Aerity shook her head. “That is part of our deal. The brother will move here, but a portion of royal riches will be sent to his homeland.” Her stomach cramped at the idea of marriage.
“I’m sorry, miss.” Caitrin placed her hands on Aerity’s shoulders. “You’ve got enough on your mind without my prying questions. Come on. Let’s find you a pretty gown for the day.”
Aerity let her maid choose the dress, too tired to care.
Chapter
24
Paxton exited the castle with the other men into the foggy morning. When they turned toward the commons, he took the path straight toward the trade port, needing time to himself. He ended up down by the water on one of the older, empty docks at the end of the port that appeared abandoned. He could barely see five feet in front of himself through the mist.
He sat on the end of the weathered wood. The water was three feet below him, splashing lightly against the pillars of the dock.
To his right, through trees beyond, he knew there to be a private royal beach and docks along Lanach Creek where Captain Gillfin was killed. On his other side were cargo ships and fishing boats. Past that would be the naval port with its vast vessels. He could hear men’s voices in the distance, busy with their trades, carrying carts of bait and catch to and fro. He watched as time passed, and the sun made its way overhead, burning off a small bit of cloud cover. All he wanted was to lie back and sleep where he was.
He felt the soft thumps of footsteps on the dock behind him and turned. The princess stopped midstep when she caught his gaze and looked at him questioningly, as if for an invitation. Paxton’s pulse set into a jog as he gave her a nod. In the mist behind her, a guard stood at the edge of the dock, allowing the princess to walk to Paxton, but not taking his eyes off them.
Remembering his last interaction with Princess Aerity caused a fire to light within him. He’d been out of line with what he’d asked her, but couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Something about the princess made him bold. He was curious about her motives, and about how she’d react to him, in all ways. He couldn’t seem to help himself. And after seeing how she’d been so kind to Mrs. Rathbrook . . .
Paxton turned toward her without standing. “I’m surprised your guard didn’t follow you down the dock.” The royal guard’s outline was visible through the fog, but he was too far away to hear their conversation.
Aerity gave a small sigh. “Yes, I know.”
“Are you followed so closely day and night?”
“Only when I’m outside the castle. But at least we’re being let out freely during the day now. Father finally trusts that the beast is nocturnal.”
A quiet lull passed as Aerity fidgeted.
“I came to see if you’re feeling ill like the Zandalee after going through that town,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “You look well. A bit exhausted, perhaps. Maybe you should return to rest.”
“The Zandalee are ill?” Paxton asked.
A breeze picked up, whipping her hair across her face, but she peeled it away, pushing it over her shoulder.
“All three of them.” She let out a sigh. “Mrs. Rathbrook is healing them, but they won’t be able to hunt tonight.
“Bucking seas,” Paxton muttered. They were down to only the Ascomannian and Lochlan hunters for tonight, with only a handful of Zorfinans left.
Aerity sat down right next to him at the edge of the dock, as if she were a regular girl in a cotton frock, and not the princess of the kingdom, in satin and scented oils of berries and coconut, likely imported from Kalor or one of Lochlanach’s distant islands.
In truth, he was surprised to see her. The past two days when she’d briefly visited the men she’d held his eyes from afar, but never approached him. He thought perhaps he’d finally scared her away. Apparently not.
She wound her hair over her shoulder and twisted it to keep it from blowing. The fog was slowly drifting out to sea. As his hair slung down over his eyes, she reached out and pushed it away for him. He felt his whole body go stiff at the feel of her soft fingertips.
“You could wear it back like Tiern. To keep it out of your face.”
“Would you like that?” Paxton asked. “For me to look more like Tiern?”
Her cheeks reddened, but she didn’t look away. “Nay, I meant . . . it might be easier for you.”
Again, Paxton looked at the water. He shrugged. “I can’t be arsed to tie one of those bothersome leather strips.”
Aerity giggled, and he found himself grinning. Just a bit. “You think that’s funny?”
“I think it’s funny that there’s something you’re not good at. It obviously irks you, though it’s a small thing.”
“Tying a hair strip is hardly a valuable skill.”