5. Henry #2
“Now you’ll have time for formal courting here in Lunameade, culminating in an engagement party,” Harrick says. “Then you’ll go back to Mountain Haven for the wedding. I understand that they have their own customs. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to attend with all our duties in the city.”
Harlow nods. She looks so calm, her assessing gaze passing over me, like she’s entirely unconcerned about marrying me.
I want to ruffle her. She tried to kill me, and I want to know why.
“Well, we will leave you all to get settled in,” Liza says, gesturing toward the door.
“I’d love to start getting to know my lovely fiancée now if she’d be willing to take a stroll around the garden,” I say, extending a hand toward Harlow.
The entire group freezes, but the request has the desired effect.
Harlow’s gaze darts to her parents before coming back to rest on me. “Now?”
I smile. “Why not? It’s a glorious day and I’m eager to get to know my bride.”
Her eyes narrow. Maybe I have a death wish, but I like that I’ve finally caught her off guard. This is a test to see if she’ll push back. I want to know how desperate her family is for this alliance.
She purses her lips. “I’d be happy to show you around.”
I hold out my elbow, which she reluctantly takes. “Lead the way, lovely.”
We walk out of the room, and a burly-looking man in dark clothes falls into step behind us, his boots clicking against the floor. I try to ignore him as Harlow leads me through the long hallway and out into bright sunlight.
The patio is lined with planters brimming with flowers. It has to be magic keeping them in bloom so late in the season.
Stones crunch beneath our feet as we walk down the short trail into the garden.
The whole ride to the city, the forest was barren, nature preparing for winter by shedding leaves and blooms and drawing energy inward, but here, safe inside the city walls, the Carrenwells are so well- resourced they can spend magic keeping their garden blooming like it’s spring.
Harlow leads me toward the tall, leafy walls of a hedge maze, and I stumble a step, wondering if she’s leading me into some kind of trap.
She waits until we clear the maze border to speak. “Are you enjoying your time in Lunameade? Have you taken in the sights? I must admit I’m relieved to see that you can walk on two legs.” Her tone is suddenly as pleasant as the sunshine. It’s more unnerving than her staring daggers at me earlier.
I want to demand answers, but I’ll play her game for now, because the longer I drag this out, the more agitated she’ll be.
“I passed through North Hold, but I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of sightseeing, not that I would have wanted to see the manor. It’s awfully grim-looking.”
She flinches. “My sister, Aidia, lives there. Did you see her?”
I shake my head. “We didn’t even visit the manor. Just passed through the gates. Why? Are you close?”
She pauses and narrows her eyes at me. “You’re awfully nosy.”
“So strange that I’m curious about the woman who tried to kill me?”
She pauses on the trail and turns toward me. “What happened—it’s not what it seems. And please keep your voice down.” She casts a meaningful glance at her guard, looming like a shadow behind us.
I lean closer, and she holds perfectly still. “Does he not know his charge is a merry murderess who sneaks out on her own at night to try to start a war between families?”
She glares at me as I run a lock of her hair between my fingers.
“He can’t be very good at his job if he doesn’t,” I continue. “How often do you do it? Is it weekly, or more of a nightly thing? Just wondering what kind of body count my beloved has stacked up.”
She swats my hand away. “It’s none of your business how often or why I do what I do.”
“It is if you’re coming to live amongst my people. They’ve already been through enough,” I snap.
The guard behind us clears his throat.
“You’re dismissed,” I say, waving a hand at him.
An amused smirk ghosts over his weathered face. “I’m here at Miss Carrenwell’s discretion. ”
I’m guessing he’s got to have a good twenty years on me.
He looks like he’s in his fifties, but I can tell he’s still fearsome.
He has the trained stillness of an experienced fighter, and I’m not about to test him this early on—not when he’s already so wary of me.
Part of training is learning to assess a threat, and despite his age, he wouldn’t be guarding a Carrenwell if he weren’t formidable.
Harlow turns to the guard. “You’re dismissed, Gaven. I’m more than capable of handling one brute.”
“One hour,” Gaven says.
The bodyguard’s tone is more fatherly than Harrick’s. He waits for Harlow to nod before he turns and disappears down the path toward the house.
“He seems fond of you,” I say.
“He’s paid, Henry. He’s fond of money.” She laughs.
Her pragmatism is unexpected.
“How did you do it?” she asks.
“Do what?” I ask.
“Hide your aura. I would have known—well, maybe not who you were, but what you were.”
I choke out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re upset that I hid my magic from you, after you tried to murder me? That alone would be enough to start a war, you know?”
“How did you do it?”
I consider not telling her, but I need her to play somewhat nice for now. My plan hasn’t changed; I just need a new strategy, because she’s not a wilting city flower—she’s a murderous snake.
I pull my ring out of my pocket and lift my hand. Holding her gaze, I slide it onto my finger, and she frowns.
“Your ring is?—”
“A shield.”
“It prevents magical attack?” she says.
“And magical eavesdroppers.”
“Bullshit.”
She’s smarter than I anticipated. The ring doesn’t shield anything but the visual aura of my magic. I assumed these city walls would have made her soft-hearted and -headed, but she’s sharp as a blade.
“I wanted protection, but I didn’t want to be spotted in the city until we formally met. Didn’t want to cause a fuss ahead of schedule.” I tug on the lapels of my jacket. “I like to make an entrance. I thought you’d understand, considering that dress you were wearing the night we met.”
She crosses her arms, shivering, and for the first time, I realize she’s only wearing a delicate silk dress. She didn’t stop to get a coat before we ducked outside. I pull off my coat, and she flinches as I reach to wrap it around her.
“Easy, Harlow. Just being a gentleman.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’ve heard that one before.”
“In your nightly exploits? Tell me—do you usually let them get so close to fucking you, or do you prefer to kiss quick and get it over with?”
She silently turns away and rounds another corner, leading me farther into the hedge maze.
I walk faster to catch up. “Why did you try to kill me?”
She frowns. “I didn’t.”
“But you did. You pressed your poison lips to mine and you tried to kill me.”
“No, I didn’t try to kill you .”
I laugh. “Could have fooled me.”
She throws her hands up. “You don’t understand. I didn’t know who you were?—”
“So you kill indiscriminately?” I ask.
“On the contrary. I kill selectively, and I was led to believe that you were a problem that needed solving. I didn’t know you were my fiancé.”
Her indifference disgusts me. I know I’m supposed to get her to like me and open up, but I can’t mask how much I loathe her. She’s grown up behind tall walls, and she knows nothing of the world yet thinks she has a right to execute men as she pleases.
“Is this a regular thing for you? Just a normal night out with a side of murder?”
She scoffs. “Why did you take me to your room? Trying for a taste before we make it official? You could have just told me who you were and it would have saved us both trouble.”
Her tone is so haughty, it takes me a moment to realize she thinks I knew who she was.
“I didn’t know who you were either,” I say. “In fact, every person I asked about the youngest Carrenwell had no idea what you even looked like.”
She hums low. “So, you think I should believe you, but you shouldn’t believe me.”
I don’t know what to think. I don’t like that I’m already on my heels. I’d assumed she’d be a delicate flower, but she’s more like a climbing vine waiting for the chance to choke me.
She cocks her head. “Why didn’t you tell your parents?”
“This alliance is important for my people. I wanted to at least speak to you before I decided how to handle the incident.”
She stares at me for a long moment before turning and continuing down the trail.
I follow her around the corner into a tall, ivy-bracketed pathway.
“Why did you look so relieved when they told you I was a healer?” I ask.
She glances up at me and flutters her lashes. “Who doesn’t want a nurturing husband?”
It’s almost enough to make me forget she’s a murderous little viper.
I try again. “I think you owe me a little honesty.”
She scoffs. “I owe you nothing. Just because my family traded me away doesn’t mean I owe you my mind.
You’re standing here looking none the worse for it.
You got to feel up a pretty girl and now you’re crying about it.
Maybe I should be asking the more compelling question…
” She smiles viciously. “Why didn’t you die?
I poured poison into you and you drank it down like fine wine. ”
“I told you. It was the ring,” I say.
She purses her lips, her gaze raking over my face, looking for a lie. She doesn’t look at all convinced. This is trouble.
Her eyes dart past me just long enough that I pick up wariness in them.
I glance over my shoulder. There’s an offshoot of the maze that I almost missed. The whole walkway is bracketed by climbing white roses.
“What’s down there?” I ask.
“Nothing for you to see.” Her tone is suddenly cold.
“It looks beautiful.” When I turn back to her, there’s a murderous glint in her eyes.
“It’s not for you. ”
That makes me certain it most definitely is, but I’ll have to wander the gardens another time when she’s not looking at me like she’s planning my death again.