Chapter 11 The Guise of a Gift #2
My stomach twisted as I remembered how close we’d come to kissing last night.
That was probably what he wanted to talk about.
Matron had insinuated as much when I first arrived, though she’d thought he wouldn’t be interested in me.
In that moment in the alleyway, I’d wanted to kiss him.
My mind had emptied, my mission totally erased, but something wasn’t right.
I shivered as the sensation returned of my magic fleeing, hiding deep inside my soul and leaving me empty. I pushed it away. I didn’t need yet another weakness, but I did need to locate his room. I’d wished that just the other night.
Perhaps the goddess of fate was helping me after all.
She dropped the compass back into the box. “No, I should be getting to bed.” She turned and strode toward the bedroom, swiping the butterfly from the checkerboard as she went.
I sighed and lifted the compass to buckle it to my waistband, tugging the sweater down so that the fabric covered the flashy diamond fob. I might as well get this over with, then I could work on soothing Lilyanna’s ego.
I glanced at the glass face when outside her room, but the delicate hands did nothing except quiver. So, I walked down the barren corridors keeping straight until the stone floor ceded to wooden planks and the temperature plummeted.
As I walked, soft scratching followed overhead.
Glancing over my shoulder, a thin trail of ash billowed from the ceiling, coating the floor in a perfectly straight line.
A trail of breadcrumbs illuminating my way back?
There was no way I would trust in following it.
It would be easy for it to suddenly veer down a corridor, or for the walls to switch positions and con me into descending into the belly of the castle.
Burned orange light flickered beneath a door up ahead.
The wood frame stood as plain as every other here, and yet, I instinctively knew it was his.
The magic slunk deeper, hiding away in the furrows of my body.
I shoved my hands under my armpits, biting back a shiver and kicked at the door with my foot.
The prince opened it and ushered me in with a small bow. I made it about a foot before freezing, my body locking into position. Some inner warning blared inside me. Clement and Bryn materialized at the prince’s elbows.
“Thank you for coming, Tam. I assumed you found my note?” He wore a black bathrobe, his chestnut hair wet and tousled. Steam rose from his body as if he were a supernatural being. The rose scent subdued, a moist, unplaceable aroma having taken its place.
I nodded.
“I had to postpone dinner this evening as I had a most pressing engagement. I wish for you to extend my apologies to the Lady Lilyanna.”
“Alright. You could’ve said that in your note as well.”
Clement inched taller, sucking in his stomach muscles. I tried not to look at him. Tension rolled off him in waves, threatening to infect me too. A small kernel of disappointment solidified in my stomach. I wished he'd given me the gift.
The prince grinned, his dimples popping. “Where’s the fun in that? Besides, I wanted to see if you liked your present.” His eyes dropped to my thigh, probing beneath the hemline of my sweater.
I brushed back the fabric, tugging out the compass so the gold case winked in the glow from the fire. “I do, actually.”
“Good.” He clapped his hands together. “And do you know how to work it?”
Heat crawled into my face, coloring the tips of my ears. “Yes.”
He smiled. “You need to activate it with a tap from a specific stone. The castle is lined with basaltic rock mixed with slate, so you’ll have a constant supply so long as you stay close. And now you know where to find me as well!” He waved an arm behind him.
My skin prickled. Had I wondered that out loud the other night? I’d been close when I’d stopped and saw the Sheriff out of the window, but I didn’t get the same tug as I did tonight. Perhaps he hadn’t been in his room.
Clement cleared his throat, a frown etched onto his face. The prince noted his expression and laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “My regular guards have the night off for their monthly debauchery. They’re keen to get started, and I do believe I am keeping them.”
I snorted before I could stop myself, clamping my hand over my mouth.
I couldn’t picture either of them doing anything remotely risqué.
Debauchery. I snickered, and Clement drilled me with a glare.
Goddessdamn me, but he was so sexy when he was irritated.
Perhaps he’d take that attitude into the bedroom.
Throw me over his knee, give me a light spanking. ..
Clement snapped his fingers in front of my nose, and I jumped, wiping the disgusting grin from my face. His dark eyes glinted only for a second, but it was enough to send heat pulsing through me all over again.
“Okay, well, enjoy your evening, everyone.” I ducked my head and backed away. “I’ll smooth things over with Lilyanna for you.”
Clement escorted me to the door and said in a low voice that sent tingles feathering up my thighs, “The offer is open to you as well, Tam. If you’re open to debauchery.”
I hurried back down the corridor, unable to resist throwing a smirk back at Clement.
Aiming straight, I ignored the smear of ash along the floor.
Tempting as Clement’s offer was, this would be the perfect night to find the Sheriff.
The guards were off duty, and the prince was holed up in his room.
Lilyanna was shut in her own bedchamber in a fabricated huff.
No one would know if I slipped out of the castle.
Most importantly, no one would be able to pin the crime on me.