Cove didn’t know what to do with herself.

What do you do when you are in love with your bodyguard but he likes your best friend? And before you really knew your bodyguard, you were in love with that best friend?

Don’t get her wrong, Cove has love for both of them. But it confuses her and literally has her spinning in circles.

Being a sixteen year old princess should not be this complicated.

Seeing Kenna now, her head thrown back in laughter, looking absolutely radiant, Cove remembers why she fell for her first.

Unfortunately, the person that made Kenna laugh is Cove’s current love interest.

Thorne. He’s different. Having several years with him by her side, there’s this trust that built between them. From that trust, something else blossomed. Or at least she thought.

Allaver is where all good things happen. It’s where people come for healing and restoration. Except for Cove right about now.

Them together has her heart breaking into shards of tissue and blood vessels in her chest.

“Princess Cove? Are you alright?” Thorne questions, his eyes studying her for any injuries.

She used to think it was silly to have a personal guard when she could just use her healing abilities, but getting to know him has been a gift.

“Yes,” she lies. It feels weird on her tongue, coppery and metallic, though it’s the best she can do.

His eyes narrow most certainly recognizing her bluff but he doesn’t call her on it. At least not in front of Kenna. “Ok, Princess.”

“It’s just Cove when we’re alone, Thorne,” she corrects automatically. His refusal to be a bit informal with her hurts. He sometimes will oblige when he’s certain they are alone. Or on their recent escapes from the castle to heal the people of her kingdom.

“We are not alone,” he reminds her, shifting towards Cove’s best friend.

Oh yes, Kenna is in the room. How could she forget?

“Cove, can I talk to you for a moment?” Kenna asks, closing the short distance between her and the pair. “Of course.”

When Thorne doesn’t make any indication of moving, Kenna adds, “Alone.”

He turns to her and raises an eyebrow. Cove knows he’s silently asking her if she wants him to go. She gives him a quick nod, and he promptly takes his leave. At least outside the door.

Kenna waits a full minute of the door being shut before she begins speaking.

The minute is one of the more painful moments of Cove’s existence. The air feels charged in a way that unsettles her. Like this conversation is being built up to do something. Mean something.

“Look, I can tell you like him. And I think I know why you’re holding back.”

She thinks about denying it, but it’s her best friend. Kenna would know if she’s lying. There’s no point. And her siblings say she is horrible at not being truthful. “Because Thorne is my personal guard.”

“No….well yes, but not what I was talking about. You think that he likes me or I like him,” Kenna guesses. Her heart pounds at hearing it out loud.

It’s always been an inside thought, never daring to say it into the universe, afraid if she vocalized it, it would make it true. “Or both,” Kenna adds.

She raises her eyebrow at Cove, and she can’t help but look down and flush at her correct assumption.

It doesn’t feel good to be so easy to read.

What does it mean for her friendship? They’ve been friends for so long. Does this change anything?

It seems her friend could practically see the gears in her head working over time because she interrupts them, “Cove, I do not like Thorne like that. But I have a feeling that you do.”

“It’s ok if you like him,” Cove says. She would hate for Kenna to hold herself back for her.

Because at the end of the day, she wants both of them to be happy. Even if that isn’t with her.

Kenna adamantly shakes her head. “I do not like him. I don’t like anyone like that,” she admits firmly.

“Really?” Cove questions, needing to be sure. Her voice sounds so pathetic. So quiet and hopeful.

She isn’t normally like this, but it’s Kenna and Thorne. Her best friend and former crush. And her personal guard and friend and current infatuation. She can’t afford any more miscommunication.

Taking her hands in her own, Kenna makes direct eye contact with Cove.

She sucks in a shaky inhale, worried that she’ll feel a spark that she used to, but thankfully her palms just feel warm.

“Cove, you are my best friend. I do not like Thorne like that. And it’s perfectly ok that you do. You deserve to be happy. I hope some day you allow yourself that.”

Cove’s vision blurs. It’s something she didn’t know she needed to hear. “Thank you,” she says with a slight tremor in her tone.

A familiar rapping at the door breaks their moment up. “Yes Thorne?”

He slowly enters the room, giving them time to tell him not to if needed. “The Queen requests your presence before dinner,” he relays.

“We were done anyway. I better find my father before the dinner as well,” Kenna excuses herself. She lets her hand linger on Cove’s for a moment before swiftly leaving the space.

“Are you alright, Cove,” he asks once again, but this time finally dropping her formal title.

“I am now,” she answers with a relieved grin.

“Shall we?” He asks, offering his arm.

She knows it’s for the walk to see her mom, but the lift of his lips into a smirk makes her think that maybe it’s an invitation for something else.

Taking his arm, she feels electricity in her veins and warmth in her heart. A feeling more intense than anything she’s ever felt before.

“Yes we shall.”

Cove would gladly go anywhere if he’s by her side.

———

(If anyone is confused with the title, I’ll explain it. Cove thinks this is a love triangle because she used to like Kenna, but she now likes Thorne. But now she thinks Kenna and Thorne like each other. So everyone in the trio connect to one another, making a triangle. But Kenna and Thorne don’t have feelings for each other, so it’s more of a ‘V’ shape with Cove being their only connection. The title is a joke but I realized that it might be confusing. 😅 I think most love triangles are actually a V.)