Violet did not walk back to the palace naked. Her men provided her with clothes she changed into, otherwise, there would have been a trail of murdered Fae — all because they looked the wrong way.
After the intense encounter with Lucen, they headed to their quarters, an awkward silence falling upon them.
"I'm so sor—" She opened her mouth to say the moment the door closed behind them, but Alaric simply enveloped her in a hug, her words trailing off.
"Shh, it's alright." He hugged her more, nearly stealing the breath out of her lungs.
The lightning prince kissed her on the forehead, saying, "There's no need to apologize, except maybe next time, give us a heads-up when you want to improvise. That way, we can do so within safety limits."
Violet lifted her head to give him a look, saying, "I still won though, didn't I?"
Alaric stared at her with a tender look in his eyes even as he argued, "We said running, not flying."
