“Don’t be so forlorn. Tonight, you get to attend the Feast as a guest, off duty. You can dance with whomever you want, flirt with whomever you want.” Her eyelids lower, a smirk playing on her lips as she says, “Bed whoever you want.”
Much to my surprise, I don’t even blush. Clearly, I’ve become desensitized. Ellynne’s head snaps toward the door and I follow her gaze. She turns back to me with a question on her face and I mimic her expression. “Shall I let your knight in shining armor in?”
My head tilts as I try to make sense of her words. Knight in shining— Oh! “I?—”
“Enter!” Ellynne yells.
Ihave all but one second to yank the covers over my body as the door opens. The amusement on Ellynne’s face is undeniable, and I glare at her as she walks away, her shoulders shaking with laughter. She says something to Kilkenny that I can’t make out before she steps out of the room.
Kilkenny turns to me, and I instantly blanch as I remember the vivid nightmare. He keeps his distance for a moment, also pale, even as the door shuts behind him. He steps just a little closer to sign. “I’m on my way to the infirmary. Princess Carys needs”—he fingerspells the next word—“awormwoodtincture. I thought you’d like to come along?”
I want so much to tell him about the nightmare. The scar on his neck is barely visible from where I am, but it’s clear in my mind. The sheet is clutched in my fists, pressed up against my chin by now to conceal the thin material of my nightgown. “Why do you want me to come along?” I ask.
“I know what pain looks like. And you’ve been rubbing your head for days.”
This gives me pause. “You’re… very intuitive…”
“It’s my job,” he says with a shrug. For a moment, he stares at me as if he wants to say something more. “Our head healer is the best in Mainland,” he motions after a while.
His sign for “head” healer is literal, incorrect. I bite back a smile, and he lifts a brow.
“What?” he asks.
Keeping the sheet clutched to my chest with one hand, I sign with the other. “Notheadhealer.Experthealer.”
He repeats the motion.
“Unless she only heals heads…”
Unamused, he continues what he’d been saying before. “Our expert healer can have a look at you and perhaps give you somethingto help with the pain. I’ll step outside before you choke yourself with the sheet.”
Is that a smirk on his lips? My shoulders relax a little.
“Make haste, please,” he motions. He turns before I can respond.
I heave a sigh. What a demanding pain in the rear. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and press my feet against the floor, making sure that I can bear weight before standing. My vision swims and I release a slow breath, closing my eyes and counting to ten, willing my body to cooperate with me.
Taig, Finn, Osheen, Orla and Granny… I’ll be with them all again soon. If I can just make it through today. Opening my eyes, I put one foot in front of the other, slow at first, until moving becomes natural again. I pull on the forest green linen dress that I’d worn to Barr na Cahar, cinching the bodice laces tight and tying them in a neat bow. Then, standing before the mirror, I braid my hair, tying a bow on the end that rests above my shoulder blades. I’ll miss these clothes.
When I step out of the room, Kilkenny’s gaze sweeps over my figure, and heat floods my face. Tiny crinkles form at the corners of his eyes and the ghost of a smile plays around his lips. He doesn’t turn away.
“What?” I ask at last.
“You wore that dress when we went to Barr na Cahar.”
“Yes …”
“The ladies around here don’t tend to re-wear things. At least not for quite some time.”
Oh, to be wealthy. “Well…” I brush my hands over the skirt. “I like this dress.” I pick a stray thread off my sleeve as we stand in awkward wordlessness. “So, are we going?”
“Right,” he says. “Yes. Come on.”
I take one step and suddenly the floor is flying up toward my face. A solid force wraps around my middle, holding firmly until I stop flailing my arms for balance. I’m pressed against Kilkenny’s rigidbody, his arm still around my abdomen, and heat blooms everywhere in my body. My breath hitches as I try to dissect the embarrassment from… whatever else has my heart racing.
I clear my throat. “You can let go now.”
His hand drops away, and I turn to face him, lifting my gaze to his.
