It’s the little things.
Personally, I think he deserves it. He basically sexed me into unconsciousness so he could go off to give Manu his final answer at dinner without me being able to discuss it at length beforehand. There are a lot of lives at stake here, not just mine, and despite his certainty on the matter, it’s worth talking about.
Just as I’m about to leave the closet, my eyes catch on the feathered coat. The one I wore after I left the Red Raids. The one that Slade had in his closet back in Ranhold. But that’s not all he’s somehow been able to retrieve. From its pocket, I catch a peek of the fae book I’d brought to him back in Fifth. The book I never got to ask him about, because, once again, he’d distracted me with sex.
This seems to be a theme.
I add it to the list of things I need to talk to him about and then go into the bathroom. After I wash up and comb out my tangled hair, I throw it into a braid and then leave Slade’s rooms. Walking out into the hall, I hurry to make it to the dining room in time.
Except, when I get there, the room is empty. The table cleared off. I stop in the middle of the doorway, staring at it, my heart starting to beat quicker and quicker.
When I see a servant come in at the back of the room, I call out. “Excuse me?” The young man pauses, eyes going wide. “I’m sorry, but when did the dinner end? The one with the advisor from Third Kingdom?”
“About an hour ago, Lady Auren.”
Shit. I missed it.
I missed it, and Slade didn’t even try to wake me up.
My lips press together in a hard line. “Do you happen to know where King Ravinger and the Third advisor went?”
“His Majesty went to the army base. Sir Ioana, I believe, was set to depart soon.” Frustration brews in my gut.
“Thank you.”
He nods and hurries away, disappearing like he’s worried I might ask him something else. Or maybe he’s afraid I’m the magic-stealer that’s going to throw gold at him.
I stare at the dark room, unsure what to do for a moment. Slade left me in post-edged orgasmic bliss, probably snoring in his bed, and then came down here alone to once again say I decline to the Conflux. He didn’t even wake me up to tell me before he ran off into the moonlight to visit the army base.
I should’ve gilded more of his things.
I’m pissed. I’m worried. I’m so scared about how this is all going to play out, and now that the answer has been given, consequences will pile up quickly. It’s all happened so fast, slipping right through my fingers before I could get a real grip on it.
Spinning around, I start walking away, wondering if I can catch Manu before he leaves. I start heading in the direction of his room, the silent soles of my shoes padding down the hall. If I can talk to him again, maybe I can convince him to tell his sister not to cut off Fourth’s imports and spur on Slade’s need to retaliate.
Yet when I find another servant and ask them where Manu’s rooms are, she tells me that he’s already left. That he and his guards were seen just a few minutes ago walking out of the room.
My heart sinks.
For a moment, I consider going down to the army base to talk to Slade, but I’m too jumbled up to do that right now. I find myself walking toward the gardens instead. The guard just inside opens the door for me. “Getting some fresh air, Lady Auren?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Despite my troubled thoughts, the outside air does help. As soon as I step outside, I breathe it in, the cool air calming me slightly. And I need some calm, because my stomach is a churning mess, my emotions agitated. Manu is probably on his way right now to his sister.
Fourth Kingdom might starve because of me.
It doesn’t matter what kind of positive impression we’re trying to push out to the public about me—once they realize I’m the reason for them going hungry, they’ll turn on me more than they already want to.
The guard follows me out, trailing quietly behind me while I’m deep in thought. Yet I only make it a few feet when I notice someone on the bench near the row of roses. “Rissa?”
Her blonde head lifts up, white dress practically glowing in the moonlight. I walk over to her as she gets to her feet. “I haven’t seen you very much since you arrived,” I say as I come up to stand in front of her.
“That’s because I’ve been loath to get out of the bed,” she says, tucking back a loose strand of her hair. “After traveling in a tent for so long, I needed to get reacquainted with a feather mattress and not feeling like my toes were going to freeze right off my feet.”
“I’m sorry you had such a long, rough journey.”
“Yes, well. We can’t all infatuate kings and ride timberwings across the Barrens, now can we?”
I snort out a quiet laugh as I look out at the garden. Other than a few lanterns lit along the outer stone wall, it’s dark yet peaceful out here, the moonlight casting off just as much shadow as it does light.
“Want to walk?” I ask her.
She tips her head in a nod, and we start walking toward the hedges, our steps slow as the guard trails a respectable few feet behind us to give us privacy.
“How’s Polly doing? I hope she got the coins I sent down to her.”
“She did. And she left straight for the brothel after.”
I can tell just by the tone of her voice that it bothers her.
“I know you don’t want that for her, but she seemed like that’s what she wanted for herself,” I say gently, breathing in the scent of jasmine as we pass by its vine trailing up intricate latticework.
“I know she does,” Rissa says, quickly glancing at me from the corner of her eye. “I know that now,” she amends. “I just...I’m going to miss her.”
I’m surprised at the rare moment of vulnerability she’s showing, and that’s when I realize how sad she looks. Rissa is always hard-as-steel. Seductive. Smart. Blunt. But sad? Never.
I look back at the guard, motioning for him to hold back while Rissa and I stop just inside the first row of hedges. “I know Polly expressed some...anger at you for getting her out of Ranhold,” I begin carefully. “But I think deep down, she knows you saved her life. Whether she wants to admit it right now or not, she was probably going to die on dew.”
“And she better not ever try anything like that again,” Rissa snaps as she glares at the leaves of the shrub like they’re personally offending her. “Because she will get herself killed next time, and I’m not going to swoop in and save her. I’m not going to watch her go through weeks of withdrawals.”
I wince, just imagining how that must’ve been. I have no idea what a body would experience after being cut off from dew, but based on Polly’s haggard appearance and the fact she had to go through that while traveling with the army through a frozen wasteland, the experience probably wasn’t good. I can imagine what Rissa had to endure to get her through it all.
Better her than me.
“Polly will come around,” I say gently, reaching down to take Rissa’s hand. She startles for a second, and I fully expect her to pull away. Yet to my astonishment, she actually squeezes my hand.
She lets go almost immediately, but still.
When she sees the smile creep up my face, she scowls at me. “No.”
“No, what?” I ask, still grinning.
“I know you’re thinking we’re great friends now. It was a squeeze of comfort, nothing more.”
“I don’t know,” I say with a breezy shrug. “It felt like a friendship squeeze.”
She huffs and starts walking away. “Shouldn’t you be off with your king, doing something romantic?”
“I’m not feeling very romantic at the moment,” I confess. “Besides, he’s back down at the army base again.”
“They do like to spend all their time there, don’t they?” she replies, looking put out. “Captain Oaf is always down there.”