Chapter 12 #2
Niklas led the group, peering around every corner like they were involved in some secret mission.
The halls were always winding and confusing, but Kaid was downright lost with his mind this addled.
For all he knew, they were leading him in circles.
Asta would stop frequently to readjust her hold on him and then they would continue.
Niklas was on Halsten wrangling duty, steering the man in the right direction whenever he strayed.
Finally, they were at Kaid’s suite door.
Asta sighed in relief as she swung the door open and tapped the frame before pulling the prince-to-be inside.
Why did she always do that? Kaid had noticed it for a while now.
He opened his mouth to ask, but only a groan came out.
His tongue felt strange in his mouth, like it was somehow getting in his way.
He wondered how Asta’s tongue would feel in his mouth, on his skin.
Not that he could ever find out. Tongue.
Strange word, wasn’t it? Ton-gue. Kaid smirked.
“What’s so entertaining in your mush of a brain?” Asta asked as she guided him to his bedroom.
Kaid could hear crashing in the common room behind him and knew he would be waking to Halsten sleeping there.
Asta stepped into his bedroom, looking around, and Kaid guessed she had never been in this suite before.
From what he had seen when he bursted into her rooms a few weeks ago, both were grand, but in different ways.
Kaid’s bedroom was regal and impersonal, and he hadn’t done a single thing these last few weeks to fix that.
Probably because he didn’t ever really know who he was, where he belonged.
Nothing ever felt right. That was, until he had felt the water of the ocean the week prior.
That had felt right. Which was also very, very wrong.
Kaid fell face first into his puffy black comforter and he moaned.
“All right, you lush. On your side. Your death doesn’t matter much to me, but I’m sure it’s destined to be far grander than choking on your own vomit,” Asta crooned.
She hoisted Kaid’s body so he was lying on his side and then began removing his boots.
“I am not a lush,” Kaid insisted, “It’s the wine here. It’s been enchanted.”
Yes, this night was infused with magic. How else had Kaid let himself get so out of control? He hadn’t drank like this since two years ago, during a party where he and Halsten competed to see who could handle their liquor best. They ended up being so drunk that neither of them remembered who won.
Asta disappeared into the common room and emerged a moment later with a waste basket.
As she placed it near the headboard, she said, “You could have really embarrassed Maren tonight. I don’t think anyone saw you, though.
Father was too involved with nobility and Maren left early.
So, unfortunately, you’re safe to stay for another day. ”
Kaid crumpled his face. “You can’t poke fun at me when I feel this ill.”
“It’s your own fault you’re this sick in the first place.”
No, that’s your fault. If I was not thinking about you all the time, I wouldn’t have to drink myself into oblivion.
Kaid shook the thought away and rubbed his eyes while letting out a yawn. He was so, so tired. The room began spinning and he jolted, grabbing Asta’s arm.
“Are we in a tornado?”
“No, we’re in your room,” Asta said through a laugh.
When the tornado finally released the castle, Kaid focused on Asta.
On her blonde hair falling out of the combs it had been swept into, her eyes dancing with the flames of his oil lamp, her skin so fair even though she grew up on a beach.
She was his anchor while enduring the storm. Something so delicate, yet so strong.
“Why do you hate me?” Kaid sighed as he nestled into his pillow.
Asta waved a hand in front of her face, donning a disgusted expression. “Because your breath is rancid.”
Kaid laughed at that. Surely, she was right.
He wasn’t sure why the words came out, but he couldn’t stop them in his drunken state. “Stay with me.”
Asta stared at him for a long moment. Her eyes shifted all over his face and a glimmer of hope began to bubble in Kaid’s chest that she may actually surrender. She turned and looked over her shoulder at the doorway, then back to Kaid.
She reached up to his face but hesitated, her palm lingering just inches from him. Whatever intrusive thought she was having won, and she reached forward and brushed his dark red hair from his forehead.
Her eyes locked onto his as she answered, “I can’t, Kaid.”
He wanted to taste his name on her lips, to hear her say it over and over as he brushed his mouth against her neck. To let her taste her name on his lips, as well. Not blondie or neighbor or princess. Asta.
Kaid reached up to caress her cheek but she pulled away, standing up fully and taking a step back.
“Goodnight,” she said breathlessly.
Asta walked over to the door and paused in the threshold, her fingers curved around the wood of the doorframe. The tips of her fingers tapped the wood silently as she took one last look at Kaid over her shoulder, then left.