Chapter 17
Two days had passed and Asta had successfully managed to avoid Kaid even though they lived in the same wing. It frustrated him to no end.
Kaid just wanted to see her, to talk to her, to explain that his actions were true. Though he would admit they had poor timing, he did not regret the moment they had shared in her bed.
He was pleased to hear that Asta had been selected to chaperone his and Maren’s lunch today. Even if he couldn’t talk to her, at least he could see her.
What was she even avoiding him for anyway?
She was the one who had hurt him, insisting that they forget the whole thing.
She had thrown him out like a wet dog while she remained in her bedroom with Gyrial.
This was why he had never seriously dated anyone.
This was why he kept to himself. It was too messy.
Kaid had told Halsten everything that had happened between himself and the princess, and Halsten only laughed.
He knew it, he had told Kaid. Though others may not have been able to pick up on the tension between them, Halsten could slice straight through it with a knife.
It had made Kaid feel the slightest bit relieved to know that he may not be completely imagining their spark.
Halsten would be at lunch today as well, so Kaid sent him on a mission.
Asta liked Halsten—for some odd reason—so Kaid asked that his chief courtier subtly hint around and uncover as much as possible.
Why was she avoiding him? Why had she kicked him out that night?
What had she and Gyrial done that night?
The last question lingered in Kaid’s mind.
Gyrial’s reaction to Kaid being in Asta’s suite was far more severe than a best friend protecting a best friend.
Had the two actually been involved and Kaid wasn’t aware?
He had been wondering that since he watched them kiss in the alley, but he hoped to the gods it wasn’t true.
Ruining one relationship with a kiss was a mess, but ruining two was disastrous.
He didn’t need more ingredients added to the pot of scandals he had brewing.
Kaid sucked in a deep breath, displaying the cool exterior he had mastered. His posture relaxed, a lazy smile graced his lips, and a slow saunter emerged all at once.
He and Halsten strode onto the terrace, loose and laughing, just as the two of them had always been. Kaid took up his seat on the iron chair across from Maren at the small bistro table while Halsten went to the fountain, taking a seat on the edge next to the brooding, blonde princess.
The lord of Haalberg looked over the water at the gloomy horizon. It had been looking like a storm was on the way for days now, but it remained at sea. Not the best day for lunch on the terrace, as it was breezy, but everyone had put on a thick cloak to endure the chill.
Maren watched where Kaid’s gaze wandered. “Sometimes the storms just remain at sea until they’ve run out of ambition.”
Kaid looked into her brown eyes. They seemed colder than usual, somewhat detached. “You speak of storms as though they have a mind of their own.”
She offered a sweet smile, then looked back out to the unruly waters.
“Doesn’t everything in nature? The storms, the forest, the sun, the moon, the sea.
” Kaid’s thoughts wandered to that day when he had felt the pull of the ocean, had heard it beckoning him to step into its trap.
Maren continued, “We would not believe in our gods and goddesses if it were not true.”
Not totally wrong, Kaid admitted to himself.
They had the normal gods and goddesses—Absolon, the ruler of the gods, Dagmar, the goddess of war, Knud, the god of love, and Gylla, the goddess of afterlife.
But their traditions believed in environmental rulers as well—Osmond, the god of day, Inga, the goddess of night, Huldrik, the god of the forest, and Euphemia, the goddess of the sea.
Kaid had known they were believed to rule over their realms, and he had often prayed to them, but he had never actually given them life in the context that Maren had.
“Who is your favorite?” Kaid asked. Though it didn’t seem terribly intimate, it was a far more personal question than they had been asking each other all these weeks.
For the first time since Kaid had met her nearly a month ago, Maren looked caught off guard. Her eyes were wide and her breathing slowed, as though she were holding the air within her lungs prisoner. She was so, so still, almost unnaturally so.
Had Kaid offended her somehow? He couldn’t think of a reason as to why the question would startle her so much. Surely, she knew that they needed to become closer at some point if they were to wed in a few days.
“There’s no pressure,” he added, “You can pick a random one if you don’t have one you favor.”
Maren’s eyes drifted to Svanhild, who was standing near the terrace entrance with Linnea should either princess need assistance. When the copper-haired princess’s gaze returned to Kaid, she leaned forward, as though her answer was a great secret.
“Euphemia,” she whispered. “The sea is where I belong.”
Kaid wished he could be as sure as she was.
He still hadn’t felt a sense of belonging, though the ocean had whispered to him.
But it was the spell, the hypnotic state the sea had put him in.
The calling of the creatures of the deep that Kaid was sure existed now. They had made a believer out of him.
The lord dared a glance over at Asta, who was speaking quietly to Halsten with a smile on her face. The charcoal-haired male was laughing, running his fingers through his locks. Something in Kaid’s stomach twisted at the sight of them together.
“Knud is the one I find most interesting, I suppose,” Kaid proclaimed loudly enough for everyone to hear, “For his ability to hide his true intentions until one figures them out themselves.”
He turned once more to look over at Asta and his eyes met hers, her green irises laced with venom. She lightly placed her hand on Halsten’s forearm and turned her torso to face him more, all while keeping her eyes on Kaid.
Fine, if she wanted to play another game, he could play.
Kaid spent the rest of the lunch laughing, caressing Maren’s fingertips, flashing his swoon-worthy smile.
He noticed Asta had put her book on the edge of the fountain and surrendered her full attention to Halsten, finding any excuse to touch him—a hand on his shoulder as she laughed, fingertips brushing his hair as she complimented it, a caress on the bottom hem of his vest as she inquired about where he purchased it. That one made Kaid’s blood boil.
He couldn’t fault Halsten for any of it. The man was a natural flirt and likely had no idea what he was doing. But Asta knew. Goddesses, did she know.
When the lunch was over, Kaid stood and took Maren’s hand, placing his lips to her gloved fingertips and let the kiss linger.
He knew it would have had more of an effect if Maren hadn’t been wearing gloves, but the princess had always covered herself in layers of fabric no matter the occasion or weather.
Likely something to do with her mystery ailment.
Maren left with Svanhild at her heels, the pair always running off together after every date.
Was he really that awful that Maren needed to hide away in her room after every encounter?
He supposed she would have said something to King Botmar if it was that bad, seeing as their wedding was in four days.
Kaid looked to Asta, who was once again staring at her book intently. He nodded to Halsten, who found an excuse to bring Linnea away from the terrace. The quiet lady-in-waiting made no effort to object, likely understanding that Kaid was asking for a moment alone.
As he strode over to the reading princess, he could see that the fair skin on her ears and cheeks was bright red, and a rash was spreading on her chest. The kiss to Maren’s hand must have made him the winner, her anguish displayed for all to see.
But it didn’t feel like a victory. No, it felt much the opposite.
“Jealous, are we?” Kaid crooned with his best attempt to lighten the mood.
Asta’s gaze whipped toward him as she clapped her book shut. Kaid could see her emotions battling on her face, trying to think of which approach she would like to take in this exchange.
Instead, she smacked him in the chest with her book. Hard.
Oof. The air whooshed from him, the blow far more impactful than Kaid had anticipated it would be.
He rubbed his chest. “I deserved that, I’m sure,” he said through a raspy breath, “but if you would just talk to me, at least I would know why I’m being beaten.”
“Are you daft?” she blurted. “You seriously don’t know why I’m this angry with you?”
“I’m sure I could make some guesses, but I don’t want to remind you of any extra reasons to resent me, in case they weren’t already on your list.”
A corner of her mouth feathered, but she quickly hid it. “You kiss me a week away from your wedding to my sister, and can’t figure out why I’m angry?”
“And you tell me to forget it right away, even though I know you felt something between us. Don’t you think I’m angry?” Kaid waved his arms. “Don’t you think it’s driven me mad, not being able to even find you and talk about it?”
The unspoken questions rang through him. Don’t you think I’m angry that I must marry the sister I do not love? Do you not see that I’m being torn apart from the inside, with no rightful solution?
Asta stared at him breathlessly for multiple agonizing heartbeats. She placed her book on the edge of the fountain and curled her hands into fists. Kaid could tell that she was resisting cracking her bones.
Maybe she was right. Maybe they should forget the entire thing. Maybe, just maybe, Knud had made a mistake. Had his cherub aim his arrow at the wrong sister, entrapping Kaid in eternal misery.
Asta bit her lip, deep in thought. He wished she hadn’t grazed her teeth on her supple lip, the same way she had the night they kissed. There was an ache in his chest at the sight.
Finally, she said, “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about someone else sneaking in and out of the castle. We need to find them. For my sister and father’s safety. It may have something to do with the missing villagers and increasing number of orphans, like the courtesan did.”
Kaid knew her change of subject meant that she was done talking about what had happened between them. That was her method, ignore it until it went away. He had known that for a while now, but it had never infuriated him until this moment.
If she wanted to forget, he would forget. But he couldn’t get her to say the words. To say she wanted to forget, not only that they should.
“What’s the next step?” he asked.
Asta planned for the two of them to meet on the terrace that night for a watch. With the wedding approaching quickly now, and the castle filled with so many extra bodies, she had a feeling that the figure would choose tonight, during the welcoming dinner, to slip in and out of the castle once more.
Kaid insisted that they would never be able to miss the dinner without being noticed, but Asta had an answer for that, too.
She had already planted the seed two days ago, telling everyone who would listen that she hadn’t been feeling herself and must have an impending ailment brewing.
Now all Kaid had to do was mention to a few people that he had the same symptoms as the princess and needed a night to rest before the big day.
They both could excuse themselves from the dinner and no one would think twice about it.
Clever. She was so gods damned clever.
Asta had told him once that she wanted to be more than a sit-still-look-pretty princess, and in this moment, he knew she would. She could do whatever she desired, and no one would be able to stop her. The heart collector, adding his own to the top of her list.