Chapter 3
Asta stalked down the halls of the castle, her feet aching from a long night of dancing.
She passed by rooms booming with laughter, by couples tucked away in shadowed corners, by mumbling noblemen making business deals.
When she was finally safe in the west wing, she sighed in relief as she passed Tova, the female guard at the end of the hall.
No one was allowed in this part of the castle except those whose suites were here, which was, to her great relief, currently only her.
The doors to her suite were slightly ajar, and she could see Linnea bustling about, preparing the rooms for her return. Asta tapped the doorframe twice, then entered her suite. Dyri, her large goofball of a dog, greeted her right away. He nudged her hand for pats, and Asta obliged.
“You’re back earlier than I expected. Let me go prepare your bath.” Linnea departed for the washroom in a hurry.
Asta lazily waved a hand while she pulled off her slippers and released her hair from its combs. “No rush, I’m not tired anyhow. Can you make the water a little colder than usual?”
Linnea displayed a confused expression, but said, “As you wish. Give me a moment.”
Asta was aware it was the end of summer and she shouldn’t call for a chilled bath, but she needed it tonight. Lord Kaidian had her so worked up that she needed more than a mental cooldown. He was worse than she expected. Sweet Absolon above, she could throttle him.
Asta had disliked people before, but never loathed someone as quickly as she had Kaidian. He’d caused her to break down every filter and wall she had strategically built all her life.
The wind whistled outside and Asta watched the evergreen trees bend to its will.
She let out a sigh, pressing her palm to the cool glass.
It had been a very, very long day, and she was drained.
Movement in the waves caught her eye, and she could have sworn she spotted a woman wrapped in a blanket step into the water.
She rubbed her eyes and saw that the water was clear.
The exhaustion was really wearing on her.
Asta heard voices coming from the hall, which peaked her interest, since her suite was the only one occupied in this wing. She dipped her head into the hall, expecting to find conversing guards, but she was gravely disappointed at who she observed sauntering down the passage.
“Didn’t anyone tell you the stables are off the north wing? That’s where the animals sleep,” Asta mused.
Kaidian jolted, clearly shocked from her sudden appearance. He and his chief courtier must have been drinking heavily since she had left the party, based on the way they were leaning on each other.
Dyri slipped by Asta’s legs in a flash of copper, black, and white, running to greet the men. The dog’s massive body slammed into Kaidian in excitement, and Asta scowled over the fact that Dyri seemed to like him.
Traitor.
Halsten pointed at Asta, a brown dress shoe in his grip. “You’re funny, Princess. I like you. Say something mean about him again.”
Asta glanced over the swaying men, noticing that it was Kaidian’s shoe that Halsten was holding. Kaidian caught her glance and wiggled his toes, wriggling his eyebrows in tandem, and Halsten let out a loud hiccup. If she didn’t despise the men so much, she would find the sight quite humorous.
“Why are you in this wing?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. She could hear Linnea behind her, shuffling around and keeping herself busy in the common room.
Kaidian splayed his arms out, gesturing to the hall around them. “Haven’t you heard, blondie? This is where we live now.”
Who would put them in her wing? Her father knew that she liked her privacy, and seemingly everyone knew how she felt about Lord Kaidian and his friend.
“Fantastic,” Asta’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but the intoxicated men likely didn’t notice. She cracked a few of her knuckles until it felt right to stop. “Safe travels from here to your door. Or not. I honestly couldn’t care either way, Kaidian.”
Asta heard Halsten burst into laughter as she started closing her door, but then she heard a faint voice through the wails of amusement.
“Kaid.”
She looked up and her eyes locked on Kaidian’s. For the first time, she noticed the unique turquoise color of his irises, like the sea on the brightest of days—which were sparse in this part of the world.
Kaidian gave her a half smile, which made her stomach somersault in an unfamiliar way. “I don’t like being called Kaidian. My friends call me Kaid.”
“We’re not friends,” Asta snapped.
Kaid grinned. “Yet.” He gave her a mock salute. “See you around, neighbor.”
Asta enjoyed watching the tides fluctuate and had each tidal pattern memorized.
She had been watching the waves since she was born, playing in them during the warm summer months.
She and Maren used to spend hours splashing each other and playing sirens, seeing who could best mimic the finned sea creatures’ swimming.
“Have you noticed the change in the tides today?” Asta shouted from the washroom to Linnea, who was preparing her bed.
“Hmm?” Linnea grunted in response, clearly distracted.
Asta stalked from the washroom in her nightgown, tapping the door frame as she exited and sat at her vanity. “The tides. They came up farther than I’ve ever seen. Nearly covered the terrace steps during the party. Peculiar, is it not?”
“Mmm,” Linnea responded.
Asta was ready to sass the woman for not paying attention, but then Linnea came up behind Asta in the mirror, the lady-in-waiting’s gray eyes surrounded by rings of purple.
The sight made Asta crack her knuckles again, this time having to do both hands until she could stop.
She hated seeing Linnea look so exhausted, so frail.
But she had looked that way since she arrived in Orntali years ago, after enduring abuse from her mother, Asta’s aunt.
She wanted to wring that woman’s neck and dump her body deep in the forest for the beasts to consume.
Asta noticed Linnea rubbing the white bracelet of a scar on her wrist. “Have you eaten today?” Is it bad today? That’s what that question meant between the two of them.
Linnea nodded. “Two meals. I’m just tired.”
“Stay with me?”
Linnea nodded again, the corners of her eyes glistening with moisture.
Asta loved having her closest cousin as her lady-in-waiting.
Her father had brought Linnea to Orntali a few years ago when he discovered how his late wife’s sister had been treating her only child.
The sole reason Asta hadn’t marched straight to her aunt’s manor to murder the woman was because Linnea begged her to let it go.
Asta’s only vengeful satisfaction was her father cutting off the royal funds to her aunt, leaving the woman completely broke.
No one had spoken to her in years, and no one planned to ever again.
“Go lay down, I’ll be there when I’m done.” Asta waved her hand toward her massive bed, the deep purple comforter calling to her as drowsiness took over.
Asta picked up her mother’s comb and began dragging it through her hair.
One, two, three…
She counted each stroke, the tension in her shoulders relaxing more and more with each pass.
“What do you need for tomorrow night?” Linnea asked, her head gently nestling into the plush pillows beneath her. She yawned loudly and her eyes closed. Dyri jumped up onto the bed and settled close to Linnea’s petite figure. The big oaf took up half the bed.
Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…
Asta paused her counting. “I haven’t been able to bring bread in a while. Think we could get our hands on some by sundown?”
The counting continued.
Linnea’s voice was soft, and Asta rotated on her vanity stool to see that her cousin was almost asleep. “Of course. I’ll go and see Mikkel in the kitchens tomorrow. Just the normal supplies other than that?”
Before Asta could answer, Linnea’s breathing changed and Asta knew she had fallen asleep.
Asta finished combing her hair.
Twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Done.