Lilyanna’s hand on his arm was light, her fingers coiled softly around his sleeve, but there was a steeliness to her spine, and her body tilted ever so slightly away from him. She looked like I did the day I realized the truth about Siobhan, what she wanted me for, and why she’d spent so many years grooming me.
She’d presented me with a new bounty one daya ‘devilish challenge’, she’d said. I recognized the man instantly although I’d kept my face blank. Jealousy swarmed through me at first.
She’d never known I’d seen them together, her and her previous ‘favorite’. She’d trained me too well and trusted me more than she ought. She knew I’d accept any challenge and any bounty without question, even if it was one of my own people.
After I’d scratched him, leaving him to the mercy of the Collectors, she’d offered me his position. But it was as clear as a dead-end road. That was not where I would end up. If I ceded myself to her whims and followed her through the realms, she’d never make me an equal partner. She’d turn on me the second I stopped worshipping her and grew bored.
She didn’t know the balance of power shifted that night, and she never would. I knew what she wanted and would always make sure to keep it just out of her reach. If there was any hope in ever wriggling out of this cursed deal, she needed to want me, to crave me, to know she couldn’t possibly exist without me. At that point, a bargain could be struck.
Lilyanna walking in front of me now, carried that same hesitancy, a resolve that pinned her shoulders back and forced her stride to synchronize with his. She didn’t want this, and more importantly, she knew something I didn’t.
A light breeze tickled my face, uncoiling wisps of hair from my messy bun. An awareness shivered through me as clearly as if someone were screaming my name. The ceiling above was bare with no cracks or loose slabs. I ran my fingertips along the wall. No dust, no cement, and certainly no breeze from outside.
Another gust slithered past, belching muggy, stale air. Neither guard flinched, even when the cuff of Clement’s trousers tremored. Lilyanna was the only one who reacted, but even her slight shudder was rapidly replaced by a forced straightening of her shoulders. As if suddenly struck with the urge to concentrate where she was going, her face turned away from the prince, but she continued her attentive nods and murmurings to his monologue.
We rounded a corner, and the temperature normalized, the familiar faint scent of roses perfuming the air. Everyone continued as if nothing had happened. Perhaps it hadn’t? Castles were supposed to have drafts. I dragged my hands down my face. I needed to sleep. Or drink. Maybe flee? Anything rather than being trapped here.
“Clement,” I whispered. He kept walking. “Clement!” I poked his back.
Grudgingly he turned, falling back a few paces. Bryn pursed her lips but moved to the center of the corridor covering for him.
“Oh, you’ll be fine for a minute.” I flapped a hand at her. The biggest danger within this barren cage was me. “I want to know where to go?—”
“Away from me.”
I snorted and clamped my hand over my mouth. His eyes twinkled in response, a momentary lightning of his rigid expression. Oh, Goddess help me, he was handsome when he wasn’t being a dick.
“No, where to go outside of the castle. Where can I take Lilyanna, somewhere to let off steam, see the town, have some fun?” I wanted to find out what she knew, or if I was being paranoid. Why was she here and what did she want? She would be more likely to tell me the truth when we couldn’t be overheard. And a few strong ales would break her down nicely.
“She cannot leave the castle.”
“What?”
He frowned at me, any warmth that previously shone from his eyes now scrubbed clean. He was back to his irritated expression. “Her parents signed a clause before sending her here. It was part of the agreement.”
“Does she know?”
“Yes. And I’ve already told you why. Women are going missing, and she’s safer here in the castle with you to accompany her.” He looked between me and the prince, itching to reclaim his position. Then he glanced at me, his face softening. “Although...”
He hesitated as we locked eyes. My heart jumped, and my stomach bottomed out. This was a good mantoo good for me. Irritating, yes. Arrogant, also yes. He was handsome but rugged, honest but cautious. And here I was trying to destroy the prince and probably take down the entire town with me.
“...the Diamond Nightingale does a decent meal, ale, and...other things.” He shrugged. “If you have time one evening and find someone else to sit with her.”
Heat swirled in my lower abdomen, dancing its giddiness through my bloodstream. That was an invitation I could get behind. Perhaps he was not quite so straitlaced after all. I could truly befriend him, use him to pave my way to the prince, and perhaps learn some incriminating secrets along the way. Maybe even more about the clamp down on magic. Clement must be privy to a lot being so close to the prince. If he trusted me, he’d let me get closer and bypass that stupid three-foot rule he seemed to love upholding.
It could even just be physical. If it went further than drinks, it could be a replacement for the days of fun I’d had to leave behind with Candyman at the fayre. An excited shudder ran through me, and I grinned at him in reply. Yes, this could work.
“You really want to take me out?” I asked. “I got the impression you hated me, my friend.”
“I don’t love that you call me that,” he replied. “But it’s really a way to benefit all of us. You can get your quirks out”
“Excuse me?” I tried to look offended but suddenly every filthy thought I’d ever had crowded into my mind with Clement squarely involved.
He looked momentarily horrified as his dark eyes widened. “I mean your rudeness…” My eyebrows shot up, but he doggedly continued, “And your fumbling when around the prince. You know…”
“Are you always this good at conversation? You’d think a royal guard would have better social skills for peace-making, conflict resolution, charm.”
“I can show you my skills.”
