Chapter 13
Emillie paused outside the small, makeshift library where she left her sister, Revelie, and Dowager Caldwell, and inhaled long and slow. Her heart thumped. Her chest constricted. Her mind raced.
What if they were all incorrect and Luce meant nothing by all she had done?
Before she could convince herself not to follow through with her plan to speak withLucetabout everything, Emillie charged down the corridor and up the main flight of stairs that led to the set of rooms the lycan and spice merchant family had been allotted upon their arrival at the place they calledAuhla. The mountainside keep, filled to the brim with dhemons, had dozens of bedchambers now packed with upwards of a half dozen bodies. Across the grounds, smaller buildings were being erected, and as dhemons left the main castle, various rooms were becoming available. As such, the high fae and Luce had taken one such room while she and Revelie occupied anotherwith a third bed available in the hopes of adding Camilla sooner rather than later.
When she reached the third floor where their chambers were located, Emillie sucked in a deep breath and paused again. They needed to discuss whatever it was that lingered between them, but one question remained: how didEmilliefeel about it?
It did not take long for her to answer. If Luce were to laugh in her face, she was not certain she could bear it. Somehow, the snarky, bitter lycan had clawed her way into Emillie’s heart and buried herself into her every thought. Even moreso, she had to wager, than Kyra ever did despite their obvious physical connection.
Emillie smoothed out the skirt of the dress she had borrowed from Ariadne and swept over to the appropriate door where she rapt on the wood with a shaking hand.
A heartbeat passed, then the door swung open to reveal Edira. The high fae’s eyebrows lifted, but she smiled despite appearing as though she had been awoken. Though the band of spice merchants had shifted their sleep schedule to match Emillie’s for their weeks together on the road, they had begun slipping back into their usual pattern of nightly rests.
“What can I do for you?” Edira asked, leaning a hip on the doorframe. Her long black hair was twisted high on top of her head and mussed from her pillow, and she wore a lighter night shift than when they had been traveling, the warmth of the keep allowing her to sleep without bundling up.
Emillie opened her mouth, grimaced, and closed it.
“Tell her Luce is two doors down,” Pol called sleepily from the depths of the room.
Quieter, yet no less groggy, Haen hissed something in their language that made Pol laugh. Edira cast a withering glare over her shoulder before refocusing on Emillie and pointing to her left. “They’re right. She moved into an open room just there.”
“Why?” She blurted the question without thought, then felt the familiar sensation of heat spreading across her cheeks.
“So many questions,” Pol groaned. “Close the door, Dira!”
A roll of her eyes, and Edira held the door open wider—much to Pol’s chagrin—letting in more of the soft light from the corridor’s lanterns. “She said she prefers to sleep opposite us, so it’s just easier that way.”
That was not what Emillie expected to hear. In fact, she merely continued to gape for a long moment before remembering herself and saying, “Oh. Alright. Thank you.”
“Good night, Em,” Pol called. “Dira,please!”
At that, Edira chuckled, bid Emillie goodnight as well, then closed the door.
Following the high fae’s instructions, Emillie turned and closed the distance to Luce’s room. The nerves of the initial knock being jarred out of her by the new information, she pounded on the lycan’s door with far less quavering.
Yet when Luce appeared, her golden eyes glowing wolfishly in the low light, Emillie’s heart tripped over itself and had her ribcage shuddering in a whole new way. The lycan was, as always, stunning. Her thick, coiled hair was neatly picked out, and her freshly washed trousers and shirt fit her muscular figure in a way that made Emillie feel very much like a suitor at a ball with how her eyes traveled over the woman’s body all the way down to her bare feet.
“Do you need something?” Luce glanced down the corridor as though expecting to see someone else. Finding it empty, she refocused on Emillie. “Are you alright?”
Finding her voice, Emillie nodded. “May I speak with you?”
“Are you not doing so already?”
“Privately.” The single word left Emillie in a breath.
Something primal flashed in Luce’s gaze before she stepped back and gestured for Emillie to enter. The room insidewas small—more like a soldier’s barracks room than anything else, with two bunk beds against opposite walls. The top two mattresses were bare, while those on the bottom had linens on one and a pile of personal items, such as clothes, on the other. Aside from that, the room was empty.
The door clicked behind her, and Luce hurried by to shove the pile of belongings to one side, opening up a place for Emillie to sit. She did so, and Luce plopped down across from her at the edge of her bed.
“What happened?” Luce tilted her head.
Emillie curled her fingers into her skirt, and the lycan studied the movement. Before she could lose her nerve, she asked, “Did you bond to me?”
After a moment of utter stillness, Luce said, “I would say you and I have a bond of sorts.”
“No.” Emillie sucked in a breath. “I mean…do you have a fae bond with me?”
