CHAPTER VII #6
I must’ve dozed off for a while because I wake to less than warm water and my skin prickling in cool bumps and completely wrinkled.
I tilt my head back and notice the daylight is nearly fading, the small room now engulfed in a soft grey haze that has me frantic.
I hurriedly wash off and jump out of the tub, grabbing a towel and looking straight at Golem in accusation.
“You let me fall asleep!”
Golem shakes his head.
“What do you mean, no? No, you didn’t let me sleep?”
Yes.
“Yes you did let me sleep?”
No.
“Golem!” I huff in frustration, watching as he looks at me and then turns to the window above the bed. He frowns and walks straight to it, shutting the slats to the cool air. I hustle to my traveling pack and pull out some clothes.
“We don’t have much time. We can still make a quick visit to the shops before dinner begins.”
Golem stands frowning at the window, his arms folding in front of his chest as he looks at it in consideration.
“What’s going on, Golem?” I ask, holding up a beautiful gold long sleeve. It’s one of the shirts I purchased from the seamstress in the Palisades that has a deep cut down the middle. “Do you not want to look for the mill?”
I pair the top with light brown riding pants and my new thigh high brown leather boots.
“Okay, well next time just wake me up. I don’t mind if you see me bare.”
I quickly brush out my hair and pin half of it behind my ears, letting the rest fall down my back.
“Let’s go.”
Golem and I step out of the room right after I grab my green cloak. I shut the door behind us and shrug it on, hastily walking down the hall and into the quiet common room of the inn with determination. I flip the hood over my face and reach for the front door-
“Off in a hurry, Lady Alexis?” he laughs from the pub counter behind me.
I still and drop my hand in more frustration, turning to greet the Prince.
What is Keane doing in the common room by himself? And why is he looking at me with a knowing smile and his brown eyes glittering in humor?
“Just a walk before dinner, Your Highness.”
I give him a small bow and turn back to the door.
“Have a drink with me, Alexis…”
I huff and turn around again, greeting his amused eyes.
“I’ve missed our banter,” he smiles.
I have too, but my curiosity is far too outweighing at the moment to engage with him.
“How about you save me a seat at the table tonight?” I smile impatiently, “we can banter all you’d like then.”
I once again turn towards the door, but Keane stands up and takes a step with me.
“Or I can just accompany you on your walk?”
“No!” I reply too quickly.
Keane’s chuckle is too knowing, the sound vibrating under my skin the way it did before and tugging me in all the right places.
“I mean, yes,” I sigh in defeat, “I think I will take that drink.”
The Prince’s eyes dance playfully over mine.
He pulls out a tall chair next to him at the counter, his hand reaching out to take my cloak when I shrug out of it.
His black clad body hovers at my back when I slowly sit down, his fingers brushing against my shoulders ever so gently before he pushes me in.
I nearly shiver when he leans forward and whispers in my ear.
“A valiant effort, Alexis, truly.”
My breath catches in my chest.
He knows...
He knows I’m curious and prying.
But how?
Keane pulls away with a smirk and takes the seat to my right.
“What can I get you, miss?” the innkeeper walks over to us.
“Ale, please,” I smile at the woman before turning back to Keane.
“So, how were your meetings today?”
I might as well go straight to the source if he thinks I’m prying.
“Productive,” he angles his body towards mine, eyes still dancing, “how have you taken to Fumagalli?”
“It’s tranquil,” I grab the mug placed on the counter, “too tranquil.”
“I would have thought your self-proclaimed Knowledge heart would enjoy a calm and quiet place like this? You certainly looked in your element at breakfast this morning.”
His brown eyes hold mine as that playful smile continues to grace his lips.
I take a heavy drink of ale to still the quick beat of my heart, watching as his gaze dips down to the mug at my lips.
When I drop the drink back on the counter, his eyes follow the movement, his brown gaze dipping from my lips to my neck and down to my collarbone.
I watch him curiously as he reaches out a hand and let’s his fingers brush over the gold satin cut at the base of my throat, trailing them down the fabric.
“I like this shirt on you,” he murmurs, eyes peeking just barely down the slit in my shirt.
It’s such a small advance but it still makes me flush in my seat. I reach for the mug again and take another long drink.
“You like the color or the design?”
“The design of that deep cut,” Keane nods, eyes dipping back to my lips as he watches me drink, “the color would be better in black.”
Black, I smile to myself. If only he knew.
“I’ve definitely worn something with far deeper cuts around you, Keane, and neither of those nights were graced with any form of compliments.”
Keane leans in with another small smirk, the edge of his knees brushing against mine.
“I was certainly thinking of all sorts of compliments when I saw you those nights.”
“And?”
“And,” he moves his arm over the back of my chair, “they were all too improper to say to a Lady of Knowledge.”
“But not to a Lady of Warrior?”
“No,” he gives me a side smile, “never to a Lady from Warrior.”
“A shame,” I sigh and move my legs away from his, leaning towards the countertop.
“What’s a shame?” he asks, placing his other arm on the counter with me.
I turn to the Prince with a wicked smile. “That you don’t recognize a woman who enjoys that kind of improper talk.”
Keane holds my gaze hard, unsure if what he just heard actually came out of my lips.
I chuckle and reach for my drink again, only to be stopped by his hand as it quickly darts out to mine.
He grabs my wrist and pulls it away from the mug, flipping it over so that the back of my knuckles rest against the counter.
I watch as he slowly lets his fingers skim over my palm, nails grazing on my skin as he starts to trace small movements that have me shifting in my seat.
Keane turns his gaze back on mine and watches as my body reacts, watches how I flush to even his slightest touch.
He grins and pinches the inside of my middle finger, that small nip sending a flood of heat straight between my thighs.
“Trouble,” he says softly, though his voice is bit raspy.
“Trouble,” I nod in agreement, closing my hand to capture his, “but fun.”
Keane grips the back of my chair, his gaze staring into mine until I finally release his fingers.
“You still have no idea what game you’re playing, Alexis,” he shakes his head.
Don’t I?
I smile and turn into his body, letting both our legs press into the other’s.
“Tell me about the water mill in the area.”
Keane’s face lights with an amused smile.
“Now why would the town’s toddy making mill interest you?”
I shrug into my ale and take a sip, “I’m curious as to where the village disappears to.”
“Disappears?” he grins in mock casualness, “the people here are just working, Alexis.”
“Must be a damn big workforce to fill up all the empty townhomes and cottages in the area,” I reply just as casually.
Keane shakes his head, his face still alight but now staring at me in challenge. He leans back in his chair and keeps his arm steady around the back of mine, the look of casual relaxation consuming his body.
“We have a library here,” he brings his toddy up to his lips with a smirk.
He’s diverting… to a subject he knows I can’t ignore.
“You do,” I nod, “I noticed it today.”
“I gave the Discerni working there your description,” he chuckles, “he’s expecting you tomorrow.”
Bastard.
“How very thoughtful of you.”
“It is, isn’t it?” he looks at me over his drink, eyes narrowing in silent laughter.
Damn him.
Damn his handsome smile and playful brown eyes.
Maybe I really don’t know what game I’m playing, because I seem to be losing this round as well as all the others.
“I’ve asked for tonight’s dinner to be served in Knowledge fashion,” he states softly, changing the subject.
My eyes quickly dart to the Prince, watching as he stares into his drink on the counter.
“Why?”
Keane shrugs and fiddles with the rim, “why not?”
“Well I know Holis and Mana will greatly appreciate the gesture,” I smile, “even Cal.”
“And you?” he looks back at me, brown eyes searching.
“I, of the four us, will appreciate it the most,” I tell him earnestly, “the act is one of friendship and gratitude towards the others sharing the table, something we noted earlier this morning. There was an appropriateness to having the shared breakfast just a few days before crossing into foreign land together. Tonight’s dinner will be the same. ..”
Keane nods and downs the rest of his toddy before standing abruptly. I hear a few people from our group arriving in the common room behind us and stand with him, watching as he places cinerin on the counter for both of our drinks.
“Sit across from me tonight,” he turns into me subtly.
I grab my cloak from the back of my chair.
“Across from you?”
His playful brown eyes meet mine before they slip down to the cut of my shirt again.
“I want to pass you the plates tonight, Alexis.”
I laugh in response, a full laugh that has me grinning at his bluntness and the fact that I would love nothing more than to have his eyes all over me tonight. But this is a challenge I know I can win, so I shake my head in denial.
“I shall sit at the farthest edge of the table, Your Highness, away from you.”
“We’ll see about that,” Keane looks at me knowingly before heading to the tables behind us.