Chapter 31
Our entourage trotted around the elaborate front garden and to the huge pair of doors that led into the central part of the palace.
The portals opened, and a man nearing seventy strode out with the quick step of someone half his age.
He wore a prim leather shirt with equally clean pants and shoes that had been shined to perfection.
His thinning black hair was combed back, and the wrinkles on his face didn’t hide the faint hint of a smile his usually stoic nature suppressed.
Secundus, too, emerged with the proper man, along with a gentleman I could only describe as ‘ageless.’
He was gaunt in appearance, with pale, almost stretched skin.
His eyes were an equally gray color, as was his thick mess of hair that was tied in a long tail, which trailed down his back.
He wore a simple black robe that stretched from the high collar around his neck to the soft slipper-like black shoes that covered his feet.
He moved with the litheness of a tiger, and his long, slender fingers were clasped together in front of him.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked like a vampire. It didn’t help that while the other two hurried out into the garden to greet us, he remained in the shade of the portico.
Secundus opened his arms to his king as Cassian hopped down. “Your Majesty! You have no idea how pleased I am to see you in such health!”
“And Lady Holt is in fine condition, as well,” Cassian mused with a teasing smile as he helped me down.
The lord’s lips tried to twitch backward in a sneer, but he mastered himself before the look became permanent. “So I see. How did you fare after our reluctant parting?”
“Quite well, though there is the unfinished job of the nethral pit,” Cassian mused as he turned his attention to the pale man in the shade.
“Marius, would you send two dozen of the palace’s best men to handle the job as quickly as possible?
Ensure they have the fastest horses and a few magicians with them so they might discover the pit faster.
There are fewer nethral there at this time, so it should be easier to eliminate. ”
Marius bowed his head and turned to go back inside. I swore he paused long enough for his eyes to linger on me, and then he disappeared silently into the palace.
Cassian’s attention fell on the elderly gentleman, and his face lit up. “Felix! It seems like another lifetime since we last saw each other!”
Felix couldn’t suppress his smile as he bowed his head. “Yes, Your Highness. I believe I have grown another gray hair since you left.”
Cassian laughed and clapped his hand on the man’s shoulder. “My sincerest apologies for that hair. I’m afraid I have a request which will add another to it.”
Felix lifted an eyebrow. “What is it, Your Highness?”
The king stepped aside and swept an arm in my direction. “This is Lady Holt. She will be occupying the room beside mine for the foreseeable future.”
The manservant lifted his eyebrow. “The room beside yours, Your Highness?”
I didn’t miss the pointed look Cassian gave his valet. “Yes. It will need new sheets, of course, but I expect the dusting has been kept up.”
Felix stood at attention and lifted his chin. “Of course, Your Highness. I shall see that the room is properly prepared immediately.” He bowed his head and hurried to obey his king’s command.
Cassian clapped his hands together as he turned to our entourage. “Now then, I expect all of you to get a good night’s rest! Visit your families and lovely ladies, and don’t return here until you are well-rested and fully recovered!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” they shouted back, as most turned their horses and trotted down the hill.
Titus maneuvered his horse over to us and grinned down at Cassian. “The room next to yours?”
Cassian inclined his head to him. “Yes, the room next to mine.”
“Well, then, I wish you two a good night.” He bowed his head and followed the others off the palace plateau.
I lifted an eyebrow at Cassian. “What was that about?”
“Titus often gets confused with the palace layout,” Cassian told me as he wrapped an arm around my lower back. “Now let us see to a bath and a change of clothes, and then I’ll show you your room.”
Cassian led me up to the second floor and the center room, where a pair of grand doors opened into a luxurious suite of rooms. The front room was a large sitting area, with a pair of doors at the back that I guessed led to the bedroom.
He nodded at a pair of doors to our left. “Your room shall be in there. The bath you shall use for this one time is to our right.”
The bathroom turned out to be a whole room with a huge in-floor tub, and a floor and sink made of marble. I was thrilled when I turned the tap of the tub and warm water ran out. A modern convenience I had sorely missed.
Cassian’s eyes flickered up and down my body. “I shall leave you to your cleaning, unless you desire help.”
I rubbed my sore back muscle. “I think I’ll just enjoy the soak, but thank you.”
He bowed his head and reluctantly slipped away.
I thoroughly enjoyed the bath, though the change of clothes was a little more difficult.
Namely, in that the set of clothes had to be found, since all of mine were equally dingy.
I came out of the bath feeling like a new woman, but with a towel wrapped firmly around my middle.
Cassian sat in a chair at a small round table. A pile of clothes lay on the top. He was reading a book, but looked up at my entrance. A smile slipped onto his lips. He set the book down and stood. “Good evening, my lovely bride.”
“You’re going to get us both in trouble if you keep that up,” I scolded him as I made a beeline to the attire. There was a dress, a blouse, and some riding pants. I opted for the latter.
Cassian picked up the dress and let it unfold. The gown was of a lovely scarlet hue with a low neckline. “Wouldn’t you rather wear this?”
My eyes flickered between his eager face and the dress before I spun on my heels and sauntered back to the bathroom. “No.”
I firmly shut the door behind myself and quickly dressed. The clothes were a little loose, but otherwise were soft and comfortable. I emerged with my dignity intact, though my host was a little less cheerful.
He gestured to the door. “Would you like to see your quarters?”
“Most definitely.”
We slipped into the room, and I found it about a quarter the size of his sitting room.
The space featured a small bed with a hope chest at the foot.
A dresser and a full-length, stand-alone mirror finished the decor.
Cassian nodded at an adjoining door. “That’s your bathroom.
I’m afraid it’s rather smaller than mine. ”
“I think I’ll get used to it,” I assured him as I moved over to the dresser. I opened one of the large drawers and inspected the empty contents. Something at the back caught my attention. “Um, Your Majesty?”
“If I am allowed to call you by your first name, then I would prefer if you still called me Cassian,” he gently scolded me.
“How long has this room been unoccupied?”
“Five years. Since my father passed. His valet occupied this room, but I haven’t found a need for such company.”
I pinched that something at the back of the dresser between two fingers and turned to face him. A pristine, short black sock hung from my fingertips. Not a speck of dust could be seen on the fine linen. “Does your staff even dust the forgotten socks?”
Cassian cleared his throat and held out his hand. “I’ll be sure that it finds its mate.”
I draped the sock over his palm. “I’m sure Felix would be grateful. He was the person in this room, wasn’t he?”
Cassian wrapped his fingers around the sock and cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I’ve learned to dress myself, anyway.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You didn’t have to dispossess your manservant just for me.”
He lifted both eyebrows, and there was a twinkle in his eyes. “Shouldn’t I have?”
A faint blush accented my cheeks, but I put my foot down. Literally. “No, you shouldn’t have.”
“If not for you, then whom?”
“Nobody! He’s your manservant!”
“And he obeys my orders.”
“That’s not the point!”
Our little conversation on decorum was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Your Highness?”
Cassian sighed. “Come in.”
The door opened, and one of the guards from the gate stepped inside. He stopped in front of us and bowed his feathery head. “Sire! An express package arrived from one of the outpost villages!”
Cassian lifted an eyebrow. “Is something unusual about that?”
The guard nodded at me. “It’s addressed to Lady Holt.”