Chapter 4 – Neve
Chapter 4
NEVE
A s we approached the palace, Prince Vale leaned forward, pressing his chest into my back. Tingles erupted along my arms, but as I wore Saga’s borrowed cloak, he didn’t notice.
Thank the stars he didn’t. It was confusing being married to someone I was attracted to but possessed no true claim to. Better to keep my reactions to myself.
“Pull that hood down as far as it will go to cover your face,” he said, his deep voice barely above a whisper. “Face down too.”
I pulled the large hood over my brow to obscure my face. Frost had formed on the white fur, but it melted as it touched my forehead and cheeks. I wiped the moisture away and made sure each strand of my hair remained tucked inside the hood.
Upon leaving the Tower of the Living and the Dead, we’d discussed how we’d enter the palace. The prince, thanks to a youth spent with the mischievous Sir Caelo, knew of at least two weaknesses in the castle’s defenses. Weaknesses the pair had used to sneak out at night and indulge at seedy taverns. One had to be strong and stealthy to access them, which we both were, but in the end, we decided on another route.
We would not sneak onto Frostveil’s grounds. No, we’d simply ride right in.
Guards had seen Prince Vale leaving the castle, so there was no point in him hiding who he was, and I would pose as a high-end whore. Apparently, it wasn’t unheard of for the fae of the night to visit the castle. And though my new husband claimed he’d never brought one home, we supposed that there was a first time for everything. Even when others believed I was waiting in his bed, little more than a strumpet moving between the Warden of the West and the Prince of Winter’s Realm like the shifting tides in the harbor.
Not that I cared what others thought. What mattered was that with the prince escorting me, the guards wouldn’t question our entry. The Warrior Bear was trusted, and it was unlikely that word of the evening’s events had already reached the ears of the gate guards. And certainly not those who mattered most in the palace. We hoped that we had a few hours before the king heard of our marriage.
“Lo!” one of two guards at the gate yelled as we approached the portcullis. Not only could he not see my face, but a thick blanket of snow spun around us now. Since I’d killed the vampire prince, it had only fallen thicker and faster. The winds off the Shivering Sea had only grown more biting too .
“Who’s that?” the guard called out.
“Prince Vale and a friend,” the prince replied, voice booming.
The guards didn’t reply, not until we stood close enough to smell the tea they kept on hand to warm their bones and keep them awake through the night watch. I imagined them peering through the snow, wishing they were inside. Even the heartiest fae of winter could catch a chill in gales such as these.
“Ah, so it is you, my prince.” The guard who had spoken raised his brows and exchanged an impressed look with the other. No doubt they would while away the hours until the sun rose, gossiping about the lucky prince, feasting on two females in one night. “Let me lift the gate.”
The gate rose and ice cracked off and fell to the ground. Once we passed through, the prince behind me urged the horse forward. “Try to stay warm tonight.”
“We’re doing our best. Have fun tonight, my prince.” There was a definite suggestion to his tone, and the other guard sniggered.
Prince Vale said nothing as we rode to the stables and stopped. “Stay on Carpus’s back. Head down.”
He dismounted, then disappeared inside.
I leaned closer to the horse and patted his neck. The creature was the largest I’d ever ridden, and from what I could tell, perfectly trained. The way Vale said the horse’s name hinted that it might be his personal steed.
“Carpus, huh?” I whispered, my hand running down his velvet mane. “I’m Neve. Thanks for the lift. ”
Vale reappeared suddenly, making me jump and straighten. His eyebrow arched in amusement. “Having a nice chat?”
“Making sure he knows his service is appreciated.”
“It always is. This destrier has gotten me out of more scraps than I can count.” Vale held out a hand to help me dismount. “No one is there.”
“Not a surprise, really. It has to be the hour of the aura owl,” I muttered, suddenly aware of the exhaustion seeping into my bones. I hadn’t allowed myself to feel it earlier, but now it roared forth, unwilling to be dismissed for a moment longer.
A brief reprieve from the frigid wind was all too short as we stabled the prince’s enormous horse.
“Stay close.” Prince Vale took me by the hand.
He led me into the frigid night air once again. My hood was still up, my face to the ground, so I trusted him as we raced closer to the castle. When we stopped, I peeked.
“No door?” Our discussion had been about getting onto the palace grounds, not inside. I’d assumed we’d use a servants’ entrance or the like to avoid running into the king, queen, or Prince Rhistel, my new family members.
The queen I was undecided on, but the heir and the king . . . Burning moon, one couldn’t ask for worse family members. Thank the stars for Saga.
“We’re going in the way you came out.” The prince wrapped his powerful arms around me. Again, those chills enveloped me, but I hid the pleasure from my face. “I’ll fly us up. ”
“Are you su— aaahh !” The wind stole my words as we launched into the air.
“Quiet,” he murmured as his sheer black wings beat, taking us higher and higher.
I marveled at his strength, his control. I could fly and had needed to do so to sneak out of the palace, but it hadn’t been seamless. Far from it.
He lifted us upward, never straying from the shadow of the palace, and when we reached his suite, hovering before his floor-to-ceiling windows, he shifted my weight into one arm, as if my strong, curvy body weighed practically nothing. With his other hand, Prince Vale pushed open the window I’d left unlatched when I escaped, and we soared inside.
Gently, he set me down, lifted my hood, and allowed it to fall down my back. “We made it without incident.”
“Thank goodness.” I began unclasping the fur cloak.
I’d assumed that once he deposited me inside, he’d go back and enter the way he’d left—through the door. Instead, the prince turned and shut the large window behind him.
“Won’t your guard wonder where you are?” I asked. “You left out the door so I could pretend to bathe, remember?”
He shrugged. “There’s no reason to put on a show for my guard. Tomorrow, my father will hear what happened . . .” he trailed off, his tone brittle. “I only wanted to get us inside so that we might sleep peacefully for one night.”
Right. Sleep.
My eyes wandered to the bed, to the messy sheets, where hours ago the prince and I had kissed. I could still see places where I’d gripped the sheets.
At the memory of our passionate kiss, my breath shortened. It had been nothing like the one we’d shared at our wedding. No, when I’d leapt at Prince Vale, it had been under the assumption that after this night, I’d never see him again. That one kiss couldn’t hurt.
One kiss that felt like fire burning in my veins. At the memory, my neck warmed.
He seemed to sense my unease because the prince took a step away. “Speaking of bathing. Did you get all the vampire blood off you?”
I shuddered. Saga, Anna, and Clemencia had done their best to clean me up for the wedding, but the sensation of vampire blood on my skin clung to me.
“A bath would be welcome.”
He ventured out of his bedchambers, down the short entry hall that exited into the wider castle and disappeared into his private bath. A squeaking of knobs met my ears. A few plops of something being tossed into the tub, and moments later, Prince Vale appeared. He had taken off his sword belt while he was back there and undoubtedly thrown it in that miniature armory he kept so close.
“I put the plug in, adjusted the temperature, and tossed in oil balls. They’re meant to relax you and it’s still hot. The water elementals are working overtime with so many nobles staying at the castle. They’ve had to heat ungodly amounts of water daily.”
“Thank you, my prince.”
He cleared his throat. “About my title. Between us, that should only be used in the most formal situations. Most of the time, you can call me Vale. We are married, after all.”
I swallowed. Roar had made a similar request and that had gone over so well .
But the prince had a point, just like Roar. It would look odd for me to be so formal with my husband all the time.
“I can do that,” I said finally.
He nodded, pleased, and then walked to the bed and sat on it. The creaking of the wood beneath the mattress was too much for me. Brought back too many visions. I had to be out with it.
“What about the bed?” I blurted.
“What about it?” The corners of Vale’s lips twitched as he patted the mattress in a way that told me he knew exactly what he was doing.
My hands landed on my hips. “ Hilarious. Do you relish seeing me squirm?”
“Only when I believe you’re thinking of us.” Vale licked his lips. “In my bed.”
Stars alive!
“Well, I wasn’t,” I lied. “I plan to sleep on the settee.” I gestured to the furniture in front of his hearth as if a wild gesticulation could hide the discomfort in my tone.
“And what would we say tomorrow if my father, or anyone, for that matter, bursts in to find my new wife asleep on the settee?” Vale shook his head. “Oh, no, we’ll be sharing my bed tonight, Neve. We’ll be sharing it every night that you’re here. ”
At my name, his voice took on a growlier tone. I didn’t even think he realized he was doing it, but my body responded, sending a shot of heat through me.
“We’re not having sex tonight,” I said, then realized that while the fae were not known to be prudish, Vale was royal. This might be the kind of court where the bedsheets were checked to see that a royal marriage was consummated. “No one will know, right?”
Vale let out a full belly laugh, the first in hours, and it loosened his entire stance. Mine too, somehow. I exhaled, a tiny amount of tension seeping from my shoulders.
“Do you mean are they going to come looking for virgin blood?” He snorted. “If they did, they wouldn’t find it for half of the newlyweds in this kingdom. Plus, everyone thinks you were with Warden Roar and that I was bedding you after the feast, anyway. They won’t question it.”
In all my concern over the hours to come, I’d forgotten about our little cover story. Maybe I should have been concerned about my reputation, but at Vale’s words, only relief flooded me. Let the court think what they would about my appetite in the bedchambers.
“However.” He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Before you bathe, I have one question for you.”
I cocked my head.
“About the whispers when we touched the tree . . . did you hear it bless our union?”
My spine straightened. “I did.”
“It was odd enough to hear something, let alone that.” He let out a low hum.
“Why? They don’t speak to people?”
“I’ve touched Drassil trees, even that one, many times. It’s part of our royal duties, but that has never happened.”
My lips parted. “Not to you? Or anyone?”
“If it’s happened to anyone in my family, they’ve never mentioned it.” He paused. “But you’ve heard something before today. Haven’t you?”
My throat tightened, and I was tempted to lie. But why? Vale and I were in this together, our situation was even more perilous than the one Roar and I had devised. I needed to be open with him.
“I have. In a little city called Traliska, Roar blessed the tree. I wanted to touch it too, almost felt called to do so. I heard whispers almost the moment my palm grazed the bark. Do you know what that means?”
Perhaps it had something to do with my magic? I didn’t know what sort of power ran through my veins and would not still for days to come.
“I don’t. Were they distinct? Like when we heard the tree say the Faetia blessed our union?”
Him saying the words made my heart race. And not from attraction.
“Not distinct,” I admitted. “The ones that spoke to us in the Heart Drassil sounded serious.”
“They did.” He exhaled. “I suppose that’ll be another thing to research at the House of Wisdom.”
“And where is that?”
“Close to the castle. Have you heard much about it?”
“No.”
“I think you’ll like it. It’s a place where the best scholars in the kingdom live and learn,” Vale replied, surprising me with how he could deduce such a thing about me after so little time together. “I have a close friend who studies there. He can help us.”
“Is he part of your cabal ?” I teased.
Vale gave a playful smirk. “He is. In time, you’ll meet them all.”
The faint tinkling of a bell came from the bathroom.
“But for now, you’d better get in the tub before it overflows,” Vale added. “It’s close.”
I pulled my borrowed cloak tight around my body. Before the ceremony, the princess had gathered up the pants and tunic I’d been wearing during my failed escape. Seeing as the clothing wasn’t mine, I didn’t care that she’d brought them back with her. But I had made sure to grab the vials of blood out of my trouser pocket before they left my sight. They were now tucked in the cloak, safe and sound. Where would I keep them? Vale didn’t know about them, and I had no intention of telling him. Of telling anyone.
“Would you mind giving me a place to store my dress?” When another issue presented itself, I added, “and supplying a sleep shirt? Or something?”
“The top drawer is yours.” Vale patted his dresser, a wide wooden thing that was large enough to hold all the clothing I’d ever owned. “And while you bathe, I’ll send a servant to find your sleeping gowns and a few dresses to choose from for tomorrow. Servants can deliver the rest of your things later.”
“Thank you, Vale.” I paused, marveling at how well he thought things through. He had a militant mind. One trained to expect any and all sorts of issues or attacks. “For everything.”
My gratitude seemed so insufficient for what he’d done—defied his father’s orders. Married a commoner and one who had killed a vampire royal, at that.
“You’re welcome. We’re in this together now, Neve.”
I nodded and when he said nothing more, I went to soak in his copper tub. To cleanse the horrors of the night from my body. To try to relax.
Because tomorrow would bring another day, and with it, the wrath of the King of Winter.