He glanced down at his hand and huffed a chuckle. “Ah, that. I broke a glass.”
It must have been quite the violent break for it to have sliced his cheek. And…was there a portion of his shirt missing? His ruffled collar appeared to have been torn. Maybe that was what he’d used to tie his hand. Whatever the case, he looked quite the mess.
She waved at him, motioning him back toward his room. “Clean yourself up at once. You can’t meet Princess Aveline looking like this.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if trying to decipher the meaning of her words. Then, with a shake of his head, he said, “For dinner tonight. The one I asked you to help me with.”
There was something strange about the way he spoke, uttering each word slowly as if he wasn’t quite sure what he was saying. “Are you still asleep? Go! Get changed. Princess Aveline will be coming by at any moment to do the same. I didn’t offer my maids to her for nothing, and I’ll be damned if the both of you embarrass me.”
“Who are we embarrassing you before?”
Mareleau pulled her head back with a scoff. “Me, of course. For two people so madly in love, neither of you seem to know how to impress the other. Perhaps I’ll have to play the mentor to you both.”
He narrowed his eyes again. “Because you’re at Ridine Castle to mentor Princess Aveline.”
Once more with that careful way of talking. It almost seemed like he was asking a question rather than stating a fact. What was wrong with him?
“You know this,” she said. “Now go before I lose my mind and promise never to help you again.”
Teryn watched her with a probing look that was almost unsettling. Then he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “I regret that your aid will come to naught. The princess will not be joining me for dinner tonight.”
“No, she’s simply running behind. My ladies will return with her soon and have her dressed and ready in no time.”
“You don’t understand,” Teryn said with a sigh. “I’ve already been to see her tonight and she refused to come to dinner with me.”
“But…but my ladies?—”
“She will refuse them. Trust me.”
Disappointment sank her stomach. Then anger took its place. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re going to waste the wine I picked out for you. And the cake!” She clenched her jaw with a growl. It wasn’t chocolate cake, but it was lemon chiffon. Mareleau had nearly burst into an inferno of rage when the baker told Teryn she’d make a small cake just for him and Aveline. Where was Mareleau’s cake?
A corner of Teryn’s mouth lifted into a smirk she’d never seen grace his face before. “Wine and cake, you say? Well, we certainly can’t let that go to waste.”
She huffed. “You seem awfully buoyant for a man whose dinner offer was rejected by his beloved. I would have expected you to be more upset.” Or maybe she just didn’t know Teryn well at all. She was finally beginning to warm up to him, but the way he was acting now…it didn’t seem quite right.
“What is there to be upset about? She’s simply busy. I respect her. There’s no need to cling to someone you trust.”
Mareleau felt abashed at that. She may not know her brother-in-law well, but she knew even less about separating love from obsession. She’d clung to her chance at love so hard, she’d lied for it. Betrayed the trust of the person she’d been fighting for. She waited for the guilt to come, but most of it had already faded when Larylis forgave her.
Larylis. Gods how she missed him.
She pushed the thought away. “You must really like her.”
Teryn’s expression shifted, his smile tightening with his jaw, eyes suddenly devoid of mirth. “An understatement.”
“Then why don’t you march over to that tower?—”
“No.” The word came out cold, edged with finality. It hung between them, chilling the air. Then his smile returned, and it was no longer angled into a smirk. “Why don’t you join me for the meal you worked so hard to prepare, sister?”
“Me,” Mareleau said with a grimace. “Dine with you?”
“You seemed quite passionate over the wine and cake. If anyone deserves to enjoy it, it’s you, am I wrong?”
He had a point. She had worked hard, and if Aveline was going to force all that effort to go to waste, then the least she could do was enjoy it. “But…but my presence will be missed at dinner in the hall.”
“Will it, though?”
Another good point. She doubted anyone would even note her absence. Besides, she was only going for cake. She could always join the feast after.
