I ignored the side-eyed look he shot at me. His fingers drummed over the sparkling hilt of his saber. He glanced at the ceiling, then at the hearth before settling back upon the prince who laughed at something Lilyanna said.
An echo of the moan I’d heard in the bathroom stirred, coming from the far side of the room. The fire drooped before blazing again and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. Clement’s suppressed shiver told me he felt it too.
“What’s in the walls, Clement?”
If he was surprised by my question, he didn’t show it. Minutes passed as we watched dessert being served on translucent plates. Pops of yellow and pink and gold leaf surrounded by the hypnotizing scent of burned sugar.
I thought he was going to continue ignoring me until eventually, he said, “Everything.”
My mouth dropped open. Questions shoved to the front of my tongue, jostling for position. Prince Bellinor stood to help Lilyanna to her feet, signaling the end of dinner.
“You can eat in your room,” Clement said. “Don’t leave your post or forget your place.”
I bristled. Did he think he could get away with talking to me like that just because he thought I was a maid? I clenched my fists, the magic pounding against my fingertips like a pulse. I had to focus, or it would control me. When had it even surged? It must have crept up while I was distracted, an insidious entity within my own body.
I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew I needed a break after the fayre. Siobhan was testing me, seeing how far she could push before I snapped. At this rate, not far.
I tore my glare from the side of Clement’s face and stalked toward the prince whose hand still swallowed Lilyanna’s. I would do it now, get it over with. My vision tunneled.
Before I could get within touching range of the prince, Clement blocked my path with his arm outstretched in front of me.
“What are you” I spluttered.
“You can’t get within three feet of the prince,” Clement said. His other hand gripped the hilt of his saber, knuckles white.
“Well, that’s”
Lilyanna interrupted. “Tam, I have had a wonderful dinner but now I am so very tired. I think we should head straight for my rooms.”
I slapped Clement’s arm as Lilyanna joined me, but he didn’t move. His face was set, features stony. An uptight, immovable wall. Already in position on the prince’s other side, Bryn nodded, and they moved in unison with him toward the doors.
A three-foot rule? That was ridiculous. Stupid Clement. I bet he just loved enforcing that, muscling people out of the way. He probably had a marked strip of measuring leather that he whipped out and rolled toward the prince’s feet to stake the boundary.
My breathing settled. It was fine. I could do it tomorrow. A good night’s sleep would help me control my power anyway. We followed, but as soon as we left the dining room, the passageway was already empty. No footsteps, no rustle of clothing, no distant closing of a door. Where on earth had they gone?
“I wonder if we should get ourselves a pair of guards for moving around the castle.” I swiveled left and right, hesitant to strike off in the wrong direction again.
“You’re my guard.” She patted my arm fondly like you would a puppy. “And I have faith in you.”
I grimaced at her. Freeing the small knife from my boot, I palmed it, unable to stop myself from looking at the ceiling once more. “Then I’m sure we’ll sleep well tonight, my lady.”
The fire in my small hearth popped and crackled, its glow keeping my face warm despite the thin covers. Wind howled outside, muted by the thick stone walls. Hail peppered the pane like knuckles rapping on the glass, keeping me wide awake.
I stared at the dancing flames, trying to ignore how they threatened to take me back to the night of the storm. The slam of shutters against the windows, the scream of the wind...I needed to get out of here, to return South. The unpredictability untethered me.
Chill laced the air when I slid out of bed and into the shadows, gooseflesh crawling up my skin. The castle was too quiet, too still. Worry pitted in my gut.
Last time I’d ignored sensations like this, my world had ended.
I crept up the winding staircase. The metal dug into my bare feet, my toes curling around the treads for support. The door into Lilyanna’s room creaked open and thick, soupy air washed over me, leaving a sheen of moist sweat clinging to my skin.
Her hearth had extinguished, despite the large windows being bolted shut. Faint gray smoke perforated the air like burned flowers. I’d stoked it before retiring to bed, and added three fresh logs to the kindling, certain it would last well into the next morning. Having made enough fires for survival, it was second nature. Maybe the castle’s wood was tainted, veined with mold or blight.
Despite the humidity, I shivered. Magic unfurled in my bloodstream, stretching into my tingling fingertips, preparing for defense. My heartbeat accelerated.
Soft squelching followed my footfalls as I padded to Lilyanna’s bedchamber, the soles of my feet clammy on the tepid marble. Her door was tightly shut, no light flickering beneath the threshold.
My hand rested over the carved diamond knob. Was I being paranoid? I’d heard no one enter or leave as I’d tossed and turned downstairs. If I snuck into her room in the middle of the night, she’d scream and wake the whole castle.
