The harpand lute play in harmony, a drum keeping them in time. The Feast attendees dance with the music—the women in stunning dresses swishing with each movement, the men so sharp in their formal attire. Princess Carys sways in rhythm with one of many masked strangers, a smile painted on her face, her eyes the epitome of boredom.
It’s nearly comical.
The music changes to a more upbeat tempo, and dance partners are exchanged. For a moment, Carys is swept up into the arms of a tall and handsome stranger, only to end up in the arms of another. By the end of the song, she’s back with the first stranger, his blue eyes peering at her through a black and silver mask. Stepping back, he bows to her. “It’s been my honor, Your Highness,” he says in an oh-so-familiar voice.
The princess smiles without façade. “Don’t go,” she says as he turns to walk away.
He halts, confused.
“Removeyour mask.”
The stranger doesn’t hesitate. With a small smile and a nod, he removes his mask.
The princess gazes up at him, and everything within her clenches with eager anticipation. “Callum.” Her voice is breathy and laden with surprise.
“Have you chosen your suitor yet?” he asks.
“Oh, yes…” Her eyes gleam. “It’s you, Callum. It’s always been you.” She launches herself into his arms and he holds her up as their lips meet in a turbulent dance of their own. Callum sets the princess down, but only to scoop her into his arms again, supporting her beneath her knees and her back. He rushes out of the ballroom like their lives depend on it.
Princess Carys doesn’t touch the floor until they’re in an empty corridor. Callum grasps the neckline of her dress, tearing it with a loud rip and revealing the princess’s lack of undergarments beneath.
“I must have you,” says Callum, his voice teeming with urgency and lust?—
I lurch upright in bed with every desire to run and hide my burning face. Images flash in my mind. Sweaty bodies writhing together, ragged breaths and—oh gods. Even their voices. Loud and clear as if I had the ability to hear. I often hear in dreams fueled by memories—of my parents, birds, babbling brooks. But this…
I shudder and roll out of bed, ignoring the throbbing in my head and the dizziness that immediately sets in as I rush over to the tankard on my desk. As the lukewarm water slides down my throat, wind whips around my ankles, billowing my nightdress. I march to the window to close it against the draft but… it’s closed?
I’m losing my mind.
The images flash through my mind again. “Out! Out! Out!” I slap my palm against my forehead with each hurried utterance.
I need to get out of this castle; I need to go back to Cluain Baile. I need to finish this dress and wow the princess lest I continueto dissolve into insanity. Swiping my hand over my face, I huff out a breath. I shake my limbs to dispel the tension in my muscles, trying to think of anything other than Princess Carys and Callum having noisy, wild… Sunlagh, blind me. It was absolutely notmy place to havethatdream.
I need to go for a walk.
I grab my dressing gown and toss it over my shoulders. No one should be wandering the corridors at this hour, right? As I step out of my room, I find myself nearly face to face with Kilkenny. I must scream loudly because his hand immediately flies to cover my mouth. My heart hammers wildly in my chest and I push away the impulse to bite his hand.
“What are you doing out here?” he asks as he lowers his hand.
“I was on my way to?—”
Ellynne appears, rounding the corner into this corridor. She reels back, a hand clutching her chest, as she mumbles what looks like enough profane words to make a sailor blush. “You scared me!” She’s in a frilly nightdress without a dressing gown, her generous curves defined beneath the thin material. Kilkenny averts his gaze, and I wish I could do the same.
For Rhianu’s sake. First the dream about the princess, now this awkward encounter with a far-too-scantily clad woman.
I stare at Ellynne’s lips, squinting in the dim light as a grin creeps onto her face. “What are you two doing out?”
Both Kilkenny and I exchange bewildered looks and the smirk on Ellynne’s lips shoves my mind right back into the dream. My cheeks heat up again. I’ve never wished so hard that I didn’t have to look at someone’s face to know what they’re saying.
“What areyoudoing out at this hour?” Kilkenny asks Ellynne.
“I’m…” Ellynne glances behind her as though being pursued, then back to us. “I’m on my way to the kitchen for a midnight snack.”
Kilkenny stares at her, then something like realization contorts his features. He utters something with disdain that I don’t quite make out, then turns to face me. I expect him to say something meaningful. Yet what comes out of his mouth is something about rest. Then he stalks off.
I scowl at his back. Ellynne laughs, pointing between Kilkenny’s retreating back and me. “Are you two…”
My eyes flare wide. “Oh, gods no.”
