“Maybe more people should…” I mumble.
A low rumbling chuckle rolls around in his chest like loosening stones before the rockslide.
He doesn’t get a chance to reply to my rudeness, because just then, a scribe suddenly appears at the end of the aisle, making my stomach drop like a boulder.
Face aglow with the lantern in his bony hands, the orangish cast-off makes the man look scary, long white hair like a drape of fire. Dressed in heavy purple robes that sweep against the floor, his eyes immediately land on me with an indignant glare. “What are you doing in here?”
My mouth goes dry, mind fumbling with an excuse. “Umm…”
He comes closer, and I back up a step, my hopes and plans crashing down around me. All of this because of a stupid sneeze.
“You don’t have permission to be in here.”
I don’t know if the lantern light is throwing off his vision or if the shadows surrounding Slade are too heavy, but the scribe doesn’t seem to notice the king behind me until Slade moves.
Like the wind, he picks up and brushes past until he’s standing at my side like a cool caress. “I gave her permission to be in here.”
The scribe’s eyes widen, mouth gaping for a moment. “King Ravinger. I didn’t see you there,” he says, bending his hunched spine into a bow.
Slade says nothing, but all previous signs of his amusement are gone. There isn’t a single lingering touch of his easygoing energy left, but I’m honestly grateful. It makes it easier to keep an emotional distance from him when his kingly mask is on.
“Apologies, Your Majesty, but this is the royal library. Those outside of royal lineage are not allowed inside,” the nervous scribe says.
A pulse of power seeps into the air. Not Slade’s magic in full force by any means, but just a push. An undertone that ripples from him and spreads out, making a chill trickle over my skin, my ribbons quivering.
Despite the lighting, I can see the blood drain from the scribe’s face as he’s suddenly reminded exactly who he’s talking to.
“I…of course. If she’s with you, then that rule is negated.”
Slade looks at him with an expression cut from stone. “Good. You can go.”
The scribe nods, not daring to glance my way before he turns and leaves without another word. As soon as he’s gone, an exhale of relief expels out of me. “Thanks,” I say, and then I start to walk away too, because being alone with Slade is bad for my plans.
Much to my irritation, he follows me, sticking like a thorn in my side. I shoot him a look. “Do you mind?”
Hands tucked into pockets, the bastard strolls. Leisurely. Like he has nothing better to do. “Not at all. I enjoy long walks in a dreary library.”
“Royal library,” I snip. “And great. Go enjoy that walk somewhere else.”
His brow furrows with a frown. “Are you…mad at me?”
The fact that he even has to ask…
A bitter laugh pops from my mouth. “Mad? No, of course not. Why would I be mad?” I reply breezily. “Now, I’d like you to stop following me and go do…whatever it is you were doing here before I sneezed and leave me alone.”
His footsteps falter. “Auren.”
I ignore him, but that’s never stopped him before.
“Auren,” he says again, tone insistent, an edge of impatience cutting through.
I stop in my tracks but don’t turn to face him. “What?”
Slade comes up to my side so that every word he speaks paints my lips with his air. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
The breath that comes in my chest is shaken, because my heart can’t take this constant disappointment, this circle of hope and distrust.
My eyes flick left to the bookcase, and I stare at the bindings, like I need to fasten my gaze onto something solid. Onto something other than him.
“Midas was always different in private,” I hear myself say, my lips feeling cold in this forbidding place. “In public, he was the king, and he acted like it. It was necessary, he said. It was necessary for him to marry Malina. Necessary to start calling me his favored gold-touched saddle. Necessary for appearances to use me like a shiny trophy to dangle in front of others. No matter that I was in love with him when he dragged me across the kingdoms and brought me to that horrible icy place.”
I shiver and cross my arms around me, and my ribbons cross right along with them, as if they’re trying to ward off the chill. Too bad this one is inside of me.
Slade is quiet. Listening. Like he’s hearing every word but looking at them in a hundred different directions.