“Of course, I don’t blame you. When you’re just grunts like us, you’ve got to take any perks offered.”
He growled, a deep feral sound from deep within him that sent chills of pleasure coursing through me. He could move away, stand on the other side of the room like Bryn, but he didn’t.
She’d very clearly made a beeline across the expanse of blood-red marble in the dining room this morning when we’d entered, all because I’d casually asked her how her day had been going so far. She’d once again taken a position as far away from me as possible. She caught me looking, smoothed back her already perfect hair cinched into the neatest bun I’d ever seen, and turned away. She propped one leg back against the wall, her hand falling to the hilt of her saber. Maybe she was embarrassed that she had nothing interesting to say to me, and it wasn’t that she found me irritating. Either way, there was one less person between me and the prince. I just needed to befriend Clement to gain access.
“Bryn doesn’t like me then?” I asked.
“She thinks you’re a distraction.”
“Oooh, what kind of distraction?” I whipped my head back toward where she was studiously ignoring us.
He laughed, quickly stopping himself. He cleared his throat. “Not the good kind.”
“And what do you think?” I nudged him.
He caught my elbow and placed my hand back by my side. “She’s been here a long time. Well before me, and we both trust each other implicitly. To do this job, you have to.” He let go and resumed his focus on the prince. “So, let us work.”
I sighed and dragged my hands down my face. My skin was clammy, and I knew there were dark circles etched under my eyes too. I’d managed to cover most of Lilyanna’s with an oily moisturizer I’d found in the room, but I didn’t want to smell of literal roses all day. Why the prince was unable to find anything with a different scent was beyond me. That cloying, sweet odor made me nauseous, but was it enough of a reason to sentence him to death?
My head dropped onto Clement’s shoulder again. I sniffed, rolling my cheek so that it pressed against the soft sleeve of his tunic. Goddess, he smelled good. Refreshing, like pine. My mind wandered into the woods, soft pine needles cushioning my feet, the wind glancing against my skin.
“Did you just smell me?” Clement asked, his lips twitching.
“No,” I scoffed. “It’s just nice to smell something other than roses.” I straightened and focused intently on Lilyanna’s offensive posture, tracking her lunge across the training floor.
“So, you did, then?”
I could hear the smile in his voice, the swallowed chuckle. My cheeks burned as I ignored his perusal of my face, but I kept my side aligned with his, refusing to move away.
Prince Bellinor pulled back, the point of his sword dropping to the floor. Sweat dripped from his brow and a grimace replaced the cute dimples. Lilyanna in her cropped leggings and gold tunic waited patiently, not a hair out of place. She shot me a small smile, her blue eyes shining with enjoyment before resuming her modest, patient visage.
I needed the prince to lose his temper and to show the dark side that he must keep hidden. Those previous women didn’t murder themselves. Could he really be innocent? It’d be easier if he were involved, then I’d be doing a great service to the public and not committing treason just for a heavy coin purse.
One of the brackets on the wall guttered. There was no breeze here. The walls were stone, the floor marble and the large window cemented shut for the winter like all the others. I blinked and righted myself, pushing away from the wall I’d leaned on instead of Clement. My magic sent a sharp pulse through my system in response.
If it was one of the staff and not the prince to blame, then I’d need to get Lilyanna out of here as well. Maybe that’s why the guards took their jobs so seriously. Even the prince needed saving.
Finally, they both sheathed their sabers.
Lilyanna ducked her head in a curtsey, but he pulled her to her feet. “Nonsense, my lady.” He bowed low before collapsing to his knees, prostrating his arms in front. “You clearly wiped the floor with me.”
She giggled, her eyes darting to me in delight. I raised my eyebrows and smiled. The prince pushed back to his knees and extended his hand. She gently pulled him up, then twined her arm around his as they walked over to us. They looked like such a perfect couple, maybe they could truly make this work. Be happy, or whatever it is people tried to do in relationships.
My magic boomed again, louder, stronger, making me flinch.
A large ewer filled with pungently sweet lavender water sat in the center of a small folding table. Purple petals hung suspended in the liquid as the prince poured two glasses. For once, I was thankful not to be included.
Prince Bellinor turned and gestured to the room. “This is my ancestral home. My mothers rarely make the trek up here anymore and this place fell into quite a state of disrepair. There are still areas of the castle that are quite dangerous to wander through.”
He didn’t look at me, but heat prickled my chest. It was like he knew I’d been roaming the corridors last night and was gently warning me from doing it again. To confirm, Clement elbowed me.
“But that’s also where I found some of these valuables,” the prince continued. “All these beasts are hundreds of years old. They came with the castle, and I didn’t have the heart to throw them out.”
I followed his gaze, skimming over a huge buck mounted to the wall, a towering black bear wedged into the corner and a skein of geese suspended in flight along the far side. Maybe if I released the bindings on the bear, it would topple forward at just the right moment. Its large, rough pads could come down directly on the prince and in an effort to save him, when I dragged him out from underneath, I could ‘accidentally’ scratch his arm. I’d be a hero and back squarely in Siobhan’s good graces. She may even delay forcing my partnership with her if I proved too valuable on the ground.
He took a few paces across the floor and lifted his glass toward a semi-circular fountain in the corner. The bust of a rearing horse extruded from the stone wall above, water running down its white mane and pooling in the basin at its feet. “The kelpie would lure travelers, appearing like an innocent, gentle horse. They would climb on its back and be stuck fast to its hide where it would then return to its loch and drown them.”
I wrinkled my nose. That’s what it felt like in this Goddessforsaken castle.
