Chapter Four
“Lady Aine will murderme.”Finnrey extricated herself from the flood of people and stood before me, gaping.
“Did you hear—”
She nodded.“Yes, the Zulenii prince has arrived.Have you seen yourself in a looking glass this morning?”
“No.Why?”
“Your jaw is yellow and green with”—she peered closer—“splotches of blue.”
I touched my aching jaw gingerly.“My mother won’t kill you.Broga did it.Besides, she should be glad for anything that makes me look less desirable to the Zulenii.”
“That’s your goal, not hers.Mission accomplished, Mara,” Finnrey said.
I would have given her a withering look if it didn’t hurt to scowl.
“Is that what you’re wearing?”
I looked down at the sleeveless undergarment and cut off leggings I slept in.“No.I just woke up.Why aren’t you already gawking at him?”I threw the last over my shoulder as I stepped back into the house and headed to my chamber to change.Finnrey followed me, leaning against my bedchamber door while I stepped behind my screen and scrubbed my face with cold water.
“I woke up late, like you.We should have been at the training field first thing.”
I quickly brushed my teeth then stripped off my sleeping clothes and pulled on clean undergarments.“I don’t think one more day of sparring with Broga will matter.”
“Don’t wear that,” Finnrey said when I reached for a brown tunic.“At least make an effort.”She elbowed me out of the way and selected a honey-gold tunic.“This one makes your eyes stand out.”
The choice of tunic wasn’t worth arguing over.The prince wasn’t likely to see me in the crowd.I pulled the tunic over my head and then hopped into a pair of dark brown leggings.Finnrey handed me a gold belt, and by the time I had that on, she was motioning me to sit on the bed.“I’ll fix your hair.”
This seemed like a lot of fuss to me, when I could quickly plait it and be done.On the other hand, Finnrey was supremely skilled with hair but rarely offered to style anyone else’s, so I sat obediently.She pulled and twisted until I thought my scalp would come off, but when she was done, a quick look in the glass showed me an elaborate braid framing my face and wrapping around my head like a crown.
The glass also showed me the bruise Finnrey had remarked on earlier.“I should use a cold compress,” I said.
“Later.”Finnrey took my arm.“He must be at the castle by now.”She started for the door, and once we were outside, I motioned her to the back of the house.
“We’ll never even get close to the castle that way.”In the back of the house was a sturdy trellis beside the patch of earth we used to grow vegetables and lentils.Everyone in Highcastle gardened to supplement what was brought in from the outerlands.Having our own gardens also meant we would not starve if the castle walls were besieged by Hollows.I climbed up the trellis until I reached the roof of the house then looked down at Finnrey.She blew out a breath.She’d never explicitly admitted she was afraid of high places, but I’d known her long enough to notice that she avoided them.Finnrey never wanted to go up to the castle towers or climb trees or walk on the top of a wall.“Come on,” I said.“There’s plenty of room on the roof.”
I saw her jaw tense before she grabbed hold of the trellis and pulled herself up.I hadn’t lied, the roof was wide and flat.Additionally, the houses were so close together, we had to do little more than hop from one to another.Of course, as we neared the castle, the chore became more difficult.We had to jump from a lower roof to a higher one, but one look down at the crowds below, and I knew we’d made the right decision.Finnrey squealed after she jumped behind me, and I turned and caught her wrist as she wobbled.“I’ve got you.”
“I hate this,” she hissed.
