“Um, I’m just going to...” I slid between them and closer to the door. The eyeballs narrowed to slits, studying me.
I reached out to knock, hesitating before finally rapping my knuckles sharply on the door. To my surprise, they swung open immediately, and I stepped into a room three times the size of mine. It was the most exquisite place I’d ever seen.
Red roses covered the back wall, giving the room a sweet flowery scent and matching the heavy cover on the bed and the long drapes swept back over the floor-to-ceiling windows. I walked across theshining black stone floor that looked like the twinkling night sky, so glossy and glittering.
My gaze drew upward to the vaulted ceiling, gilded in gold and painted with lush roses with shimmering gold accents on the leaves. I was afraid to even touch anything in this room. My gaze swung to a painting of Cillian as tall as me hanging on the wall. It was incredibly accurate, capturing his dark wavy hair, his strong chin and high cheekbones, and those dazzling blue eyes. He and Wolfe didn’t share many similarities. Cillian was tall and lean, whereas Wolfe was like a mountain. They did have the same shade of brown hair, the same pale skin, but where Cillian’s eyes were a bright blue, Wolfe’s were dark, reminding me of the rings of a tree, haloed in different shades of brown, hiding so many secrets about the tree’s life. Cillian was clean-shaven, while Wolfe sported a beard. I studied Cillian’s hair, which was always perfectly styled and framing his face, unlike Wolfe, whose hair was a mop of tousled strands on his head.
“I know I’m handsome, but you’re going to have to stop staring,” Cillian said from where he leaned against a doorway that led to a lavish bath chamber, and I realized I was staring at the painting. He strolled toward me, pointing at the portrait. “Believe it or not, I was actually having an off day with my hair.”
I wanted to ask what products he used to get it so perfectly coiffed, but then I reminded myself that I was still mad at him.
Tal let out another loud wail, and Barty still had his hand on his brother’s arm, comforting him.
Cillian looked between me and the gargoyles. “What happened to them?”
“Nothing, really. I just accidentally insulted Tal, and now his brother is trying to make him feel better. Also, I think they might both hate me.”
“Wow.” Cillian strode to the doors and closed them, then turned. “You’ve done the impossible.”
“What?” Sweat broke out over my upper lip.
“You got them to stop bickering. Amazing.” He shot me a smile andgestured toward a round table with two chairs that sat by the windows. “Ready to forgive me?”
We sat, and I looked out the windows at the town far below and the rolling green hills spread out behind it. I couldn’t see Wolfe’s cabin from here, so we must’ve been on the opposite side of the castle.
“I am.” I raised my chin. “But only thanks to your brother.”
He frowned. “Nevan?”
I shook my head.
His eyes widened. “Wolfe? Wolfe told you to forgive me?”
He lifted a glass carafe and poured us both water, then took a drink from his cup.
“Yes, when I visited his cabin.”
He spit out his water, spraying the window. He banged on his chest, and I reached out, but he shook his head.
“I’m okay,” he rasped, then wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his black tunic. “I’m sorry, but did you say you were at Wolfe’s cabin today?”
This was getting weird. “Yes, I saw it from the window of the castle and decided to visit.”
“And he didn’t immediately yell at you to get off his lawn?”
I blinked.
“He does that sometimes,” Cillian said. “Actually all the time. He doesn’t welcome visitors. I stopped trying a long time ago.”
“Well.” I bobbed my head back and forth. “I might’ve refused to leave and refused to stop talking until he listened and actually answered some of my questions.”
Cillian’s mouth dropped open, and he snapped it shut. “That’s... well, that’s interesting.”
There was a gleam to his eyes I didn’t understand. “Oh, come on. You’re telling me no one visits Wolfe? He’s really that much of a recluse?”
Cillian took another sip of his water. “Have you met my brother?”
“Well, yes.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I know he’s grumpy and stubborn and quiet, but I didn’t realize he was that bad.”
