As he and Floria took their leave, I admired the gown—a stunning creation that didn’t quite feel like me. It was a masterpiece, and I felt inadequate for its beauty.
“Well?” I asked.
Sainte grunted, still perched on the edge of his seat.
“What do you think?”
“Of?”
“The dress, Sainte,” I groaned, rolling my eyes. I swayed my body, testing the fabric’s movement.
“It’s a dress.”
I shuffled my feet in a circle to face him, hands propped on my hips. His blue gaze twinkled, and a small crooked smile lifted his lips.
“I’m a man.” He stood with a quick wince that he tried to conceal, and gestured to his thin leather armor, the daggers at his sides, and his dark trousers. “I’m not well-versed in such things.”
“Does it catch your eye?” I asked, easing my hands to my sides. Quick movements didn’t seem wise in the tight-fitting garment.
He tilted his head, a predatory gleam in his stare as he prowled toward me. He stopped close enough that the warmth of his breath tickled my face.
“You catch my eye.”
The butterflies that had taken residence low in my belly fluttered like mad as he wrapped his hands around my waist. I held his gaze, as a dizzying sensation prickled beneath my skin. Those eyes would be my undoing.
With surprising strength considering his recent injuries, he lifted me off the stool with ease. I gripped his forearms as he settled me on my feet again. I tracked the dark bruises marring his face. They faded some thanks to Gilead’s care. Anderz had suggested covering them with a skin-colored paste. That way, the people of Wynterborne would see my Valahant as strong and unharmed, but Sainte refused. He argued that the citizens should see the cruelty of Adastrus’ rule.
“You’re a princess, Elspeth,” he rumbled, smirking. “A rebellious one.” He gave my hair a gentle tug before stepping away.
When his hand dropped from my waist, I fought the urge to close the distance he created. The warmth of his touch lingered on my skin as if I’d been seared by ahot iron. I sniffed, shaking my head to rid myself of the sensation, then shuffled past him.
“I didn’t choose this.”
“We don’t always get to choose our fates,” he called after me.
“So I’m supposed to trust thegodswith my future?” I rolled my eyes, and guilt prickled as I mocked the deities who very well might be the reason I survived this long.
“Elspeth—”
I halted near the door to the corridor, then faced him. His face scrunched into a mirthful mix of a cringe and a smile.
“—stop walking like a seal.”
My head jerked back, stunned, then glared at the fabric wrapped around my hips before directing my glower at him. “Ever worn a dress, dear Sainte?” I asked.
He grinned, then passed me to hold the way open. “Can’t say I have,” he said, dipping into a bow.
“Then do not presume to tell me how to walk in one,” I snapped, lifting my chin.
As I brushed past him, I let my shoulder ram into his chest, ignoring his low chuckle as I strode down the corridor with my head held high, hoping for all I was worth, that I didn’t look like a walking sea creature.
Chapter 18
Iwas an intruder, a counterfeit, a fake.
A girl from the streets wrapped in a pretty dress paraded around like a princess. My heart pounded—a frightened rabbit in my chest. Shame burned my cheeks. I stumbled over proper terms, curtsied to the wrong people, and botched my High Wynterian.
I clung to Anderz’s side, using him as a shield against the nobles. His presence deflected their probing questions. He steered conversations toward familiar topics or those where my ignorance wouldn’t raise eyebrows.
