Iflinched as the hourly bells rang.Shit!
I sprinted back to the castle, cursing beneath my breath. Striding into the kitchen, I grabbed the first tray I could find.
“Hey!” Ralfe bellowed. “I prepared that for Councilman—”
I hurried upstairs, ignoring whatever was coming out of Ralfe’s mouth.
Lord Aegir was behind his desk when I came in. “You’re here,” he said, rising to his feet.
I blinked.
I hadn’t seen him in such fine attire before. His clothes must have arrived; perhaps they came with the rest of his men—males.
The golden embroidery along the borders of his matching tunic and trousers contrasted with the olive green fabric. Even from afar, I could see the fine work of the golden stitching. I had no doubt that they were tailor-made, as I noticed the way the fabric hugged his body, the definition of his arm and thigh muscles as he made his way around the desk. The responsible tailor clearly knew their craft and must have been very lucky to have taken his measurements.
Sunrays made their way through the window, catching in his eyes as they glinted, strikingly accentuated by both the green attire and the colour of his tanned skin. And his dark brown hair, typically left to fall naturally in soft curls just above his sharp ears, was now styled neatly. It somehow defined his features.
In that moment, I came to a conclusion—it was not possible for him to possess anything but a piss-poor personality. I didn’t think that the continent—Lyrantheia—could handle it otherwise.
“Yes, I apologise for being late. I tried to arrive by dawn,” I said. Plates rattled as I rushed to set up the table. As he approached, the smell of jasmine soap enveloped me, making me very self-conscious about the dishevelled state I was in. I had the feeling my olive skin, all clammy, was still reddened after the unexpected morning run.
Giving him my back, I secretly wiped the sweat beading my upper lip with the back of my hand. The thought of my smell made me want to get as far away from his Fae senses as possible.
My gaze remained fixed on the tray when he said, “No, I mean you’re still here. He didn’t replace you.”
A pause, then, “I guess my suspicion was wrong after all.”
“I guess so.” His arm reached past me, grabbing a date tart.
I was about to slip away when he asked, “Enjoyed your early walk with the horses?” His question confirmed that I indeed smelled like one, too. How…lovely. My face reddened just that bit more.
“I—I did. Good day, Lord Hailin.”
The second I closed the door behind me, I realised that I hadn’t asked him the only questions I needed to ask him.
Fuck me.
I knocked, gently this time, and peeked my head through his door. “Lord Hailin, at what time would you like to be served lunch and dinner today?”
“I’ve seen you already.”
“What?”
“You hide behind the door, but I’ve already seen you.”
My face heated. “I’m—do you want to be served or not?”
“I’ll be spending the rest of the day with my men. You can come again tomorrow with breakfast.”
That meant I would be spending the rest of my day in either the kitchen or the dungeon, probably both. But I didn’t complain; I was low on both soap and snacks.
“At what hour?” I asked.
“Like before.”
Thank the gods.
As I was preparing for bed, I glimpsed a stack of letters on the bedside table. My fingers traced one of the paper envelopes. I flipped it around.Nadya, from ma and pa. I flipped another.Nadya, from cousin Deya. Nadya, from your favourite sister, Lina.
