Chapter 16
Sixteen
ALLETTE
TWO MONTHS AGO
“This wine is terrible,” I say for what feels like the hundredth time. It’s important for Braith to understand just how terrible it is so that she knows how good of a friend I am for drinking it with her.
I bring the mug to my lips and take another awful sip.
“It’s dreadful,” she agrees, gulping from her own mug. “But it’s not my fault. Iver gave it to me as a birthday gift.”
“Ohhh, Iver . Who is he and why is this the first time I’m hearing his name?” Is he a former lover? A childhood crush?
“Gross. He’s my older brother.”
Not exactly the scandalous story I was hoping for. “I didn’t realize you had a brother.”
“I have three, actually. Iver and the twins. And two sisters as well, Regina and Lettie. When they found out the castle hired me, Lettie bought me a paint set, and Iver gave me the wine. He’s as cheap as they come, though. He probably found the bottle in an alley.”
When I peer into the deep purple liquid, my distorted reflection stares right back. “Tell me we’re not drinking alley wine.”
Braith tilts her mug from side to side, her brow furrowed as she considers. “We might be drinking alley wine.”
Oh, well. At least it gets the job done. I raise my mug and so does she.
“To new friendships,” I say.
“And terrible wine,” she adds.
We clink our mugs together and then take another drink.
How does it keep getting worse? Oh, well. It’s not as if we have anything else to drink.
Braith’s nose wrinkles as she sniffs the wine. Lord Windell used to do the same thing at dinner. Made him look like a pretentious prig.
“I’m detecting notes of…” She inhales again. “Mold and rat.”
“As do I.” Channeling my inner Windell, I sip, swish, and swallow. “And there’s a bold, crunchy texture. Could it be shards of broken glass?”
“Absolutely. Everyone knows the best alley wine contains plenty of glass.”
“So much glass.”
We sip between giggles and sip and sip until our mugs are as dry as the wine bottle.
When I’ve drank the last drop, heaviness settles in my chest, and my eyes start to burn. “Mine’s empty.” How tragic.
“Mine too,” she says with a frown.
“Now I’m sad.” I don’t want the night to be over.
“So am I.”
“Although, now that it’s all gone, we don’t have to drink it anymore.”
“Good point,” Braith agrees. “I’ve never tasted anything quite as revolting.”
Another giggle bubbles up inside me. How did I get so lucky to find a friend as wonderful as Braith? When I lean down to set my mug next to the bottle, the room starts to spin.
Drinking so much on an empty stomach probably wasn’t the best choice. Not that there’s anything I can do about it now. When was the last time I had this much to drink? Stars, I can’t even remember. Whose idea was it to open the alley wine, anyway?
With a gasp, Braith grabs either side of my face and pulls my cheeks back as far as they’ll go. “Wynn! Your teeth are purple!”
They are? Wait! “ Your teeth are purple too!”
We erupt into a fit of giggles, gasping and falling back on Braith’s small bed. Between spending time with Senan and Braith, this might be one of my most favorite days ever.
I blink up at the ceiling, my heart full to bursting. The mural she painted reminds me of the garden where my prince and I spent the afternoon rediscovering each other. The memory of that picnic is one I’ll always cherish.
Braith’s finger digs into my arm. “You have that whimsical look on your face. Does that mean you’re daydreaming about a certain prince?”
“Perhaps.” How can I not? “He’s so perfect.” When I think of Senan, my heart feels as if it’s ready to burst.
Braith snorts. “No man is perfect. Except maybe Jeston.”
Please. I can list at least ten of Jeston’s flaws here and now. “Jeston is an ass.” He and I might have come to an understanding, but that doesn’t mean I like him.
“You don’t know him like I know him.”
Thank the stars for that.
“I’m telling you here and now, Jeston Warnick is the most handsome man I’ve ever met,” she goes on.
I don’t see it. Is he handsome? Objectively, maybe. If you’re into men with gray skin and terrible manners, that is. But the most handsome? Not by a longshot. “I’m sorry, but how can you say that when you’ve met the Senan Vale?” I still cannot believe what transpired only a few hours ago. It feels as if I’m floating on a cloud of happiness.
Then again, that could be the alley wine.
Braith’s nose wrinkles. “Senan spends too much time in the sun.”
“He does not! You take that back.”
“Never. And his black hair is boring.”
“It is not! It’s regal and beautiful and so thick.” If I close my eyes, I can still feel my fingers running through the inky strands.
“I prefer my males with silver hair.”
“Good. Because I don’t intend to share Senan.”
She chuckles. “Except with his wife.”
The smile doesn’t just slip from my face. It shatters.
How easy it is to forget reality when drowning in alley wine. “He’s not married yet,” I say, my throat tight as a fist. And if I have my way, he never will be.
Braith takes my hand in hers. “Of course, he isn’t. I’m sorry. I meant it as a joke.”
“I know.”
But that doesn’t change the fact that one day, Senan Vale will no longer be mine.