Chapter 38
Thirty-Eight
ALLETTE
The flight back to the castle is mostly silent. I hate that I must rely on someone else to bring me home instead of being able to fly on my own. It’s like when I was a child before my wings grew and my parents had to carry me everywhere. Bilson lands outside the gates, his boots crunching on the gravel. The men standing guard spring to life, grabbing keys, unlocking the door, and standing at attention as the guard escorts me through.
Once we’re out of earshot, I give the man a hopeful smile. “Thank you, Bilson.” He may have only been acting under Senan’s orders, but I appreciate it all the same.
The man inclines his head and leaves me to return to the caverns beneath the mountain. If I’d thought ahead, I would’ve brought my uniform to change into before anyone else saw me in this gown, but since I didn’t, I keep my head down as I hurry through the twisting hallways past the great room.
My friends are huddled at two of the many sofas spread around the cavern, colorful playing cards covering the low table between them. Braith sees me, and her eyes widen before she nods her chin toward the hallway leading to our rooms. Thankfully, everyone else seems too engrossed in the game to notice me slip through.
A moment later, Braith meets me in the hallway beneath one of the flickering fae lights. She grabs my hand and tugs me forward. Until this moment, I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to speaking with her about all that has transpired. Otherwise, I’d probably be up all night tossing and turning.
“Everyone is talking about your affair with the prince,” she whispers, a smirk playing on her lips.
I despise that word: affair . Like what my prince and I share isn’t beautiful but dirty and sinful. “Senan and I are not having an affair.” If anything, the princess is the one having the affair. Yes, the two of them have been betrothed for years, but he is my mate.
From her hum, it’s clear she doesn’t believe me. No matter. The truth is the truth, whether one believes it or not. We hurry down the hall, around the corner, and?—
I slam into a bloody wall.
Only it’s not a wall. It’s one of the guards. I mutter an apology, rubbing my sore nose. Thank the stars it’s not broken or bleeding.
The guard clasps my arms, keeping me from toppling backward from the force of the hit. “Careful, now. The floors are slippery tonight. Wouldn’t want anyone falling and getting hurt.”
His hands feel clammy against my bare arms, like he slid them along the damp walls before catching me. I step out of his grasp even as I apologize for not being more careful.
The guard’s green-eyed gaze drags down the length of my silk gown, and his lips tug into a lazy sort of smile that makes me want to put even more distance between us.
Thankfully, I’m saved from whatever irritating comment he makes under his breath when Braith guides me down the hallway, away from his leering gaze. “Scathian pig,” she mutters so that only I can hear. “As if you would stoop to rutting with some lowly guard when you’ve caught the eye of a prince. I swear, these men down here have far too high an opinion of themselves.”
I have to agree.
He wasn’t the only guard I’ve caught leering—and not just at me but at the other maids as well. The other day, two of them were standing guard outside the bathing rooms, as if there would be trouble in there.
We make it to Braith’s room around the corner and escape into darkness. Giddiness bubbles inside of me. I’m so happy, I can hardly breathe. Braith taps the fae light beside her bed, drenching the room in an orange glow.
Her room looks almost the same as mine. One chair and a ledge carved into the rust-colored stone that serves as a tiny table. A small chest of drawers and a bed built into the wall. But unlike my plain reddish walls, someone has painted an exquisite rose garden mural above the bed.
Braith whips toward me with a smile so wide, she looks like she is ready to burst as well. “Tell me everything .”
I reach out to touch a painted petal, so realistic, it looks as if it should feel soft. “I don’t even know where to begin. He is so…stars, he is so wonderful.”
“Where did he bring you?”
“To the royal solarium. We had a picnic.” At least, we tried to.
She wiggles her brows, a gleam in her eyes. “Is that all you had?”
She is far too intuitive for my own good. And my flaming cheeks certainly don’t help either.
“I knew it! I could tell the man was besotted the moment I saw the two of you in that alcove.”
“Truly?” I mean, Senan said he still loved me, but words mean nothing without truth behind them.
“Cross my heart and dare to fly.” Braith kneels on the ground beside her bed and reaches for the corner of the panel at its base. The wood pops off, and she slides it aside, revealing a dark space underneath. “I’ve never seen someone as far gone as your prince. The man set a prisoner free because you asked it of him, for star’s sake. Look at the gown you wear—I’ve never seen a garment as fine.”
She is right. I really shouldn’t be questioning Senan’s love or loyalty, but it’s so difficult to come to terms with still being enough for him despite all I’ve lost.
From beneath her bed, Braith drags out random items. Notepads. Charcoal. A small sewing kit.
I snap it right up, checking for needles and white thread. “Can I borrow this?” I still need to mend the mask and uniform I secretly kept.
“I don’t care.” She flings a paint brush next to the books.
Hold on. Is that a paint set? I tap a rose at the corner of the mural. “Did you paint this?”
Braith flops onto her stomach so she can reach even farther under her bed. “I have trouble sleeping at night. Painting helps calm my mind.”
“You’re incredibly talented.”
Snorting, she slides out a stack of books. “If you say so.”
Despite being near the bottom of the social ladder, my family owned some fine paintings, including one of the Folly Sea by a famous artist whose name I can’t remember. Those paintings don’t hold a candle to Braith’s.
I’m about to ask if she has had any formal training when I catch sight of the book at the top of the stack. I ease forward to trace my fingers along the soft leather spine where faelight dances over the delicate gold inlay.
The Many Lives and Loves of Lady Farley
Braith stands and dusts off her white skirts, a bottle of wine and two mugs in her hand. “Isn’t it beautiful?” She nods her chin toward the book. “It’s from the king’s library. I was assigned there earlier in the week.” She sets the mugs down on her tiny table and works the bottle’s cork free with her teeth.
“You stole this from the king’s library?”
“Not stole. Borrowed . There are so many, I figured they wouldn’t miss two or three.” She fills the mugs almost to the brim and replaces the cork. “When I’m up there again, I’ll put them right back, and they’ll be none the wiser.”
I flip through the pages, the smell of ink and parchment bringing back memories of the books I used to borrow from the library in the city. “Is it any good?”
“It is quite scandalous. The things she has written will curl your toes in the best way.” Braith holds out one of the mugs for me to take. “You’re welcome to borrow it if you’d like. Men on paper are better than the ones in this world anyway.”
I don’t know. Senan Vale could give any fictional man a run for his money. I set the book aside in favor of the wine. After everything that has happened over the last twenty-four hours, I need this drink more than she knows.
The mattress dips when Braith sinks down next to me. She clinks our mugs together and smiles. “Now, tell me about your prince.”
I take a fortifying sip of wine and do just that.
For the first time in forever, I wake with a smile on my face. That smile stays in place during my shower and breakfast. For the record, it is incredibly difficult to eat scrambled eggs while grinning like a fool. I get more egg on my lap than in my mouth. Everyone seems to be in a wonderful mood; even Jeston is back to his smirking self, teasing Mari and Del about being hungover. Apparently, they stayed awake drinking until all hours and are planning on doing it again at the end of the week for Del’s birthday.
Braith giggles at everything the man says. If he didn’t know she had feelings for him before, he certainly does now. The problem is that he seems to have distanced himself from her, smiling politely but no longer being overly friendly.
No doubt she will be overanalyzing every blink and nod the way she did last night after I finished gushing about Senan. Speaking of Senan, I cannot wait to see him today. It feels as if we’re back in those early days of being in love, when everything felt fresh and new and hopeful. As long as I block out reality, all is right in the world.
The House Master emerges from his office, head bowed, reading the stack of papers in his hands. Those who have yet to clean their dishes all rush over to the sink before lining up for assignments.
Braith pokes my back and whispers, “Do you think you’ll be in the family wing?”
Stars, I hope so. “Perhaps.”
When it’s my turn, the House Master looks me up and down and assigns me to the bloody library.
That cannot be right. Surely he’s mistaken.
Before I can ask, he looks past me to Braith. “Guest rooms, east tower, seventy to seventy-nine.”
Together, we leave the canteen and head toward the hallway.
“Maybe the prince is busy,” she says with an encouraging smile.
“Perhaps.” What did I expect? That Senan would spend the day with me? He has duties and a life outside of this…whatever it is we’re doing. And a fiancée . I cannot possibly expect him to drop everything for me.
So, up the stairs I go, feather duster in hand, prepared to spend the day climbing ladders and cleaning shelves, my smile nowhere to be found. Until the prince leaves for Nimbiss, this will be my life. Work, stolen moments, and then loss.
Perhaps this is the dose of reality that I need to get my head out of the clouds.
I ease open the door only to find my prince waiting on the other side.
A cautious smile lights his face, like he knows exactly who I am despite my mask. In the blink of an eye, all my worries vanish into thin air. I leap into his arms and pull him close. “You’re here.”
The wrinkle between his brows deepens. “Where else would I be?”
He says it so simply. So matter-of-fact.
With her .
But he isn’t with the princess. He is with me.
Voices from the hallway grow louder and louder, and Senan pulls me deeper into the library. We run, hand in hand, all the way to the very rear, where heavy drapes cover the windows and the bouquet of ink and leather permeates the air.
Senan lets me go and meanders over to the closest shelf, gesturing toward the gilded spines. “Pick one.”
I draw down my mask so I can see him more clearly. “What do you mean?”
“You always loved books. I want you to choose one to read.”
As brilliant as that sounds, “I need to clean the library.”
“No, you need to sit and read.”
“Senan, I cannot lose this job.” Perhaps if I clean quickly, though, there will be a little time left over for exploring this beautiful place. The shelves are so high, I have to squint to see the tops. Not a problem for winged Scathians, but for those of us without wings, it is quite the climb.
Senan folds his arms across his chest and looks down his straight nose at me. “I am your prince, and I have ordered you to sit down and read. If anyone takes issue, send them my way and I will deal with them however I see fit.”
That commanding tone makes my stomach flutter like a humming bird’s wings. He knows what that voice does to me. I give his arm a soft smack with the duster. “You can be an awful brute when you want to be.”
“And don’t you forget it,” he says with a wink.
There are so many options, but eventually I find a book that looks intriguing and carry it over to the settee, where Senan has laid out a tea set and a tray of dainty little biscuits shaped like flowers. Never in a million years did I think I would be lounging in the king’s library about to read a love story. “What are you going to do?” I ask, flipping to the first page.
He pulls a random book from a shelf and throws himself down next to me. “I am going to see if I can figure out why everyone loves these things so damn much.” He catches my legs and drapes them across his lap as he settles back against the settee cushions.
“Are you sure you don’t have duties to attend to?”
“My dearest Allette, believe me when I say there is nowhere else I would rather be.”
That is how our morning passes: me stretched across my prince, him pouring us tea whenever our cups are empty, lost in our books. At least, I’m lost in the book. Every time I glance up, I catch Senan watching me instead of reading. By the time I reach the halfway point, my eyes need a break. I roll my shoulders and lift my hands over my head for a long, luxurious stretch.
What time is it? I’m starting to get properly hungry.
I tuck a serviette between the pages of my book and set it on the low table next to my empty teacup. “How is your book?” I ask, plucking a biscuit from the tray. Crumbs tumble onto my lap when I take a bite. Mmm… almonds.
Senan darts a glance at me before flipping to the next page. “Best story I’ve ever read.”
If it is so good, then why is he still at the beginning? I take another bite, then swipe the crumbs onto the floor. “What is it about?”
“It’s a love story. She is a maid in the prince’s castle, and he is completely enamored with her.”
“Oh, really?” I reach for the cover so I can see the title.
He slams the book closed and tucks it behind his back before I get a good look. “Ah, ah. No peeking.”
I am almost certain the title is A History of Swordplay, but if he wants to be ridiculous, who am I to stop him? “Go on, then. Tell me what happens next.”
He snags a biscuit for himself. “So, I just got to the part where they meet in the back of a library where no one can find them.”
My eyes widen with feigned shock. “Isn’t that a coincidence?”
“I couldn’t believe it myself,” he says around a bite.
“I can imagine you were quite surprised. Is that where their story ends?”
“No, Allette. Their story does not end in a library.” He rolls his eyes like that is the most absurd question in the world. “In this chapter, the very dashing hero is plagued with indecision. He loves watching the heroine’s face whilst she is lost in a story, but he also enjoys watching her face when the two of them get lost in each other.”
My thighs press together and chest warms at the intensity of his molten gaze. I lick my suddenly dry lips. “Whatever will he do?”
His fingers swipe idly against my shin, which should be an innocuous touch, yet when he does it, I swear my skin feels as if it’s been lit ablaze. “I was wondering the very same thing. Because not only is the hero plagued with indecision, he is also quite worried.”
“Oh dear. That sounds serious.”
“It is. You see, the handsome prince and stunning heroine just found each other, and he doesn’t want her thinking that he only wants her for one thing.”
“Because that isn’t the case?”
“Not at all. He wants her for everything.” His hand slides a little higher to trace my knee. “But his steely restraint is undone by the way she licks her finger before she flips a page and the way her perfect lips move a little as she reads. He is also quite jealous of the way her fingers skim along the pages. And it isn’t fair that the book gets to sit in her lap while the prince is all the way at the other side of the settee.”
“It sounds like you weren’t reading at all.”
His gaze drops to my lips and lingers. “In my defense, it is incredibly difficult to read when one is distracted.”
“Incredibly,” I agree. “What happens next?”
Senan lets me go to collect his book and flip to a random page. His finger drags down the words as he pretends to read. “It says here that the maid is so overcome by her own desire for the prince that she ravishes him.”
“Strange. In all the romances I’ve read, usually the heroes are the ones doing the ravishing.”
“Look, I’m as shocked as you are, but that is what the book says.”
“If that is what it says…” I grab the book, toss it onto the ground, and climb onto Senan’s lap. My knees fall to either side of his hips, and his hands fall to mine. My lips graze across his, tasting the sweet almonds from the biscuit. “Are you ready to be thoroughly ravished, prince?”
His hold tightens, fingers digging into flesh as he urges me to roll my hips. “Take whatever you need from me, maid. I am but your humble servant.”
Right. A ravishing. Let me see…
I catch the front of his shirt in both hands and yank. Buttons pop right off, zinging through the air and landing with loud pings across the marble floor. The shock on his face is almost too much to bear. Laughter bubbles inside me until he does the same bloody thing to my uniform and my shift. He just tears right through them, baring my breasts to the cool air.
I gape down at the shredded material, aghast. “You brute! I need this for work.”
He chuckles to himself, his grin oozing male pride. “Then I shall write you a note.”
“What is this? Primary school? The House Master will not care if I have a bloody note, even if it is from a prince.”
His eyes widen with false innocence. “This feels more like a scolding than a ravishing.”
I tug his hair until his head falls back. “Why can’t it be both?”
He groans when I begin moving again, rocking and grinding against his hard length while his hands roam and knead. Our mouths meet and melt. Skirts are gathered and lifted. Trousers are unbuttoned and drawn down.
Scarred hands glide down my scarred back as I ease myself onto him until he fills me completely. Senan’s hum of pleasure vibrates against my skin when he captures my breast in his mouth. The way his tongue swirls and teeth tug is the most beautiful torture.
We steal breaths and steal time as I rise and fall, riding and ravishing until the strength in my legs begins to wane.
“Gods, Allette...” The wonder and awe in Senan’s eyes as he watches me makes me feel beautiful. Cherished. Loved. “You are a sight to behold.” The taut muscles of his abdomen flex as he thrusts his hips upward, meeting me halfway.
When we find our pleasure together, our heart-rending kiss muffles my cry and Senan’s deep moan. It’s a good thing this library is so large, otherwise we would’ve surely been found out.
My head falls to the crook of his neck, and I can feel the pulse at his throat pounding against my cheek. I trace the moonflower on his shoulder down to the twisting vine, wishing I could stay here for the rest of my days. “How do you think their story ends?” I ask. “The prince and the maid from your book?”
Senan gathers my hair back from my sweat-dampened face and whispers softly against my temple. “The way all stories should end. With happily-ever-after.”