“Perhaps.” She was quiet for a moment. “Your chambers? They are in this wing also?”
“Do you ask because you’d like to visit?” I placed the poker aside.
The lower half of her cheeks pinked. “That was not why I was asking.”
“You sure?” I teased, damn well knowing it wasn’t the reason, but I enjoyed the flush creeping along the lower half of her face. “It’s okay if it was.”
Her chin rose. “It wasn’t.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all.” Waking to her would be an unexpected delight, unlike what had occurred with Britta.
“Forget I even asked,” she muttered.
I chuckled, also enjoying her quick-to-surface ire. “Yes, my chambers are a floor below.” Brushing my hands on my pants, I rose. “Though the ceiling is not as high as your chambers, nor is it as cold.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I mean that your chambers are comfortable.” Her clasped fingers relaxed, even as the skin beneath her veil continued to deepen in color. “Do you still have your quarters at the dorm?”
I nodded.
“Do you stay at them?” The hem of her white robes glided silently over the stone as she came forward. “I don’t think Vikter stays at his often.”
“I haven’t since I became your servant.”
“You’re not my servant,” she quickly corrected.
“But I am here to serve you.” I tilted my head, watching the lower half of her face closely. The skin there. Her mouth. “In whatever way necessary.”
Penellaphe huffed out a noise that almost sounded like a laugh. “You are my guard, not my servant. You serve as my protection and…”
“And?”
“And you serve as a source of irritation.”
I laughed deeply. “You wound me yet again, Princess.”
“Doubtful.” There was a twitch to her lips as if she were fighting a smile. “And don’t call me that.”
I grinned at her. “I was disappointed this evening, by the way.”
“By what?” She’d stopped coming closer. The gold chains of her veil twinkled in the lamplight.
“I hoped you would ask to take a walk in the garden.”
“Oh.” She drew her plump lower lip between her teeth as she looked at the windows. “I…I thought about it.” A forlorn sigh left her, tugging at my chest. “I do miss those walks.”
An emotion I didn’t want to recognize festered. Guilt. My gaze followed hers to the blue-black sky beyond. Just for a moment, I allowed myself to wish I had chosen a different location in which to move my plan forward—somewhere she hadn’t found peace. Then I wouldn’t have stolen that from her.
“Maybe another night this week, after the Rite,” she said.
I turned to her, finding that she had been watching me. “Of course,” I lied. Clearing my mind of what I’d already cost her wasn’t easy, but I thought of my brother. The peace that had been stolen from him. That did the job. “As I said, I live to serve you.”
Her sigh was impressive. “Then you must live a rather boring life.”
“I did.” I dipped my chin as I slowly made my way to where she stood, just beyond the little sitting areas she had created by the fire. “Until I became your…” I swore I felt her eyes narrowing. “Protector.”
“Guard,” she clarified.
“Now, I’m a bit confused.” I crossed the distance, stopping when there was only about half a foot between us. I watched her closely, trying to gauge her reaction to my proximity. Her pulse kicked up, but she didn’t back away. “Aren’t guard and protector the same thing?”
“I don’t believe so. One is simply guarding, the other is protecting.”
My brows knitted as I looked over at her. “Again, are they not the same?”
“No.”
“Explain.” I saw that two of the chains on the top of the veil were twisted together.
“Guarding…is more passive. Protecting is proactive,” she said, a small grin appearing, one I could only describe as her being pleased with herself.
“Both require passiveness and preparedness,” I countered.
One shoulder lifted again. “Well, it’s just my opinion.”
“Clearly,” I murmured.
Penellaphe’s head tilted to the side. “I don’t believe your services are needed any longer this evening.”
“So, I am at your service?”
“Apparently not, if you’re still standing here,” she quipped.
Another laugh left me, tugging at the corners of my mouth. “I will be out of your…veil soon enough.”
“Out of my veil?” she repeated. “Shouldn’t that be out of my hair?”
“Yes, but since I can’t see your hair, I thought veil made more sense.”
“You are…”
“What?”
Silence.
“Don’t be shy.”
The chest of her lacy robes lifted with a deep breath. “You are strange.”
“Well, I for sure thought you would say something far more insulting than that, but speaking of your veil,” I said, lifting a hand. She stiffened as I reached for her. Her pulse skittered now. “Your chains are tangled.”
“Oh,” Penellaphe whispered, clearing her throat. She lifted her hand.
“I got it.” My hand brushed hers as I slid my fingers under the chains. Her soft inhale and the sudden thickness of fresh, sweet scent brought a tight smile to my lips as I leaned in. “I did wonder something.”
“And what would that be?”
The breathiness of her words touched my throat and heated my blood. “I was thinking about when the Teermans addressed the people.” I gently began untangling the chains, discovering that they were as heavy as I had imagined. “Many in the crowd weren’t happy, and not just because of the attack.”
She said nothing as I worked the length of chain, but her hands had unclasped and fallen to her sides.
“How did you know some in the crowd may grow violent?” I asked, though I wouldn’t call Lev’s actions all that violent.
“I…I didn’t know for sure,” she answered. Her fingers twitched. “I just saw the way they were moving closer and their expressions.”
“You have very good eyesight, then.” I continued tugging the chains apart, even though a small child could’ve completed the task by now, but I was taking my time.
“I suppose.”
“I was surprised.” I kept an eye on her as I slowly worked the chains free, catching every tiny reaction. Her breathing had picked up, along with her pulse. Her fingers had stilled. “You caught sight of what many of the guards didn’t.”
“But you noticed.”
“It is my job to notice, Princess.”
“And because I am the Chosen, I suppose it is not my duty to take note of such things?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you—？” Her breath snagged as I reached the end of the chains, and the backs of my fingers brushed her shoulder. “What are you saying?”