Chapter 32 #2
They are the same forlorn mossy green I first knew him to have, before we had become more.
Goddess help him. He’s devastatingly beautiful even as he looks like a bringer of death. I offer him a slight smile, hopeful he’ll feel a slight tinge of relief knowing I’m doing okay. He doesn’t change his face or offer any semblance of reassurance. It causes my skin to prickle with warning.
The wrongness of before sweeps through me. Would The Hidden know by now that he’d killed Zedriel? Would Kassiel still help us with severing the bond with the king?
His icy tone brings me out of my thoughts, “I merely mean, King Euron, that she seems like a sheltered little girl coming here, willing to hang on your arm as a trophy for you when you’ve offered her nothing in return. Is she truly so foolish?”
He laughs, the forced sound of it foreign to my ears.
No one stops him as he continues, “Does she believe she can just show up and demand a position in this court? When we haven’t even tested her abilities?”
Well what the fuck. He’s supposed to be helping me get in places, not ensure that I’ll be banned throughout the kingdom.
King Euron watches him, his eyes slicing over Kassiel’s face. He shifts forward in his seat and rests his fisted hands on the table.
If I wasn’t so close to the king, I wouldn’t have noticed the tremble in his chest. I study his whitening knuckles and the slight shake in his fist. Lifting my gaze to the profile of King Euron’s face again, his jaw is hardened as a vein in his forehead ticks.
The tension between the two is thick as I turn back to Kassiel. He’s looking at the king noncommittal, his expression lax though his eyes seem to bore through the man next to me.
“Hmm—” King Euron mumbles, “is that so, Devourer?” The syllable on the last of Kassiel’s name is drawn out, laced with anger.
I shift uncomfortably and smooth my dress in an attempt to conceal my need to release this pent up tension.
The Nightmare leans towards Kassiel, looking past the drunken woman between them.
Her hands wrap around Kassiel’s bicep, stirring a nugget of jealousy within me.
I push it aside, watching The Nightmare study the scene, amusement brightening his eyes.
“Oh Kassiel,” the woman chuckles out, “you’re so harsh on the lady.”
Her free hand roams over his shoulder.
The Nightmare starts, “I would have to agree with you, Kassiel. Shockingly. What can Lady Orlah do with her magic? We’ve heard the tales of iludreer but I have never witnessed such a spectacle before.”
King Euron breaks his eye contact with Kassiel and leans back in his seat. He waves dismissively at Orlin before delivering his final judgement.
“Lady Orlah, would you please show these clemantras a glimpse of your magic?”
He’s not looking at me but the sudden shift in the room is enough to make my nerves fray. All eyes are on me, waiting.
It’s not lost on me that I’ve quickly turned into another form of amusement for the guests.
Panic begins to gnaw at me. I’ve done well keeping my magic in check so far, maintaining the illusion mask while sitting through the discomfort of the meal.
But I haven’t done this before. I haven’t mastered holding two separate illusions.
I exhale a shaky breath, unsure of how I’m going to pull this part off. I close my eyes and begin to remember what Kassiel had said, how strong emotion and feelings help one feel connected to their essence.
Instead of picturing Hanin or even the possibility of losing Leeson, I imagine I’m wrapped in Kassiel’s arms. I imagine his lips dragging languidly down my neck and whispering into my ear forbidden secrets.
I even remember how his fingers felt inside me as they curled and pumped, causing my body to crash with pleasure.
My cheeks flame again, not from embarrassment, but from the decadent memories of being lost in one another.
I open my eyes and immediately feel the weight of Kassiel’s gaze. His sharp green orbs are pinned to mine as if he could feel my desire.
I will my magic into the air and weave an image of a raven flying over the table, the shimmer of its pale wings and crystalline feathers refracting in the candlelight. It settles, landing on a nearby wall sconce before stretching its great wings and tucking them back in.
Clapping erupts in the dining hall and I can’t help but sigh in relief. I glance back to Kassiel who now looks away from me. The woman still clings to his arm, whispering in his ear as he nods his head in mock conversation.
King Euron simply sits there, staring at the opalescent raven, watching it. He’s quiet, drawing out the silence. Orlin turns back to me and a savage grin slips across his lips.
“Amazing, Lady Orlah.” His groveling praise has me leaning back in my chair. I ignore him, unsure what to say with the king’s continued silence.
Chatter and cutlery on plates continues, the moment already nearly forgotten by the court. They merely wait, eager for another form of pleasure to find them.
King Euron steeples his fingers together and taps them together rhythmically.
He turns to me slowly and apprehension seizes in my chest. Gods I hope I’ve been believable.
“I haven’t seen magic like that in…many turns.” He whispers to me, low enough I’m certain no one else can hear.
He moves one of his hands to mine and clasps it in his grasp. His skin feels too cool and it sends a shiver along my spine. His thin lip quirks up, obviously mistaking the response.
He trails a finger along my arm, tracing along the sheer silver sleeve that covers down to my wrists.
“You are most beguiling, you know that?” His eyes remain on the sheer fabric as he toys with the satin material, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger.
I swallow thickly. His touch makes me feel sickly, the possessive contact sending warning bells in my mind.
He continues his exploration until his fingers trace over my collarbone and slip to the column of my neck. My skin prickles farther, revolting against the pressure.
“Starlight, I’m beyond eager to see you without these fine threads.”
I jerk my gaze up to his face, noticing that his eyes linger along my freckled décolletage.
It takes every restraint I have not to pull away and shake off his hands.
Closing my eyes, I imagine that the caresses are Kassiel’s. The image calms my hammering heart.
A tongue slides along the underside of my jaw nearest my ear, followed by wet kisses that track along my throat.
My stomach churns as I force myself to withstand the onslaught of kisses.
“My King,” a voice interrupts the assault of eagerness, “I had hoped we could talk about The Hidden.”
Thank fuck.
I open my eyes as he peels himself away from me. The Nightmare continues to watch, his eyes raking over me just as lewdly as the kisses from the king.
Kassiel’s voice begins again, with the same nonchalantness they possessed earlier.
“Since we found the young man from earlier in the capitol,” he pauses and takes a drink from his wine glass, “I think it best if we prepare for the prospect of them being here.”
Annoyance rolls off King Euron's shoulders as he stretches in his chair.
I realize then that this is exactly the ploy Kassiel planned to use to dismiss him from the dinner so he could go search with Rune and Jessamine for the leirunes.
“If you really feel that now, during the celebration of my rule, is the best time to discuss these hindrances,” the king stands, voice raising, “then you can remove yourself from this table and go promptly fuck off and quit interfereing with my festivities.”
The Nightmare covers his laugh though not in time to stop the snicker of laughter from pelting out.
The court grows silent again, watching yet another scene unfold they’ll undoubtedly gossip about.
Kassiel slowly rises in his seat, shrugging off the willowy fingers that encircle his wrist, desperately.
“Now Devourer,” the woman’s cadence makes me want to stab my dagger into my ear, “ask for forgiveness so you may sit with me the rest of the night, pleaseee.” She whines out the ‘e’ of the word, it's laced with desperation.
He simply turns to her and bows his head, before removing himself from the table and promptly makes his way out a butler's door that's nearest his seat.
“What a skid.” The rejection is venom on her lips. She tosses her napkin on her plate while a sneer forms on her face.
The Nightmare grasps her arms and loudly declares, “That’s okay Lady Marion, I’ll happily entice you instead.”
His devious eyes ignite as he dons a rakish smile.
She doesn’t return the sentiment. Her sneer pulls farther up and she rolls her eyes as she rips her arm away from him.
“Not on your life, Orlin.”
She shifts her body to the now empty seat, her back facing The Nightmare. His face twists with rejection as he snatches the goblet nearest him and takes a long draw of the draft.
Murmurs begin again and I decide now is my best chance to escape.
“My King, I was wondering if I may retire to my chambers? Using such magic does leave me feeling weary.”
He sips from his glass.
I wait a few moments before he replies.
“That would be fine stardust, but I don’t trust anyone here with how special you are to me, so Orlin will escort you back.”
The Nightmare perks up. He stands from his seat and opens his arms in a flourish.
“It would be my honor to take her to your chambers, Majesty.”
I pause, momentarily stunned and run through the excuses I have ready before landing on one that seems reasonable.
“I will need my ladies to help me change from my gown. It’s imported fabric from Niamh you see.”
He waves me off noncommittally, focusing on a distant conversation. The Nightmare lowers his arms slightly as he rolls his eyes in my direction.
The king makes no more conversation so I depart, pushing back my chair with a heave.
The maroon sea of the court remains seated and I’m thankful to be free.
As I shift past the chairs and large table, I exit through the door that Kassiel and The Nightmare entered through, with the latter on my heels, his breath practically huffing on my neck.
“Well that was a bore,” he says as we exit the great room.
I don’t answer, instead, I silently thank the gods that it was in fact mostly uneventful.