“Your highness . . .”Lord Devon. “With all due respect, the members of the council are gathered and waiting.”
Caiman groaned, yanking on the ends of his hair.
As much as I wanted him to stay, I told him that he should go. We both needed our rest for tomorrow’s funeral, and we had the rest of our lives to discover each other.
I committed to memory the obvious reluctance in his gaze and the way it felt when he dragged his leather-clad thumb across my bottom lip. Certain he was going to kiss me, I eased forward on my chair.
Sighing, he dropped his hand and pushed to his feet. “Thank you for tonight. This week has been . . . exceedingly difficult, and you helped me forget about everything. For that, I am grateful.”
I huffed a laugh to conceal my growing disappointment. “Anytime you need a distraction, you know where to find me.”
Caiman bent at the waist to look me in the eye. “A distraction is something that draws one’s attention away from what truly matters. This dress”—he settled my fallen sleeve back in place—“is a distraction. Those infernal men waiting in the council chamber are a distraction. None of it is as important as you. And the only reason I am leaving right now is because I am not yet king and need them to think I possess some semblance of self-control.” He moved closer, his heated breath tickling against my neck when he whispered, “And the only reason I am not kissing you is because if I start, I won’t want to stop.”
When he straightened, the breath I held escaped in an audiblewooshas I fell back against the chair.Something told me that when Caiman finally kissed me, I wouldn’t want him to stop either.
18
CAIMAN
The hollow chamberat the back of the chapel where I’d been cloistered since early this morning had become a cage. Sunlight streamed through the lone stained-glass window, baking me alive. The golden cherubs carved into the mirror’s frame stared at me with tiny smirks on their chubby faces as beads of sweat collected at the back of my neck, soaking the stiff collar of my shirt, all the way through to my red coat.
I shifted, wishing the garment weren’t so bloomin’ heavy. As if I wasn’t already sweating through the ridiculous number of layers, they’d gone and added another one, a mantle lined with fur. Surely there had to be a lighter option. I’d be lucky to make it through the ceremony without keeling over from heat stroke. The gold medallions draped around my neck weren’t helping the matter, and all the gold weapons on my belt left me walking like a man with wooden legs.
I didn’t consider myself a vain man by any means, but I looked ridiculous.
“It’s time, your highness,” Broderick called from the doorway, his gold and red dress uniform similar to my own. Only he didn’t look ready to pass out.
I didn’t give a whit about any of the noblemen or dignitaries crowded into the wooden pews. The whole chapel could be empty for all I cared—save for one person.I tried to look past the guard, but all I saw was an empty stone hallway.“Where’s Roisin?”
I’d asked the same question on the morning of our wedding, certain she’d abandon me at the altar.
Broderick gave me a knowing smile. “She is waiting for you.”
My heart leapt.
Waiting for me.
No one else.
Me.
I knew better than to believe her decision to remain married had anything to do with wanting to be my wife. And yet, knowing she would be by my side made what was to come a little more bearable.
The dinner we’d shared together last week had given me hope that we could have a real relationship. And perhaps someday, a real marriage. And it had given me a long, restless night dreaming of an ethereal woman with silver hair in a pink dress. The fact that she’d gone to so much trouble to match her outfit to the painting, even down to the tiny flowers in her hair, left my heart swelling.
I walked stiffly into the small hallway, the heavy mantle dragging every step of the way. My lungs started to ache. I needed air that didn’t smell like dust and stones.
And then Roisin stepped into view, and the ache slid lower.
Although she’d been a vision in ivory silk and lace on our wedding day, she’d hidden herself and her misery beneath a veil.
Today, there was no veil. And she didn’t appear miserable.
She looked happy.
It probably has nothing to do with you, I reminded myself. She was about to be crowned Queen of Vellana. Why wouldn’t she be happy?
The gold ribbon criss-crossed at the center of her gown highlighted her trim waist, the soft swell of her hips. The straight neckline came off her shoulders. When I wet my lips, I swear I could taste the unique blend of magic and sunlight that I’d sampled the other night.