Chapter Nine #2
“Does it have to be a gown? Does a princess always waltz around the castle in a full gown?”
“There hasn’t been a princess in the castle in longer than I’ve been alive. Or a queen. I have no idea what she would wear day-to-day.”
“A dress should work, then,” Nira said. “I’ll go find one.”
Jet and Vishen helped me off the floor while she was gone, leaving me alone to get myself ready for the day.
It was so shocking not to feel two steps from the grave that I barely even noticed the heaviness of my limbs or the ache in my muscles.
Nira returned when I’d just finished plaiting my hair, flashing a lovely midnight blue gown at me. The material was light, the pattern simple, but with an intricately embroidered bodice.
“I know you can speak,” Nira said as she hung up the dress.
I stiffened. “You couldn’t have cried out in pain like that if you were still mute.
Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.
I’m never going to be the one to bring men,” she shot the closed door a disdainful look, “into your personal business. But it would be helpful if you told me something about your lake. I’d really like to stick it in Vishen’s face that I was the one to find it. Anything would help.”
I glanced at the door, then back at Nira.
“Willows,” I whispered.
“I mean, don’t most lakes have willows?”
I wouldn’t know.
“Water lilies?”
“That might help. What color?”
“Pink with purple centers.”
“That seems unique enough,” Nira said. “Anything else?”
“There are carvings on some of the trees.”
“Hearts and initials?”
“Yes. But… but also…”
“Also what?”
“Breasts.”
“Someone carved tits in a tree?” Nira asked, lips twitching. “Men. Okay. That should be more than enough. I’ll get you more of your water. Then once I can confirm it’s the right one, I will get enough to fill this tub.”
“Thank you.”
Looking uncomfortable with my gratitude, Nira brushed right past it. “Keep an eye out today. If you see anyone who seems to be giving you the eye or trying to get close to you, let me know when I get back. I will investigate.”
“I will.”
“Do you need help with the dress?” she asked, giving it a confused look.
“What kind of help?”
“I heard fancy women have their maids dress them.”
“I can manage the task on my own.”
With that, Nira made her way out and I stripped out of Jet’s shirt, feeling a surprising swell of regret. But I shook that off, slipped into the dress, and glanced at myself in the looking glass.
Jet’s words came drifting back to me.
She’s too fucking beautiful for a bog fae.
I’d never had reason to consider myself before. I saw myself as an extension of my lake. And nothing in the world was more beautiful than my lake, so I guess I’d always had an innate security in my appearance.
I tried to see myself through Jet’s eyes, to try to figure out what about me he found so pleasing.
“Serin?” Jet called, knocking. When I didn’t answer, he pushed open the door and moved in.
Spotting me, something flashed across his face, gone too quickly to name, but my body seemed to recognize it, making my breath go quick and shallow while my heartbeat fluttered faster.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
I nodded.
But as he reached for my flask, I gasped and lunged at him.
“Easy,” he murmured, holding out a hand. “You don’t have pockets. I will keep it right here.”
He slid it into his pant pocket. “If you want it at any time, you can have it.” I tried to relax my shoulders. “Do you think you’re up for a tour? I don’t like that you don’t at least know where the exits are in case of an emergency. Or assassination attempt.”
He said the last one so casually, I almost thought I’d misheard him.
“Knight, come,” he called as we moved into the hall. He turned to look at me. “I suppose we should look like a happy newlywed couple.”
I had no idea what that meant, so I just inclined my head.
But then his arm was lifting, his hand moving out to press into the small of my back.
It was a soft, barely-there touch, but a shiver coursed down my spine and pooled in my core. I didn’t have a name for the sensation, but it crested and pulsed through me as we walked down the long hall, then down a curving stone staircase to the next floor.
He led me through the guest quarters, the ballroom, and the dining hall with a table so long it could seat a hundred people.
“These are the staff areas. I don’t typically come down here, so don’t be surprised if there is a lot of confusion and scrambling.”
Remembering the prick to my skin in passing, I scooted closer to Jet as we stepped into the bustling kitchen.
He stiffened enough for me to start to pull away, but then his arm slid, curling around my hip and pulling me close as the first staff member froze and gasped, nearly dropping the bowl full of plums to the ground.
“I’m just showing the princess around,” Jet announced, his tone carrying an authority that had a tingle starting in my core. “Don’t let us disturb you and your duties.”