The whiplash of his emotions has left me stunned. I hold out my empty wine glass and watch as he drains the bottle into my glass. As he does, his tongue sweeps over his bottom lip, catching the remaining drop of wine.
Unsurprisingly, we finish off both bottles of wine and spend the rest of the night getting to know each other. We stick to lighter topics, carefully avoiding anything controversial. He tells me all about what it was like growing up in the City of Sand, but he sticks to the positive memories this time.
By the end of the night, I’m tipsy, and I think he is, too. He’s hard to read, but he seems to get less inhibited as the night goes on, laughing easier, even with my poor attempts at jokes.
The castle is quiet as he walks me back to my wing. Most are asleep by now. I stop Marik before we get too close to the guard at the foot of the grand staircase leading to my wing.
“I had a great time tonight,” I say quietly.
“Me too,” he responds, his tone warm. “When do I get to see you next?”
“I’m not sure. We’ll all be having dinner together on Saturday, so then? Unless I see you around before.”
We’re both silent for a moment before he wraps me in a hug. I return the embrace, wrapping my arms around his torso. I can feel the contours of his body, slim but lined with lean muscle. He begins to pull away but doesn’t unwrap his arms. I look up, only to find him leaning down to press his lips to mine. I briefly press my mouth against his before pulling apart. It’s a simple, easy kiss. No sparks, just promises of more to come.
But as I fall asleep, I can’t stop thinking about the flash of anger in his eyes earlier. My brain replays the way the wine on his lips looked like blood, almost as if he had just finished devouring his prey.
Chapter16
The next day, Elle and I sit in the library, sipping on coffees. The rest of the Herd isn’t here yet, so we’re waiting in two oversized chairs by the open wall, talking about my date with Marik last night. Outside, rain falls in a slow drizzle, sending a cool earthy breeze through the library. Elle’s hair falls in loose waves off one shoulder, and her all-black outfit accentuates the vivid color of her hair.
“Did you kiss him?” she asks me, peering over her steaming cup of coffee. The aroma wafts toward me, and I take a sip from my own cup, savoring the taste of the sweet cream.
“Perhaps,” I say, trying to hide my smile, and utterly failing.
She leans forward in her chair, eyes wide. “And? How was it?”
I groan. “I don’t know. It was fine.”
“The kiss wasfine? Yikes,” she says with a grimace. “That surprises me. The Serpent Princes have always given off this bad-boy energy. I’ve always assumed they’d be incredible in bed.”
“Last night was only a first date!”
“True. I’ll back off now,” she says, holding her hands up in mock surrender. “I know you’re pissed at Asmo, but I can’t wait to hear how that one goes.”
My smile falters at the thought of seeing Asmo again. “That makes one of us,” I mutter before changing the subject. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something before everyone else gets here.”
“About the First Deer Queen?” she guesses.
“How did you know?” I ask.
She shrugs. “A little birdy told me.”
Nora or Ruby, then.
“That wasn’t it, but now that you mention it…What do you think? Do you think it’s true? Or is it just a fairytale?”
She adjusts in her seat, brushing a lock of hair behind a pointed ear. “Honestly, I have no idea. When I was a kid, it was fun to imagine that it was true and that I was the First Deer Queen’s true daughter.” She smiles but continues, “Whenever my friends and I would play, they would always say I was Wrena’s daughter because of my antlers. But it’s only a myth, or a legend, or whatever you want to call it.”
She downs the rest of her coffee and sets it on the wooden side table next to her chair. She motions with her hands and says, “Get on with it. What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Marik kind of went off about our court. I thought all the Houses were copacetic.”
Her expression darkens. “What did he say?”
“I mentioned changing some policy that would impact his court, and he seemed pretty pissed off. He made some comment about how the Deer Court has always had this idea of how the kingdom should work and tries to force its beliefs on everyone else. Is that an opinion that is widely held?”
Her eyes narrow. “I haven’t heard any open dissatisfaction with King Silas’s rulings, but I might not be the person to ask since I work and live in this court.”
