Everyone’s except Rían’s.
He sat there, watching me with such an unnatural intensity that I had to look away. Even with my attention focused on what little wine I had left, I could still feel the heat of his stare boring into the side of my head.
“I didn’t realize you were so invested in bringing life to the world,” Rían said once I’d finished.
“I wouldn’t call throwing a few bulbs in the ground ‘bringing life.’”
“What would you call it?”
“A hobby.”
“Hobby? More like an obsession. Aveen loves gardening,” Keelynn chimed in. “I think it’s the only place she is truly happy.”
Rían’s eyes lit up like two blue flames. “We have gardens that bloom year round.”
It was the first time he’d divulged information about his life without me having to pry. Not that it was much. Gardens blooming year round. Were their flowers the same as ours? I imagined they’d be more stunning. Bigger, brighter, and better than anything that grew in Airren. If I had magic, I’d make flowers grow from everywhere. The windows. The ceiling.The floor.
“At the townhouse?” Keelynn asked, drawing me from my useless fantasy.
Townhouse? What townhouse? Rían didn’t live in a townhouse.
Rían shook his head, as if snapping out of a trance. “Not in the townhouse. Back in . . . in Vellana.”
“Lady Marissa and her brother are renting a townhouse near the modiste,” Keelynn explained to our father. He nodded as though he’d known all along.
“Just until something larger and more permanent becomes available,” Rían added smoothly.
How did he keep track of all the lies?
The grandfather clock in the corner chimed. I’d been so focused on Rían’s performance that I hadn’t realized it was so late.
“Would you look at the time?” My father threw his serviette onto the table. His chair scraped the tiles when he pushed back. “Lady Marissa, your company has been a delight. I do hope to see more of you in the future.”
Rían stood, smoothing a hand down his wrinkled skirts. “I’m sure you will. Your daughter and I have grown quite close over the last few weeks. I cannot imagine life here without her.”
More lies to add to the list.
“You’re not leaving, are you?” my sister asked, brow creased with worry as her eyes darted to the dark windows. She’d been afraid of the dark since childhood. “You should stay. There’s plenty of space.”
Stay? Oh no . . . She did not just invite Rían to stay the night.
I shot to my feet and grabbed his hand, squeezing as hard as I could. The bastard didn’t so much as flinch. “He—I meanshecannot stay.” I propped my hip against the edge of the table to keep from falling over. Why was I so dizzy? “There’s that thing you have to do in the morning. Remember?”
Keelynn rounded the table to take Rían’s other hand. “Oh, but she must. It is far too late to bring her back into Graystones. You know the roads aren’t safe at night.”
Rían batted those lashes at me, eyes glinting. “Your lovely sister has a point. I hear wicked creatures prowl these forests from dusk until dawn.”
Rían was the wickedest creature of the whole bloody lot.
“It isn’t as dangerous as all that,” my father countered, rolling his eyes, “but I must agree with Keelynn. You should stay here tonight. Stay as long as you’d like.”
“Why, thank you, Lord Bannon.” Rían curtsied. “You are most kind.”
“Come, Marissa.” Keelynn tugged him past my father, out of the dining room, and toward the staircase. “I’ll show you up to the spare room.”
No . . . Not the spare room.
The spare bedroom was beside Keelynn’s. There was no way I would let a mischievous fae prince stay in a room next to my sister.No bloody way.