“As I said before, you needn’t introduce yourself. I’m merely a guard.” He waved me off, dismissing me and making to walk away.
I felt ire rise in me, and I wouldn’t let him get away with it. “I beg your pardon, but I feel it’s essential I know those responsible for my life and that of my sister’s in the coming weeks. You’ll forgive me if I seek reassurance.”
He halted, having not made it past me in the hallway, so we now stood quite close. I shivered as if all my hairs leaned in towards him. He drew in a deep breath as if summoning strength and let it out in a sigh. “Yes. It’s Faolan, Your Highness.”
The title surprised me. “You do not need to address me as a princess.”
“You will be one soon enough. It’s proper to acknowledge that,” he said, and it felt as though he was using the title as a shield to maintain distance between us, though I could not fathom why. “Is there anything else I can do for you before I get back to the pressing work of ensuring your safety and comfort for when we leave?”
I ground my teeth. It was a low blow. “I just wanted to introduce myself properly since we will be spending quite a bit of time together.”
“Well, now we are acquainted, yes?”
“Yes.” I didn’t know what else to answer. What was his problem?
“Is there anything else?”
“No.” I had never felt so stupid. I looked like a fool for this pointless interaction, and all I had wanted was to make the connection to feel less awkward in his presence, not more.
“Okay…” he said hesitantly.
“Okay,” I repeated, trying to sound like my mission had been accomplished to save face.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to see to our provisions before we set sail,” he said, stepping to the side to try and pass me.
I lurched awkwardly out of his way, looking even more foolish for the effort. “Of course.”
He nodded once and hastily disappeared down the hallway.
Fuck. Well done, Caly…you looked insane.
I huffed and kicked the base of one of fathers gaudy sculptures, sending pain through my toe. “Ouch!”
I heard more footsteps coming from the guest wing and decided to retreat back to our rooms before anyone else saw me making a fool of myself.
“Did you find him?” Nova asked when I reached my chamber, causing me to jump in fright.
“Did you wait here just to be nosy?” I scolded, heading for my dresser to take down my hair.
“Yes, now answer my question.”
“I found him.”
“And?”
I pulled several pins from my hair and sighed as it eased from their hold. Picking up my brush, I began working through it section by section. “And what? I introduced myself and that was that.”
“That’s all?”
“What else is there?” I didn’t want to let on how deflated I was. I felt like the entire thing was in my head. Did I hallucinate him fixating on me when they arrived? Was I looking for anything other than the fate the Gods prescribed?
I turned in my seat to fix her with a glare. “I wanted to make sure I knew who’d be escorting us. Don’t you think it’s important to know those who will be keeping us safe?”
“I guess,” she said, sounding unconvinced, but I couldn’t admit to it now. Not when I felt like I was losing my mind.
“There you go then. We met the others at the banquet. Faolan was the missing piece, and I wanted to fix that before we sail. Subject closed.” I turned back to face the mirror and began brushing again.
SIXTEEN
