Boris holds up a finger, and I do my damndest to keep my elation from showing on my face. He never likes it when I’m happy about something.
“But hear me now, brother,” Boris says. “You are to be wed in just over a fortnight. I do not want the two of you up to your oldtricks. The moment I catch wind of even a hint of mischief, our brother will no longer be welcome here.”
Please. He is hardly going to ban a foreign leader from his ancestral home. Wars have been started for less. Although I swear to him that no mischief will occur, it’s a promise I have no intention of keeping.
I wait until Boris leaves the room to head out into the hallway.
Bell looks at me with such disdain, I almost laugh. The poor man has been through the wringer thanks to me. At least he knows what to expect. “Come, Bell. We must visit the apothecary.”
His scowl deepens. “For what?”
“I need to buy my brother a present.”
Thirty-Eight
ALLETTE
The flightback to the castle is mostly silent. I hate that I must rely on someone else to bring me home instead of being able to fly on my own. It’s like when I was a child before my wings grew and my parents had to carry me everywhere. Bilson lands outside the gates, his boots crunching on the gravel. The men standing guard spring to life, grabbing keys, unlocking the door, and standing at attention as the guard escorts me through.
Once we’re out of earshot, I give the man a hopeful smile. “Thank you, Bilson.” He may have only been acting under Senan’s orders, but I appreciate it all the same.
The man inclines his head and leaves me to return to the caverns beneath the mountain. If I’d thought ahead, I would’ve brought my uniform to change into before anyone else saw me in this gown, but since I didn’t, I keep my head down as I hurry through the twisting hallways past the great room.
My friends are huddled at two of the many sofas spread around the cavern, colorful playing cards covering the low table between them. Braith sees me, and her eyes widen before she nods her chin toward the hallway leading to our rooms. Thankfully, everyone else seems too engrossed in the game to notice me slip through.
A moment later, Braith meets me in the hallway beneath one of the flickering fae lights. She grabs my hand and tugs me forward. Until this moment, I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to speaking with her about all that has transpired. Otherwise, I’d probably be up all night tossing and turning.
“Everyone is talking about your affair with the prince,” she whispers, a smirk playing on her lips.
I despise that word:affair. Like what my prince and I share isn’t beautiful but dirty and sinful. “Senan and I are not having an affair.” If anything, the princess is the one having the affair. Yes, the two of them have been betrothed for years, but he is my mate.
From her hum, it’s clear she doesn’t believe me. No matter. The truth is the truth, whether one believes it or not. We hurry down the hall, around the corner, and?—
I slam into a bloody wall.
Only it’s not a wall. It’s one of the guards. I mutter an apology, rubbing my sore nose. Thank the stars it’s not broken or bleeding.
The guard clasps my arms, keeping me from toppling backward from the force of the hit. “Careful, now. The floors are slippery tonight. Wouldn’t want anyone falling and getting hurt.”
His hands feel clammy against my bare arms, like he slid them along the damp walls before catching me. I step out of his grasp even as I apologize for not being more careful.
The guard’s green-eyed gaze drags down the length of my silk gown, and his lips tug into a lazy sort of smile that makes me want to put even more distance between us.
Thankfully, I’m saved from whatever irritating comment he makes under his breath when Braith guides me down the hallway, away from his leering gaze. “Scathian pig,” she muttersso that only I can hear. “As if you would stoop to rutting with some lowly guard when you’ve caught the eye of a prince. I swear, these men down here have far too high an opinion of themselves.”
I have to agree.
He wasn’t the only guard I’ve caught leering—and not just at me but at the other maids as well. The other day, two of them were standing guard outside the bathing rooms, as if there would be trouble in there.
We make it to Braith’s room around the corner and escape into darkness. Giddiness bubbles inside of me. I’m so happy, I can hardly breathe. Braith taps the fae light beside her bed, drenching the room in an orange glow.
Her room looks almost the same as mine. One chair and a ledge carved into the rust-colored stone that serves as a tiny table. A small chest of drawers and a bed built into the wall. But unlike my plain reddish walls, someone has painted an exquisite rose garden mural above the bed.
Braith whips toward me with a smile so wide, she looks like she is ready to burst as well. “Tell meeverything.”
I reach out to touch a painted petal, so realistic, it looks as if it should feel soft. “I don’t even know where to begin. He is so…stars, he is so wonderful.”
“Where did he bring you?”