A River of Golden Bones (The Golden Court, #1)(9)
Listening to the guards’ banter, I ate in silence. Briar was magnificent as she regaled our guests with story after story of our magical childhood, spinning our sad tale into something worthy of a song. But every story took place in the same cabin in the same forest. That sameness became nagging no matter how magical, and it kept reminding me that we were both like caged animals, ready to bolt from a trap. Tomorrow, all that would change. I didn’t care if the food was rotten and my clothes were the itchiest wool. I was ready for something more.
Four
I stumbled out of the dining room, the goblets of honey wine rushing to my head. I couldn’t believe how many times Vellia had refilled my cup over the course of the evening. On wobbly legs, I somehow made it across the entryway. The chandelier above me still glimmered with half-melted candles. A fire roared to life beside me, despite the balmy summer air. Vellia seemed determined to make this home seem grand, using up every last drop of her magic before our departure tomorrow.
The night had droned on until the genteel voices became drunken howls. The guards became more boisterous with each hour that passed, endearing them to me even more. Vellia had kept the food coming, dish after dish, until the third round of desserts. At that point I was so stuffed I thought I might be sick and had finally excused myself.
“Little fox,” a mirthful voice called after me as I reached the stairs.
I certainly didn’t feel like “little” anything at that moment, and I practically froze with the thought that he could see how the butterflies in my stomach had nowhere to go. I turned anyway, and the impact of seeing his figure in that uniform again made me suck in a breath. The wine had loosened my limbs, along with my good sense. I scanned him from head to toe, permitting myself to appreciate his glorious features for one more night. Those muscled thighs, lean hips, and broad shoulders. My eyes roved up his angular cheekbones to his hooded bedroom eyes.
“Your Wolf form is magnificent, Grae,” I murmured, waving my hand at him. “But you are quite the dashing prince in this outfit, too.”
Ebarvens kill me, had I said that out loud? I grimaced, gripping my hands together as Grae chuckled.
“And you look like a warrior—beautiful and mighty,” he said with a grin, taking a further step toward me.
My eyes dropped to my hands as I picked at my fingers, feeling his eyes upon me as his shined black boots came into view. I had a hard time believing his words. Because with them, I knew he saw the same person I did when staring in the mirror. He saw me.
“Calla,” he whispered, his breath in my hair. I loved the way he whispered my name, wished I could hear the resonance of that sound every day of my life. “I need to talk to you.”
The tips of my ears tingled as I looked up at him. His storming eyes met mine, and I had to wring my hands together to not reach out and touch him. I couldn’t handle being this close to him as his bonfire scent wrapped around me. That golden wine hummed in my veins.
“Why didn’t you visit?” I asked before I could stop myself. “You didn’t even write. They sent you south for school, but surely there were holidays and breaks. I . . . I missed you.”
His eyebrows knitted together, a pained expression crossing his face. “I missed you, too, little fox.” His fingers skimmed the chain of my necklace. A mindless touch.
“Then why didn’t you visit?”
“I was afraid of what would happen if my suspicions were true,” he murmured, dropping his fingers to take my hand. “Now, I’m certain that they are.”
The feel of his warm, rough hand in mine made my whole body tremble. I prayed my palms weren’t too sweaty as I struggled to steady myself.
“What suspicions?”
Grae opened his mouth to speak as his three guards stumbled into the entryway, Briar two steps behind. At the sound of their drunken arrival, I dropped Grae’s hand and retreated a step on instinct. To the others, I was Briar’s guard and nothing more. There would be a lot of questions if they caught me holding hands with the princess’s betrothed. I wished the floor would swallow me whole. What in the world was I thinking?
I raised the back of my cool hand to my burning cheek, trying to snap myself out of this magical spell. I blamed the wine.
“Come on,” Maez said, sweeping her arms as if herding sheep. “To bed with you lot. We’ve got to wake up in only a few hours.”
Briar reached my side and looped her arm through mine, swaying on tipsy legs as she dragged me up the stairs. I looked back at Grae, who tracked my every step under heavy brows. Whatever he had to say would have to wait. I curled my fingers into my palm, remembering the feeling of his rough grip on my own. The sensation burned into my mind. Gods curse me. Did Grae hold hands and rumble whispered promises to all his friends? I couldn’t allow myself to answer that. Either way, it would only hurt me.
The pull of the waxing moon begged for my Wolf. The silvery light kissed my skin from where I stood between the gauzy curtains. I was so ready to shed my chemise and shift, to run through the midnight trees. That would make me feel steady again, instead of the jittery mess who couldn’t get the feeling of Grae’s hand out of my head. But my fur in the wind and my paws on the earth would have to wait one more night. We were leaving for Highwick in the morning and I couldn’t go gallivanting off into the forest.