CHAPTER SEVEN ISI #3
I led Trew toward the eastern wing, where fewer people ventured during the day. My pulse quickened as we approached a small alcove set back from the main corridor, hidden behind a statue of a long-dead ancestor.
I glanced over my shoulder. The hall was empty. So was the alcove.
I ducked into the small area.
Trew followed.
His body caged mine against the wall right away, his hands bracing on either side of my head. We were alone. Finally, blessedly alone.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all morning,” he growled, and his mouth found mine.
His kiss held all the need we’d held back since we’d left my chambers. His tongue swept into my mouth and I gasped, fisting the front of his tunic, pulling him closer.
His body pressed against mine, hard planes against soft curves, a reminder of everything we’d shared last night.
His fingers tangled in my hair, carefully arranged by Mae, now coming undone from his touch.
I slid my hands under his tunic, finding warm skin and taut muscle that jumped beneath my fingertips.
A distant voice drifted from the corridor.
We froze, breaths mingling, before Trew eased back a fraction, listening. The voice faded, but the interruption lingered, heightening my frustration.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Pherin peeped from where she perched on a windowsill across the hall.
We sprang apart. Trew stepped out of the alcove first, his expression bored, as a servant rounded the corner carrying linens. She curtsied and continued past without a second glance.
My hands shook as I smoothed my hair and gown.
“Shall we continue the tour, Princess?” Trew asked in a detached voice that grated on my nerves.
“Yes.”
We kept walking, but something had shifted. The danger of discovery hung in the air, and the constant vigilance required to maintain our charade wore on my self-control.
At a rear door, I removed my cloak from the closet near the door and Trew helped me fasten it at my throat, his intense gaze on my face. I swallowed hard and stepped away from him.
We stepped outside and Pherin flew out with us, landing on my shoulder.
Did you hunt with Gavelle last night? I asked, and she peeped. I’m glad.
At least they could be together.
I led Trew through the gardens, where flowers bloomed in carefully tended beds. The chilly air bit through my cloak, and I pulled it tighter.
The clasp came loose, the fabric slipping from my shoulders.
Trew was there immediately, his fingers working the clasp back into place. His touch lingered on my throat as he adjusted the fabric.
“Can’t have you catching cold, Princess,” he said.
Anyone watching would see a dutiful guard attending to his charge. I felt the intimacy of his fingers on my skin, the possession in that simple gesture.
A servant approached, shears in hand to trim hedges. “Your Highness. Is everything alright here? You’ve returned so suddenly. Has something happened?”
I nodded tightly, and Trew’s hands dropped away. The servant remained with us a bit longer, his eyes sharp, before retreating.
We continued, and I catalogued everything. More guards than usual patrolling the garden walls. A figure in an upper window, standing perfectly still.
Watching us.
My skin crawled.
“Someone’s following us,” Trew said by my ear, pointing toward a flowerbed as if he was speaking of the plantings.
“I feel it too.”
Trew’s fingers whispered across my hand, a fleeting touch that said more than words.
His fingers curled, the warrior in him preparing for threat even as his eyes remained calm.
We’d faced death together before, his body shielding mine from blades and beasts alike, my magic surging to protect him.
A silent promise passed between us. We would do it again, without hesitation.
“The eastern garden wall,” he said, his lips barely moving. “Second parapet from the right.”
I didn’t turn my head, didn’t acknowledge the information beyond a slight tilt of my chin. Trust flowed between us, absolute and unquestioned.
“Gavelle will follow them,” he said.
“Tell him to be careful.”
Pherin fluffed her feathers and peered around. I look too. With a swoop off my shoulder, she was gone.
Someone had tried to kill me at Syllavar. Were they here too? They may have followed me home.
“We need to be careful,” Trew said.
“Very.”
But being careful meant more distance. More pretending. More hours of torture before we could touch each other again.
We completed the circuit of the gardens and headed back inside, where warmth wrapped around us like a soft blanket. After leaving my cloak, I led him through more corridors, pointing out other locations, while my mind raced.
Commander Thorne had disappeared with a dark-haired woman.
My father was taking numerous precautions for some reason.
People were watching us.
And we had twelve days to find Addie, stop the Day of Mercy, and uncover what happened with her and Fenmark.
At least I wasn’t facing this alone.
Tonight, we’d plan properly. Tonight I’d feel his arms around me again.
Until then, I just had to survive us being strangers.