A noise behind me catches my attention, and I whirl to see the kitchen door closing as Lizette slips into the hall. Her brown hair is braided and twisted into a knot behind her head, her green eyes bright as they meet mine. Even though I’ve already memorized the details of her face, I take a moment to appreciate her flawless porcelain skin and her rose pink lips. Lips that, by the looks of them, wouldn’t stretch far enough to wrap around my cock.
Another shame.
Her mouth curls into a tiny smile as color flushes her cheeks, and she approaches slowly. She wrings her hands, seeming much more nervous than yesterday. That makes two of us.
“Good day.” I tip my horns to her, and she bows in response.
“Good day. I apologize for my tardiness, Your Highness. I hope you weren’t waiting long.” She rights herself and meets my gaze, her hands clasped in front of her. “There was a spill, and I was asked to clean it…”
My chest tightens at the honorific—I’ve always hated them. It’s a glaring reminder of our different social classes, when the only thing I want to do is forget them. Just for a little while.
Stupid.It’s a stupid thought, and I know it. I can do whatever I want, but it won’t make me less of a prince. And it won’t make her less of a servant.
Pretending otherwise is only going to get me burned.
I wave away her concerns. If I’d waited five minutes or thirty, my relief at her presence would have been the same. She showed up, that’s the important thing.
“Don’t worry.” I shake my head. “From what I understand, the library will still be there when we get there.”
She giggles softly, but doesn’t move from the spot. I loathe the way she waits for instruction, missing the spunk I saw in her yesterday. Maybe, with any luck and a little time, she’ll let her guard down again.
“Come on.” I tip my horns down the hall. “I’ll show you the way.”
We walk in near-silence to the library, up to the third floor and down the long hall to the East Wing. We pass a few guards on the way, but I keep my snout up, eyes forward despite my uneasiness.
I remind myself a dozen times that nothing about Lizette following me is so out of the ordinary that it will raise alarms, but it isn’t until we’re alone in the library that the knot of tensionin my chest relaxes. I step aside to let her into the modest room and watch her eyes light up as they scan the countless rows of books.
Every wall of the bed-chamber sized library is stacked floor to ceiling with books. A curtained window sits across from us, overlooking the garden when the fabric is drawn back. There are two high-backed leather chairs in the middle of the room with a table situated between them. It’s small, modest, at least by my standards.
“Wow,” Lizette whispers under her breath, and I fight a grin. She’s clearly impressed, and while it’s a silly thing to fuel my pride, my chest puffs up. “This is so much bigger than the one back home!”
If she thinks the library is big, just wait until she sees my?—
She pins me with her gaze, and my mind goes blank.
“Do you have any favorite books?” she asks.
It's hard to focus when she's staring at me like that; my mind turns into a mess of mush. I know my answer will disappoint her—I’ve never been much of a scholar.
I shake my head, bracing myself for her look of disapproval. “I spend my time doing other things.”
Instead of the frown I expect, a sweet smile curls her lips before she makes her way over to a shelf. She runs her delicate fingers down the spines of various books, admiring each and every one.
“What does a prince fill his time with?” she asks, slowly walking toward the opposite wall. I find myself following her without thinking, before quickly diverting and taking a seat in one of the chairs.
Keeping space between us is probably for the best. I don’t want her to think I’m a creep.
“I prefer things that get me out of the castle,” I explain. “Hunting, hiking—there’s a nice trail behind the castle that goes deep into the woods.”
She hesitates, so briefly that I almost miss it, before continuing to follow the wall of shelves. “I’ve never been on a hike.”
“Really?” I lean forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. “It’s where I go to clear my head. Reset my thoughts. When life in the castle gets boring or tense, I always head for the woods.”
“It sounds nice,” she admits, but there's something wrong with her tone.
“Do you have woods where you come from?”
She shakes her head. “There aren't many trees in our kingdom, mainly grasslands. But I haven't spent much time outside of a castle.”