Chapter 41 Harkin
Chapter forty-one
Harkin
The room was opulent, brocade curtains glimmering in the soft candlelight of crystal chandeliers. Plush, velvety carpet in vibrant greens and golds softened my footsteps and cradled ornately carved wood furniture. I ran my fingers over the bedpost appraisingly.
The bathing chamber attached to my room was Goddess sent, and I took full advantage, washing away the grime and blood which stained my skin. The water was hot and the foaming soap was a stinging, soothing balm to my ailments.
Fresh clothing lay folded atop a bureau, and I donned them gratefully.
I ran a finger over my blades, gleaming with fresh oil under the soft light.
They had been cleaned and shined to perfection, not a trace of the battle to be found.
The dagger was heavy in my hand. The engraved initials across the hilt dug into my flesh and imprinted LA into the skin, reminding me always of my father—Lenox Aranti.
“Will you be proud of me, Father? When this is over?” I sucked in a heavy breath, fought against the tension in my throat. “Have I… Have I…”
I couldn’t even finish the thought. I hadn’t done enough to make up for the pain I had dealt, not yet. Mom and Adina were safe, but only just–only after I had risked them, yet again.
The bed called to me, warm and inviting with thick duvets and a half dozen pillows. A curtain hung around the four poster in a midnight blue so like the night sky. I settled myself between cool sheets and slid my blade beneath one of the many pillows, just in reach.
I tossed and turned, falling into an uneasy sleep that was all too brief.
My mind came back, time and again, to Seren, just across the hall.
I worried for her, though she had told me not to.
Her arms had been severely burned, and she had been otherwise injured.
We had learned the truth of her parentage—she was Tarquin’s true heir.
I wanted to accompany her to the royal healer, but she waved me away. I wanted to hold her and help her understand that she was still the same person as she had been before. Her last name did not have to determine her path.
When I could no longer bear it, I hauled myself from the bed and fastened my boots.
The sun was still hours from rising, but sleep eluded me.
I eased the heavy door open and padded across the hall.
I settled myself against Seren’s door, stretching my legs out in front of me as I made myself as comfortable as I was able on the polished floor.
If I could not rest, I would at least ensure that she could.
The ground was cold and hard, but I must have fallen asleep regardless, for I woke as I fell—tumbling backwards into the opening doorway. My hands splayed, catching the edges of the door frame before my head could crack on the floor, a noise of surprise escaping my parted lips.
“Harkin?” Seren blinked down at me, questioningly.
“Good morning.” I righted myself and pushed up to my feet then grimaced as my body made its complaints. My limbs were sore and stiff. I stretched, groaning as my bones popped and my muscles unwound. I rubbed the feeling back into my legs.
Seren shot me a peculiar smile. “Were you sleeping in front of my door?”
“It appears that I was.” I ran a hand through my tousled waves.
“Did you not have a perfectly comfortable room, just there?” Seren asked, gesturing toward my chambers.
I nodded, eyes downcast. “I did, but I couldn’t sleep knowing you were unguarded in a palace full of enemies.”
Her gaze softened, and she took a half step toward me. “I was perfectly safe, but thank you.” She caught my jaw in her palm, tilted my head up so I looked into her eyes. She said the words again, “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. How are you feeling?” I noted the bandages across her forearms, and was grateful to see the cuts and bruises on her face were already gone.
“Much better. The healer imbued a salve with life mágik. I don’t really understand how it all worked, if I am honest, but it feels alright.
” Seren allowed a hesitant smile. She was still getting used to life as a Rázuri.
Where we had only waded into the shallows before, being at the palace was like diving into the oceans depths.
“Do you need help changing your bandages?” I asked, voice soft and unsure.
“Yes, actually, I was just returning to the healer now.” She held up a bundle of fresh bandages and healing salve. “It was a bit difficult to manage on my own.”
“I can do it,” I offered without hesitation.
“You don’t have to.” Seren flushed a lovely shade of pink.
“I want to, Ren. I slept in the hallway propped up against your bedchamber door to make sure you were taken care of. Let me do this for you,” I insisted, pulling the bandages and salve gently from her grasp.
“Alright,” Seren agreed, stepping aside so I could enter the room.
I closed the door behind me as I passed over the threshold.
Seren settled herself at the end of the bed. It was unmade, sheets and blankets twisted from her body moving against them in the night.
I tried not to think about her in this bed, for the trail of thought was far too intriguing and far too reminiscent of our kiss in the pub.
I tried not to think about our lips pressed together, bodies flushed from wanting.
Her hands in my hair. My fingers digging into her hips.
I tried not to think about how badly I wanted to kiss her again, or how much I wanted to do far more.
I failed, miserably.
Seren waited patiently while I collected myself, eyes dark and breaths coming just a beat too fast. I licked my lips, suddenly dry, and watched her eyes dart to my mouth. I stepped closer, lifting my hands as if to touch her face.
The medical supplies in my grip brought me back to reality and the task I was supposed to complete.
I was here to rebandage her wounds. I was not meant to push her back into the plush mattress, no matter how badly I wanted to.
My head shook, and I got to work, unraveling the old bandages slowly so as not to pain the delicate flesh beneath.
Seren winced, her free hand moving to grasp the waistband of my trousers.
I muttered out a curse at the feel of her fingers on my bare skin, then an apology. “I’m sorry. It will be over soon.”
“I’m okay,” she assured me. “It’s really not so bad.”
I nodded as I continued to work. I discarded the soiled bandages, pleased that the skin beneath was soft pink and no longer blistered.
I twisted the lid from the glass jar, scooping salve onto my fingers.
I rubbed the concoction between my hands, warming it so it would smooth over Seren’s skin with ease.
She reached both arms out between us, and I rubbed the salve over her skin with a feather light touch. Seren’s eyes drifted closed, but she did not appear to be in pain. Her lower lip caught between her teeth then released.
My eyes zeroed in on the movement.
When I was satisfied, I wrapped fresh bandages around her wounds and tied them off neatly. My voice was gruff, more gravely than it should have been. “There. Good as new.”
Seren looked up at me from below her lashes. With her wounds taken care of, it was even more difficult to ignore the way I towered over her. Her hands gripped the sheets beneath her, fingers twisting then releasing.
A strand of her dark, silky hair slipped from her braids. I caught it in my hand, letting it slide across the sensitive skin of my fingertips before tucking it behind her ear. My hand lingered, cradling her jaw and stroking the soft skin of her neck.
I wondered if I should kiss her again. I may have blamed our first on being a necessary distraction to avoid being captured by the guards, but if I was honest with myself, I knew there were a dozen distractions I could have employed.
I kissed Seren then because I wanted to. I still did.
Seren’s lips parted as I leaned forward, hand braced on the end of the bed. Her chin tilted up. Her pupils were blown wide, and her eyes fluttered shut. Our noses brushed, and my eyelids drifted low. Her breath was a ghost across my cheek.
A knock sounded at the door, and both of us jolted.
I pulled away, albeit reluctantly. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the bed frame too tightly. My breaths were shallow, and I kept my eyes down as Seren moved toward the door.
Princess Ayla waited on the other side in a pale pink gown. There was no crown upon her gleaming hair, as I expected there would be.
“Good morning,” Ayla said with a curt nod. Her face held that unconvincing indifference upon it once more.
As someone who had become very practiced at reading emotions, I knew that Ayla felt everything just a little too much. I felt a pang of sympathy for the woman, for what she had lost and for knowing she must reject those feelings if she wished to maintain her position of power.
“Seren, would you please accompany me to the dungeons? I would like to speak with my father to try to get a better understanding of what happened last night—what has been happening all of my life.” Ayla chuckled wryly then glanced at Seren, imploringly.
“I fear I am not strong enough to do this alone, and I don’t… I don’t have anyone else.”
“Of course, yes. I meant it when I said I wanted to know you, Cousin,” Seren assured her, holding her gaze until it dropped and then glancing back at me. “Will you come with us?”
“I will be by your side for as long as you want me,” I said, half concerned at how easily the truth slipped from my traitorous lips and half hopeful that she may decide to keep me by her side forever.