Chapter 6 Rose
The festival lasted long into the night.
Rose kept a close watch on Wren, half expecting her sister to disappear again, but she seemed to have recovered from her mystery ailment and appeared determined to make the most of the evening. And that was exactly what Rose needed from her sister tonight – a brave face and a rallying spirit.
Even though Rose couldn’t shake the fear she’d felt when their tree had gone up in smoke, and worse, when Wren had vanished, she knew how important tonight was. They could not afford to show fear in front of their people. And so as Wren rose to the importance of the occasion, so did she.
The sisters danced together until Rose was dizzy and stumbling with laughter, but Wren kept going. She drank goblet after goblet of fruit wine, despite Rose’s warnings that it would make her feel ill again. Wren even went back for more of Cam’s chocolate stars, joining Celeste and Shen at the dessert table. Then she danced with the Ortha witches, spinning from one to another, her eyes shining until she looked as if she was lit from within.
Rose watched the Ortha witches beaming at Wren, and wondered if they would ever look at her so fondly, or if they still secretly thought of Wren as their one true queen. The ruler they had long planned would sit on the throne.
No.Rose banished the thought. She and Wren were meant to rule together. She knew that in her heart, in her bones. And after the Battle of Anadawn, she hoped the other witches did, too. After all, they had stood together to embrace the fullness of their power and defend Anadawn. She hoped that wouldn’t soon be forgotten.
And yet something close to envy bloomed inside Rose as she watched her sister charm the other revellers, flitting from a group of chatty Eshlinn seamstresses to their new Captain of the Guard, who she easily cajoled into dancing with her.
Even Chapman, the uptight Anadawn steward, joined Wren in a jig around the bonfire, which thankfully didn’t turn into another accidental inferno. Rose didn’t think she could handle any more mishaps, magical or otherwise, tonight.
Rose took a deep, calming breath and studied her sister. Tonight, Wren didn’t need any enchantments to cast her spell on people. When she smiled, truly smiled, it felt as if she was about to confide a delicious secret or entice you on a thrilling adventure.
Rose knew she was charming in her own poised and practised kind of way. She had spent her whole life perfecting it, after all. Her warmth and affection for her people was genuine, of course. But Wren, for all her fierceness, burned with the kind of brightness that drew people to her, no matter how contrary she might be.
She had even thawed the icy heart of at least one Gevran.
Not that Rose had any details about exactly what had happened between Wren and Captain Tor Iversen in Grinstad. While Wren teased Rose mercilessly about Shen, nothing made Rose clam up as fast as Rose mentioning the handsome soldier.
Or anything to do with Gevra, really.
Deep down, Rose knew her sister was still healing from everything she had endured there. She was reminded of it every time she saw the silver streak in her sister’s hair, the strand of Wren’s grief for Banba plain for all to see. And so in the end, beneath her jealousy and uncertainty, Rose was glad to see Wren enjoying herself, even if it was just for an evening.
By the time the queens finally left for the palace, it was well after midnight. Once they were cosseted in their carriage, Wren kicked off her muddy shoes and yawned. ‘I’d say that was a success, wouldn’t you?’
‘It was eventually,’ Rose admitted, frowning at her sister’s muddy shoes. ‘You certainly perked up.’
‘That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? For us to act as if everything is merry. To set aside our worries and put everyone else at ease.’ Wren’s voice slurred as she yawned again, before resting her head on her sister’s shoulder. ‘Wake me when we’re home.’
Back at Anadawn, once her sister was fast asleep in her own bed, Rose found herself feeling restless. She paced her room, still in her festival gown. It reeked of smoke and the hem was torn, but she couldn’t bring herself to take it off just yet. Partly because she was so cold. She’d caught a strange chill down by the lake that she couldn’t seem to shake.
What she really wanted was a bath. Yes, that was it. A hot bath always helped.
But as she waited for the nightmaids to arrive, Rose found herself thinking of those rotting plums in the orchard. Odd, that they would come to her mind now. She hadn’t even mentioned it to Wren. Because it was a silly preoccupation, she reminded herself. The future of an entire kingdom could not be divined from a pair of rotting plums. Everything was fine. Tonight had been strange, but it had ended well. Rose told herself this over and over, refusing to be afraid.
Refusing to peer a little closer at what there was to fear.
When the maids arrived with pitchers of warm water, Rose decided that something else was missing. ‘Florence, could you please bring me some hot chocolate from the kitchens? It might help to banish this awful chill.’
The maid dipped her chin. ‘Of course, Your Majesty. Is there anything else?’
‘That’s all, thank you.’
Florence nodded and scurried down the stairs after the others. Back in her bathing chamber, Rose enchanted a ring of flickering everlights around her claw-foot tub before fetching her favourite jasmine soap and pouring until the bubbles reached the rim.
When the tub was full, she peeled off her gown and stepped in, luxuriating in the warm water gently lapping against her skin. And oh – the scent was truly divine. Far better than the awful smoke that had followed her home.
She smiled as she laid her head back, listening to the bubbles crackle in her ears. These days, baths reminded her of her time in the desert with Shen Lo and the secret hot spring they had found together. And that was a welcome thought indeed.
Rose sighed with pleasure as she sank into the bubbles. Yes, a hot bath was just what she needed. Tomorrow, she would wake up refreshed and ready to face the day. In fact, she was so relaxed already she thought she might just drift off …
She closed her eyes and—
There came a knock at her door.
‘Come in!’ Rose called. The bedroom door creaked open. ‘I’m already in the bath but you can leave the hot chocolate on the table by the bedside!’
A moment later, she heard the bedroom door shut.
‘I’m afraid I didn’t bring you any hot chocolate.’
Rose’s eyes flew open at the familiar voice.
Leaning against the door frame to her bathing chambers, still dressed in his festival clothes and wearing a rakish grin, was Shen Lo.
‘Shen! I’m in the bath!’ Rose ducked in the water, peering out from behind a mountain of bubbles.
‘I heard,’ he said, in a low voice. ‘Why else do you think I came in?’
In the flickering candlelight, with his strong jaw and chiselled cheekbones, he looked as if he’d been carved from stone. Rose couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her lips as she gazed at him. He gazed back, his eyes darkening as he drank in the sight of her in the tub.
Rose felt the sudden urge to fan herself.
Goodness, Rose. Get a hold of yourself!
And anyway, she was still irritated at Shen, handsome as he might be.
She cleared her throat. ‘What are you doing in my bedchamber this late? Or at all, come to think of it? Rather presumptuous of you, especially considering you didn’t want to dance with me at the festival.’
‘Of course I wanted to dance with you,’ he said, with some surprise. ‘You were the one avoiding me.’
‘I certainly was not!’ She scowled at him. ‘I had important business to discuss.’
He raised a dark brow. ‘Were you truly that desperate to find out what kind of bait the fishermen at Wishbone Bay use?’
Rose’s traitorous lips twitched. ‘Rude of you to eavesdrop.’
‘It’s my speciality,’ he said, unapologetically.
‘And yes,’ she went on, ‘a queen must take an interest in these types of things.’ At his look of utter bemusement, she sighed. ‘Fine. I was avoiding you. But only because you embarrassed me by not asking me to dance!’
‘I was waiting for the right signal. A lingering look. A seductive wink.’ He winked at her. ‘It’s not that difficult, surely.’
Rose considered throwing a fistful of bubbles at him.
‘But you were busy doing …’ He waved his hand around. ‘Queenly things. Far be it from me to take you away from a scintillating conversation about fish bait. I didn’t want to distract you.’
‘Shen Lo, you are entirely too vain,’ Rose huffed. ‘I would never let you distract me from my duty.’
‘Is that so?’ he said, finally taking a step forward.
Rose felt her heart skip. ‘Never,’ she breathed.
Another step. ‘That sounds like my kind of challenge.’ He was close now. So close that if she dared, Rose could reach out and touch him.
He leaned down and her breath caught in her throat. His fingers brushed against her temple. ‘You still have a flower in your hair.’ He gently pulled the daisy from where it had become tangled behind her ear.
‘And where is your Lake Carranam flower, Shen Lo?’ she said, in a whisper. ‘Do you not wish for luck this coming spring?’
He chuckled, the sound low and full of promise. ‘Do you have to ask? You are my flower, Rose.’ He leaned closer, tracing her jaw with the pad of his thumb, then brushing it along her bottom lip. ‘And all the luck I need.’
Rose arched upwards, closing the distance between them. His cheeks flushed as the bubbles gave way around her. Suddenly, he was speechless. Rose smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, no longer caring about propriety.
‘I am still very, very angry at you,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘You are going to have to try very hard to make it up to me.’
Shen groaned, opening his mouth to her own. The kiss deepened as he slid his hand up the back of her neck and tangled it in her hair.
Rose tugged him closer. Water sloshed over the side of the tub, soaking his chest, his arms.
‘Oh!’ she said, pulling back. ‘Your clothes!’
‘They’ll dry,’ he said, leaning in to kiss her again.
‘Or …’ Rose’s heart pounded as she willed herself to say what she was thinking, what she desperately wanted. ‘You could always … hang them up. For now.’
Shen blinked in surprise. ‘Queen Rose, are you suggesting I take off my clothes?’
Rose flushed. ‘Your shirt is made from such fine linen … I would hate for it to get damaged …’
Shen was already on his feet. As he pulled his shirt over his head, there came a light knock at the door to Rose’s bedchamber. Then, to Rose’s horror, it creaked open.
‘Your Majesty?’ called Florence. ‘I’ve brought your hot chocolate.’
Shen froze, laughter dancing in his eyes.
‘Thank you!’ Rose cried out, in a strained voice. ‘Please leave it by the bed! On the table!’
‘Certainly,’ said Florence, and there came the sound of a cup being set down. ‘Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?’
‘No! No! That’s all! Thank you!’
The door closed and Rose exhaled in relief. She sank back into the tub, which was now decidedly tepid.
‘Well,’ she said, blowing a bubble from the tip of her nose. ‘That was rather poorly timed. Would you … like some hot chocolate?’
Much to Rose’s disappointment, Shen was already shrugging his shirt back on. ‘As nice as that sounds, I should be going. I came by because I wanted to say goodbye before I left.’
‘Goodbye?’ Rose frowned. ‘It’s the middle of the night!’
‘You know that’s the best time to travel through the desert.’
‘But you’ve only just arrived,’ she said, crestfallen. ‘I hardly get to see you any more.’
‘I wish I could stay longer. But I have to get back to the Sunkissed Kingdom. There’s still much to be done.’ Shen ran his hand through his hair, the stress of these past few months written in the lines on his brow. ‘You’ve spent your whole life preparing to rule, Rose. I’m still learning how to be a king to a kingdom of people who barely know me. My place is with them, now more than ever. You must understand that.’
Rose looked away, so he wouldn’t see her bottom lip tremble. She hated that she cared so much.
‘Rose?’
‘Of course I understand. I wouldn’t want to distract you from your duty.’
His voice softened. ‘The truth is, even when I’m not with you, you are a distraction. You’re never far from my mind, Rose.’
She turned back to him. ‘And you really must leave right this very moment?’
‘Lei Fan and the others will be waiting for me. I was meant to be at the gates an hour ago.’ He chuckled. ‘I wasn’t expecting to find you in the bath and to get so …’
‘Distracted?’
‘Exactly.’
For a beat, they smiled at each other.
Then Rose pouted. ‘Why don’t you send them on without you? You can catch up. Storm is the fastest horse in all of Eana …’ She trailed off.
‘Don’t tempt me,’ said Shen, his night-dark eyes burning with desire. ‘You know I would if I could.’
Rose did know that. But it didn’t make it any easier.
Sometimes, she secretly longed for the time before Shen knew he was the lost heir of the Sunkissed Kingdom. When he was still a bandit, and his time was his own.
Now he had other responsibilities.
Other duties.
‘Fine,’ she said, rising from the bath. ‘Then at least pass me my robe.’
His gaze roamed, and for a moment, he looked as if his resolve would crumble. Then he sighed, turning from her to fetch the robe. ‘Of course.’
Shen left shortly after that, pressing a kiss to Rose’s lips and whispering a promise that he’d be back soon to join her in that bath.
Rose watched from the window as he rappelled down her tower.
‘You do know that you can take the stairs now?’ she called after him. ‘The guards all know you.’
His laugh echoed in the dark. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’
She shook her head and laughed just the same. ‘Goodnight, Shen. Give my love to Storm.’
‘Lucky horse.’