Chapter 20 #2
Every time I opened my mouth, the prince would steer the conversation again, or head down an intersecting street. He knew I wanted her alone, and I knew he was playing with me. My hands balled into fists.
He chose that moment to round another corner, his face angling briefly to mine.
The smirk on his lips made me want to punch him.
Was he trying to get back at me for favoring Clement?
We’d come so close to kissing at the moon festival, but there was an edge to him.
The Sheriff tried to warn me, my magic had tried to warn me, even Siobhan may have been telling the truth.
I stomped after them, boring holes into his back with my glare.
Finally, a lull in conversation. I sped up to force myself between them so I could tug her back to walk with me when Bryn stepped across my path scanning the street around us, completely severing my momentum.
She didn’t even look at me, whipping her head back around so fast, I was surprised her immaculately coiled bun didn’t unravel.
She set off again, forcing me behind as the alleyway narrowed.
I groaned and kicked at a loose stone.
“Why are you sulking?” Clement fell into step beside me.
“I’m not sulking.” I glared at him, unable to fix my face in time. “I’m trying to talk to Lilyanna.”
“You talk to her all day, every day.” His hand fell to the small of my back and he leaned in closer, a wicked grin curling his lips. “Talk to me.”
I should have ignored him, should have pushed past the guards and grabbed Lilyanna. He was such a distraction. My body was hyper-aware of his every move, his warm breath, his featherlight touch against my back. My mind emptied.
He nudged me. “Tam?”
“Are you going to have another evening off before the wedding?” My skin flushed as I imagined sitting with him in the Diamond Nightingale, squashed into the corner with our knees touching, sipping ale while we both tried not to focus on the lure of the rooms upstairs.
“I’d like to go with...spend time...you know, just us.
” I kept focused on the cobblestones, willing myself not to trip as my legs threatened to collapse. What was he doing to me?
“Not before the wedding, no.” He watched my face fall. “I’ll make it up to you, though.” He hesitated, focused on the others rounding the corner ahead. The instant they disappeared, he grabbed my elbow and flattened me against the hard wall. He lunged, taking my mouth in a fierce, claiming kiss.
He pulled back, breath mingling with mine, his body still poised against me. “Do you feel better, now?”
Air rushed out of me in an incoherent mumble.
He grinned. “Good, let’s go.”
He pushed off and strode away quickly.
“What? That’s it?” I tripped over my own feet in a hurry to catch up, stumbling after him.
His eyes flashed; his voice low. “That is nowhere near it.” He winked and rounded the bend.
The others had stopped at the end of the maze of alleyways, a wide street opening before them.
The prince scanned me, his gaze lingering on my flushed cheeks before tracing the rapid pulse of the jugular down my neck.
He frowned before glaring at Clement, who stepped into his regular position at his shoulder without a word, hand falling to his saber.
I trailed after them again, content with bringing up the rear as my mind remained firmly back in the alley with Clement.
Was I just a fun distraction for him as well?
He kept telling me to leave, that he’d help, but not once had he suggested going with me.
That was for the best though, surely? I couldn’t have him endangered by my lifestyle, and if Siobhan caught a whiff of my attraction, he’d conveniently end up as my next mark.
That was exactly the kind of retribution she would love.
I touched my mouth, the imprint of his lips lingering, and my heart squeezed.
No, it was better this way. We shouldn’t let it be anything deeper.
Incense swirled into my nostrils, and I jerked my head up. A slender cathedral towered above; its spire lodged within the gray sky. The large double doors were flung open, a walkway of sheer diamonds glistening like ice led to a circular vestibule.
The temperature plummeted as I stepped inside. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I scanned the room. Circular stone benches four deep spread around a central altar. A large wicker casket, jarringly out of place amongst the stone, rested in the middle. The place was empty.
My feet dragged as I followed the others.
My life had been spent chained to the devil, not the Goddess.
Would she be able to sniff me out? Perhaps summon thunderclouds of lightning to rend the air, cracking down to split the very stone beneath my feet and bury me under a pile of rock.
Siobhan would not save me unless it benefitted her.
Lilyanna squealed, the sound ricocheting in the quiet. I jumped and flung my hand over my chest. She turned sharply to the prince, her eyes bright, her golden braid flying over her shoulder. “Is this the surprise? To have the banns read?”
He nodded. His lips were pressed tight and his smile forced. Was he nervous? Maybe he was worried about retribution for keeping that woman after the priestess had deemed her free of magic, only for her to die. Good.
On cue, the priestess emerged from the far recess of the chamber.
Today, she wore her shimmering veil with the diadem nestled in her gray hair.
Her robes were still black, the diamonds glistening like slime.
At least you knew what you were getting from this side of the divide.
There’d be no teasing, no flirting, and certainly no rendezvous in the Red Blush.
Flanked by his two guards, the prince moved to the right side of the altar. I hovered behind Lilyanna on the left and the priestess took the center.
“What’s going on?” I hissed.
“Quiet, Tam.” She swatted her hand at me. “This is important.”
The priestess began to chant, and the wicker basket trembled.
“Lilyanna, what is—”
She half-turned, keeping her voice to an irritated whisper. “This is it. It will cement the match. When released, the patterns they make are omens for happiness, prosperity, fertility.”
“When what is released?”
She shushed me again and focused on the now jerking basket. A muted hiss filled the air.
My skin prickled. I raised my gaze from the altar and slammed into the emerald eyes of the prince. The rest of the room fell away, a furrow of silence connecting us. The corner of his mouth twitched, plunging my stomach into my feet.
Did he know Lilyanna was having doubts? That she spent every free second following some superstition or other.
She couldn’t just let fate dictate her path for her, she wanted to make sure she’d done everything she could to win the Goddess’s favor.
If she made it to the actual wedding, she’d have gone further than any of the others.
The lid slid off the basket and tumbled to the floor. My attention snapped back to the altar, breath rushing into my stagnant lungs. How long had I been trapped in his stare? I breathed deeply, reining in my pounding heart.
Three emerald snakes slithered out of the basket. They wound upward, swaying to the melody of the priestess’s chanting. I inched nearer to Lilyanna who had pressed so close to the altar, I suspected she could hear the sound of each individual scale rustling over each other.
The chanting stopped and the snakes paused, their lengths stretched vertically as if suspended from an invisible pulley in the ceiling.
The priestess nodded toward Lilyanna.
“Dear Goddess,” Lilyanna said, her voice eager and strong, “we have gathered here today to ask for your blessing. What knowledge can you bestow upon us as to our future marriage?”
The snakes held still. I glanced at Clement who’d paled, his knuckles white on the hilt of his saber. Bryn seemed not to be faring any better, her body tipped back, neck extended as she put as much distance between herself and the snakes as she could.
The prince still watched me, but I didn’t dare meet his gaze again. My skin froze wherever his eyes alighted.
One of the snakes swiveled, its red eyes coming to rest on Lilyanna. She leaned further forward, her fingers gripping the edge of the altar as her body quivered in excitement. “I’m ready, Goddess,” she whispered, “show me.”
The snake lunged. Long, white fangs flicked forward, driving for Lilyanna’s face.
I shoved her sideways, grabbing the snake in mid-air, my fingers tightening behind its head.
It whipped its body back and forth, rough scales colliding with my arm.
Furious hisses scorched the air. I scooped the lid from the floor and shoved the snake back into the basket, squashing the other two in with it. The snakes immediately calmed.
Even the priestess regarded me with a wary look, her hands scrunched into the fabric of her veil.
I let out a long breath and wiped my hands down my trousers. Nobody moved.
The prince cleared his throat. “Where did you learn how to do that?” His face tightened, the vivid color in his eyes dulling back to a dark green.
“Oh, don’t sound so disappointed, my dear prince,” I said.
His lip curled. “I grew up on a farm.” I shrugged, glancing at Clement.
“The snakes were useful, they ate the rats. But they’re still wild animals, and if they got too close to the chickens, I’d have to move them.
It took only one bite and agonizing gangrene in my arm that had to be cured by magic, to learn how to handle them properly.
” I looked at Clement again. His face was still pale, but a sloppy smile spread as he listened. My chest heated.
Lilyanna gave a small sob, and I gathered her to me. “It’s okay.” I stroked her hair. “Let’s go back.” She nodded, keeping her face pressed against my neck. She took a deep breath and straightened.
The prince circled the altar, quickly inserting himself between us and took her arm. She gave me a wistful glance but molded herself to his body.
I walked on their heels, ready to swipe her back to me if she needed it.
“Lilyanna, my dear,” the prince angled her further from me, “you shouldn’t put so much stock in those old-fashioned rituals.”
She sniffed; her words breathy as she tried to regain composure. “They always come true. It’s a direct message from the Goddess. She was telling us not to proceed with this union.”
“Don’t be absurd.” The muscles in his neck corded. “It’s like Tam said, they’re wild animals—”
“I believe it,” I piped in.
Clement swooped in front of me, nudging my shoulder.
“They’re wild animals,” he continued, moving to block my view.
She sniffed again, her breath catching. “Look,” he snapped, “I wouldn’t have taken you if I’d thought it would upset you this much.
” He took a deep breath, and I burned daggers into the back of his head wishing my magic could leech into the air and penetrate his thick skull.
“No, no.” Lilyanna straightened, subtly increasing the gap between their bodies. “You are quite right. You must forgive me, I’m just a little shaken.”
We stopped outside the main entrance to the castle, both guards on duty ducking their heads as they swung the heavy door open.
The prince kissed Lilyanna’s hand and stepped back.
The moment he let go, I bounded up the stairs and took her arm.
Clement's hand narrowly missed my sleeve as he tried to stop me.
“I still have some errands to run, my dear,” the prince said. “Why don’t you go inside and settle. I’m sure Tam is dying to get some alone time with you.”
I narrowed my eyes at Clement, flinging my irritation toward him instead. He widened his eyes innocently, but his lips twitched.
“And later perhaps, we will all go and do something to erase the memories of this morning.” He retreated to the bottom step, both guards moving to his flanks. “For the fayre is in town, my dear. Tonight, we shall all go.”