Of course she did. I grinned, but what I’d specifically signed was more along the lines ofdarkly beautiful, along with more detailed embellishments than were contained in the original story.“A man of uncommon grace, lean enough to slip through shadows and perform whatever foul tasks the monster requested, with eyes that held secrets and a wicked smile.”
Most others followed along as Sahra demonstrated the key phrases again. It was only when I watched Winnie attempting to sign ‘eyes that held secrets’ that I felt the blood drain from my face. Quinn’s presence across the circle was like heat from a fire, a burning awareness that took all my strength to ignore.
My fingers found the ring within the small pouch at my belt. The damned thing was starting to feel like a cursed object.
The late winter sun traced its path across the sky. My mortification calcified.
Tonight. I would give him the ring tonight and be done with it.
The remainder of the afternoon disappeared in the library. Strategically avoiding the suffocating companionship of any man within the castle, I waited until I heard Quinn enter his room before I slipped out of my door and made a mad dash upstairs. I hid among dusty tomes in the forbidden section, disappointed to discover thatprohibiteddid not necessarily equate tointeresting.My eyes glazed over a tedious survey of families, information that would likely serve me at the wedding but now seemed aboutas comprehensible as trying to read Vidisi, the native tongue of distant Rividinya.
Lord Mouse found me later, reviving me from a deep slumber I’d unwittingly slipped into. Drool puddled on the early pages ofComplete Gallaean Lineages of Major and Minor Noble Houses,smearing the ink on a portion of the page.
“Your Highness, it is time for supper. Lady Florence has been searching for you.”
I rubbed the grit from my eyes, leaning back to stretch. With a yawn, I exited the library.
Florence started up, hardly looking at me before she sensed my presence. “By the Lord, there’s been a search for you for nearly half an hour! The prince seemed to fear you’d run off.”
“Were it so easy.” I grimaced. “Did no one think to check the library?”
“Quinn went there first, but Lord Mouse claimed he hadn’t seen you,” Florence said. “He toldmeotherwise.”
“Why on earth would he do that?”
Florence tried to conceal her amusement. “Perhaps he saw that you wished not to be disturbed.”
We were the last to arrive in the dining hall, and by Nicolas’ expression, he’d worried.
“Asleep in the forbidden wing of the library, Your Highness,” said Florence. “Unharmed.”
“Call off the guard,” Queen Adelaide ordered with a bored, almost annoyed tone, and one of the posted guardsmen left the hall.
I took my place between the queen and prince, flashing both of them an apologetic look. Nicolas leaned closer to whisper, his voice trembling. “I was ready to storm out of here if it took one minute further to find you. Mother insisted it would reflect poorly if I showed such anxiety for your well-being.”
I tried not to grimace. “I agree. You wouldn’t want the world to think you live in perpetual terror of invisible threats.”
Nicolas’ fingers slipped between mine, gripping me tightly.
I pried my hand from his to grab a serving of venison. Every damned night it was venison and root stews and preserved meats and fish. I had no right to complain, not when the country was on the brink of starvation; the queen’s reforms had bought Gallaesome time, but not much. No, it was less that I was unhappy with the food, and more unhappy with the association I was beginning to form. Winter had been bleak, and the monotony of supper was a small part of that picture.
Quinn returned after a while, finding his seat. He seemed less angry than I expected, and more…wounded? His gaze met mine in an act of polite acknowledgement.
“I’m glad to see you well,” he said, filling his plate.
Just how worried had he been? His usual composition was nowhere to be found. I imagined him looking in all my usual spells first—the library, the maze, maybe the Lady’s Chambers—before panic took hold.
I almost felt bad. I only wished for some time alone, away from the indecent feelings that had become almost unavoidable around the viscount: guilty fascination for where the night might have gone without Florence’s arrival; anger for him reporting Winnie’s parents. But perhaps I could have let him know where I was going. It would’ve made little difference if he’d been out-of-sight within the library. At least then he’d feel that he was doing an adequate job of protecting me.
Gods, and Nicolas must have been sore with him.
The meal went on with little in the way of conversation. Each day was a coin toss as to whether anything eventful might be discussed over supper, but my theory was that, so long as Winnie remained present and dressed in black, most of the courtiers felt too uncomfortable to return to any lighthearted small talk.
Just as I readied myself to get up, Nicolas cleared his throat. He didn’t need to do anything else to garner the room’s attention, not with such little competition in volume.
“Ahead of my coronation, there are a few small changes I would like to institute around the dining hall. I acknowledge that these are hard times for us all…” He paused. I wondered whether he was referring to the famine or to the orphaned Winnie Balden. “So, it is my hope that these adjustments will breathe some fresh air into the palace.”
I gave him a look, then turned my attention to the small group of men who came filing into the dining hall, instruments in hand. One of them, who wielded a lute, stepped ahead of the rest. Heintroduced their little troupe, as well as the name of their first song:Lady of the Woods,composed in my honor. I tried not to roll my eyes, leaning back in my chair and obliging Nicolas’ attempt to prevent me from leaving early. In all, it was a fine ballad, but the flattery couldn’t have come at a worse time.
