The bed dipped when he laid down next to me on his side, propping his head underneath one arm. He tugged on the hair tie that held my braid in place, and I started to object when he tucked it into his pocket—it was the only one I had. The feeling of his hands running through my hair silenced any protests, though. His eyes never flickered from his task as he carefully loosened each section before fanning the strands out behind me on the pillow.
“Your hair is so beautiful, Rain,” he murmured quietly.
A small slice of sunlight cut through the gap in the curtains, casting a golden glow upon his face. He was perfection made human, not a single freckle, mole, or scar tarnished his smooth skin.
His hand slid out of my hair and dropped down to caress my neck. He lowered his face, meeting my gaze, and the space between us was so small it would be nothing to close the gap and feel his mouth on mine.
There was desire in his eyes alongside a silent challenge. He wouldn’t do it, wouldn’t make the first step. It would have to be me.
But I had more important things to do.
The decision must have shown on my face because he gave me a small smile and said, “Rest, Princess.” He ran a hand across my cheek and stood to leave.
“Dey?” I called after him, and he paused at the door to look back at me. “I was just curious… What is the Rivellan word for 'now?'”
He frowned. “Why do you wish to know?”
I did my best to summon a blush to my cheeks. It wasn’t really something I did often, but I pasted on my best coy smile that hopefully portrayed innocently sexy. “It just seems like a word that might be good to know. For the future.”
Apparently it worked, because his frown smoothed into a grin. “Cotio,” he said. “Roughly translated it means 'at once.' Any Rivellan would know what you meant should you choose to use it.”
“Thanks,” I said, leaning back against the pillow and shutting my eyes.
“You are most welcome,” he whispered, closing the door behind him.
I counted to a hundred in my head in case he lingered outside my room then jumped out of bed. I cracked the door open ever so slowly and peered out into the hall. After confirming it was empty, I crept toward the staircase.
I had myself some twins to rescue.
It took me less than ten minutes to find my mark. The guard who stood in front of a closed door at the bottom of the staircase appeared no older than twenty-one. Even from my hiding spot at the top of the stairs I could tell he was perfect. His back was stiff, his hand was on the sword at his side, and his eyes never stopped scanning his surroundings—all signs of a soldier who took his guard duty far too seriously. He had to be new. All the older soldiers had a slight air of relaxation about them when they thought no one was watching, as if they trusted their instincts tokick in should the need arise. This guy? He was wound so tight that all I had to do was nudge, and he would crack under the pressure.
I pushed my shoulders back into my best regal posture and stomped down the stairs.
The guard's eyes landed on mine as I approached, and he dropped into the signature knee bend they were so fond of giving me.
“Princepa,” he said solemnly, his face cast to the ground.
“Soldier,” I barked, yanking him to his feet. I hated being rude, but my tone and actions had to be spot on if this was going to work.
He struggled to regain his balance as he gave me a wide-eyed look, and I made a mental note to apologize later.
“You will take me immediately to the Sonaria,” I growled into his face, doing my best imitation of Sin.
His eyes darted around frantically as if someone might show up to save him.
I snapped my fingers in his face. “Do you know who I am, soldier? Princepa.”
He blurted out something in Rivellan, panic rising in his eyes.
Perfect. He was right where I wanted him.
I leaned in close and snarled, “Sonaria! Cotio!” Each word was punctuated with a jab to his chest.
He gave one last distressed look down the hall, then gestured for me to follow him. Once his back was turned, I sighed in relief that it had worked.
I traipsed after him, and eventually we arrived at what I thought was the lowest floor of the castle until he unlocked a concealed door to another stairwell. We must have gone down five flights of stairs before we hit the bottom and another long hall stretched out. The cool air this far underground was stale and felt… wrong somehow, like thin shards of my bones werepeeling off to burrow into the surrounding muscles. The sooner I got Cam and Ram out of here the better.
He stopped halfway down the hall in front of an intimidating metal door barred with a thick latch. I touched it tentatively, and the wriggling feeling under my skin intensified.
