All I knew was that King Kal seed to be departing, which ant I could breathe a little easier—for the mont.
“Do you need help with anything?” Georgia asked .
“Oh, I was just going into the dical tent to check on the patients,” I told her.
With a nod, she said, “I’ll co with you,” and the two of us walked inside.
The mont the sick and injured saw , their faces brightened, and so of them began to cheer. I felt a rush of heat on my face.
I was still not used to so many people being so thrilled to see , but it also made proud of what I had accomplished and proud of my role.
As I went around to each of the injured soldiers and those who had gotten ill from the close quarters of camp life, I did my best to listen to them and attend to their needs. But my mind was elsewhere.
Not only did I continue to think about the situation with Ethan, but I was also curious about precisely why King Kal left.
If Damian was attacking, where was Soren? Was he safe? I had sent scouts to track him down as soon as I knew he was gone, and I was awaiting their reports.
I prayed to the Moon Goddess that all was well and that Soren would be back to us soon.
Over the next couple of days, many of our injured warriors recovered from their wounds. Ethan was one of them. He never stayed in bed long.
I smiled at him when I saw him, but I kept my distance. I reminded myself I didn’t need to look foolish if I could avoid it, and Ethan had a way of making seem like a silly girl.
Another two days went by, I received the confirmation that King Kal had indeed retreated. anwhile, I saw a familiar face appear in the woods near camp.
It was one of my scouts, returning with word about Soren. “Did you catch up with him?” I asked, my breath catching in my throat.
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “We did catch up with him, not long after we left. After that, Damian attacked King Kal’s forces in the back of his lines, causing chaos all through King Kal’s camp. They continue to battle back and forth, but it’s clear that Damian is sneaky and can show up, attack, and disappear quickly—like a ghost.”
I nodded, glad that Damian had co up with an effective strategy. “And what about Soren?” I asked him, wishing he would have led with an update about my friend. While I was glad to hear the news about King Kal, I was more eager to know how Soren was.
The scout swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down a mont before he slowly shook his head.
I felt all of the blood run out of my face. It didn’t seem like good news, and I was terrified that he was about to tell that the worst had happened to Soren.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice breaking with the question.
“Soren... went missing after that,” he said. “We’ve looked everywhere for him, trying to make contact with him again. But we haven’t been able to. I ca back to report it while the other scout stayed behind, still searching. I’m... sorry, Your Majesty. We’re not sure what happened.”
I took a few deep breaths, reminding myself that Soren had disappeared a ti or two before and had always reerged. I had to believe he was out there sowhere, that he was okay. “Keep looking for him,” I told the scout.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said. He bowed and disappeared back into the woods, and I took a few deep breaths.
I needed to catch Ethan up on the latest.
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