“And what doyouwant?” I barked in his direction.
He lifted a shoulder. “I’m feeling ill and retiring for the evening. Perhaps I’ve caught Miss Audryn’s sickness, seeing as I was the only one who stayed at her side as she retched.”
Remaining at the table would have been acceptable, but acting as he had was outright scandalous. I hoped that she hadshared whatever she was sick with. If I were lucky, he’d die before leaving the walls of my castle. Rarely did my hopes come to fruition, so I settled for what was at my fingertips.
“Your kind has attacked our resources,” I sneered. “Tonight, dozens of witches stormed one of our ships. Perhaps they are your cousins, and you ordered them to do so knowing we requested more crude. Instead, you destroyed our month’s supply because of your own hatred for the people of Rivale.”
Though his face remained plain, I could see his mind turning.
“Lanterns will go dark, boats will fill with water, houses will …” I considered how else the general population used the oil. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anything more, leaving the grand speech falling flat.
“Oh, please don’t say you’re finished so soon.” Grave’s dark eyes delighted in my failure. “Though, I’m sure you hear that a lot from the women you bed.”
I wanted to scream at the asshole, but I needed more than my satisfaction—I needed crude. “That’s not what Audryn said the other night. In fact, I recall her begging me to stop.”
“I’m sure she did,” Grave said, chuckling. “Though probably not for the reason you imply.”
“Brother?” Leanna popped her head out from behind the door, stealing my attention. “Your guests are hungry and growing tired.”
Not wanting Grave to have the last word, I turned to send an insult his way, but he’d already left.
33
GRAVE
The last thing I wanted to do was sit around listening to Ryder drone on about his achievements, especially when Audryn could be dying in her room. How could he entertain guests when the woman he claimed to be courting was ill?
I turned the corner and approached the corridor to Audryn’s room. The guard stepped away from the wall and appraised me. With a twitching nose, he took several inhales before his upper lip curled. I hadn’t changed my clothes, even after she’d vomited on them. The odor had turned into a foul and sour stench, but it was still a piece of the woman who’d piqued my interest for a reason I’d yet to fully understand.
The last time I interacted with Guard Roark, he’d transferred a book to her for me. But asking to meet Audryn in her room was a request only a fool would allow. For my sake, I hoped he’d let me pass, but for his sake he should deny everyone, including me; Audryn’s safety was essential.
“I’m here for Audryn.” I retrieved the small book I kept with me during my travels. It was one my mother read to me as a child, the same one that always settled my mind before sleep.
The guard looked down his wide nose and reached to take itfrom my hand. I considered punching him for assuming I’d hand it over. Instead, I moved the book just out of his reach.
“No, I need to give it to her myself.” My jaw clenched, and I stepped forward. As expected, Roark stood in front of me and inflated his chest, widening his shoulders. I was glad he took his role seriously.
“Nobody is to pass through these halls,” Roark commanded.
I briefly considered just how much of a fight it might be to force my way through. It would take me only a moment to figure out his magic and deem it worthless. He had to be proficient enough in fighting to hold this position, but I was confident my abilities outmatched his, and it would take little effort to get past him.
Roark shifted on his feet, and his tone teetered back to its previous nervous cadence. “An–and even if they could enter,” he said, blowing out a breath, “Mi-Miss Audryn is under strict quarantine orders for the next two days so her illness does not reach any others.”
“She already vomited on me, so surely if I’m to catch the sickness, it’s already with me.”
The man shifted again, and for a moment I thought he might fold under my request. Over the years I’d seen him standing sentry for Ryder, and he always appeared on edge while the other guards were much more seasoned; perhaps that was what led to his reassignment.
Staring up at the wall above my head, he held firm. “You cannot pass. If you would like the book to be given—I will do that. But only because it is for her and not as a favor to you.”
Leaving such a significant item with the guard wasn’t ideal, but there was no better alternative. I passed the book off hesitantly, taking more care to do so than I would a newly born baby. The papers were fragile after being thumbed through for three decades, whether by my hands or my mother’s.
Roark raised a brow. “Something else you needed, or was this it?”
“Will she be okay?”
The guard’s lips pursed as he seemed to consider what information he was permitted to divulge. “I suspect so, but I don’t know, it’s not my place to ask. I—” He looked around and then backed against the wall and stared straight ahead as if he weren’t in the middle of verbalizing a thought.
Instead of pressing further, I left him in the corridor and found my way back to the main one. There were other ways to get the information. While the healer would likely be just as tight-lipped, perhaps I could offer something to at least get confirmation of Audryn's health.
