Page 30 of Betraying Korth

The scent of aged parchment and ink permeated the air as Korth led me through the aisles. I couldn’t help running a finger along the polished book spines. So much knowledge contained here, but totally inaccessible to anyone unable to read.

“Do you like it?” Korth breathed.

“I love it.”

There were muted whispers as the scribes conversed in low tones with each other and the sound of scratching quills filled the air, as well as the crackle of the fire in the grand fireplace on the far end of the library, framed by a carved stone mantel. Comfortable, high-backed armchairs upholstered in a deep-sea blue invited readers to sit and lose themselves in whatever volume they chose to read.

Above the fireplace’s mantel hung a majestic tapestry depicting the kingdom’s founding. Too antsy to sit by the fire, I passed by. But when I looked back, I saw that Godfrey had settled himself into one of the armchairs, still watching us closely. The library was so open that it wasn’t like Korth and I would be able to easily sneak off, and Korth was too proper to do such a thing anyway.

Tightly spiraling staircases with wrought-iron banisters wound up to the mezzanine level, where rolling ladders dotted the walls and a walkway ran around the perimeter of the library. I climbed the stairs, eager to get a bird’s-eye view of the library and ran my hand along the railing that guarded anyone on the walkway from falling. I leaned against the rail, gazing down at the library, in complete awe of its grandeur.

Korth joined me, listening as the sounds of hushed voices, scribbling, and the crackling fire rose up to where we stood alone.

“Why haven’t you kissed me?” I asked Korth baldly, whispering so that only he could hear me.

Korth glanced nervously down at the chaperone on the far end of the hall and his voice went up half an octave. “What?”

“After the message from my father came. I gave all the right signals and you pulled away. Am I unattractive to you?”

He blanched. “No.”

“Then why?”

I wouldn’t have been surprised to see smoke furling from Korth’s ears. “I just…” His hands clenched into fists then unclenched at his sides as he fought for what to say. “I’m not experienced,” he finally admitted quietly. “And I don’t want to disappoint you.”

The frostiness coating my heart melted. Most men would never admit inexperience, particularly in reference to kissing and romance, but here Korth was, openly and humbly confessing. I found it strangely endearing, not only that he would be so perfectly honest, but also that he had held himself back from other women foryears…waiting for me.

Waiting forOdette, I corrected myself hastily. But it was impossible to prevent the candle in my chest from leaping at his words, flickering more brightly. Boys would boast about their prowess in any area. A real man didn’t. Korth was a real man.

“Besides,” he continued. “You were upset, and…and I want you to remember a first kiss in which you weren’t crying.”

“That’s a reasonable thing,” I told him, gently bumping his shoulder. “And if you haven’t noticed, I’m not crying now. It’s good to know you aren’t opposed to the idea.”

Korth’s ears turned pink. “Not at all.” He spoke so quietly that I barely heard him. He shot another look at where Godfrey was sitting, out of earshot but still in a position that made us highly visible. “I don’t know the right words to say in these situations though.”

This would have been so much easier if Korth were the greedy, superficial prince I’d expected. “You don’t need the right words.” I told him softly. “Your actions are enough.”

My heart drummed in my chest. It was ridiculous to get giddy over Korth confessing his faults. Every other woman longed for a man who had the right words to woo her. But when I heard such flowery sayings to me, it only would remind me that words spoken with such confidence had surely been uttered before.Korth’s shy reservation was proof that he truly had waited all that time, had spurned any advances, all for me. He had stayed true when any other man’s head might have been turned. It might have been Odette he thought he was getting, but his eyes were on me, and me alone. And I didn’t want him to stop looking.

A secluded alcove was nestled behind one of the rolling staircases on the second floor. On the pretext of examining one of the decorative sculptures, I moved into the wall’s recess. “What’s this?” I asked.

Korth moved in to take the sculpture from me. “A Kraken. Surely you’ve heard the stories.”

“Yes, but now we’re where Godfrey can’t see us.” After a slight pause, I traced the sharp angles of his jaw then allowed my fingers to raise and explore his hair, releasing it from the stiff confines of his original styling. The slightly disheveled look was exactly as it had appeared in my dream, and I suddenly found myself unable to breathe, far warmer than I had been when I passed the fireplace, and assailed by the same sensation I experienced any time I pictured Korth kissing me.

He checked over his shoulder. “The only place not visible from his armchair and you found it.”

My heart leapt frantically within my chest while the pounding in my ears was deafening me. Waves of heat poured off my body with such intensity that I’d be casting a mirage soon. “Iluredyou here,” I corrected him. “What are you going to do about it?”

Hesitantly, Korth touched my shoulder, and a blaze of heat ripped through my body, more intense than I was prepared for. After glancing at me for permission, he inclined his head so our breaths mingled together, lips an inch apart. He was finally going to do it, I thought, and allowed my eyelids to shut, waiting…waiting…

The sound of someone insistently clearing their throat broke the spell. Godfrey hadn’t been fooled in the slightest. He had vacated his armchair and was shuffling his feet loudly, clearing his throat multiple times in rapid succession as he pulled a random book from the bookcase and set it down on a nearby table with unnecessary force. I opened my eyes to find Korth side-eyeing his manservant with immense irritation. It was almost worth having our moment interrupted to see Korth expressing some genuine emotion. I swooped my face around to kiss Korth’s cheek, then whispered in his ear, “Next time we pass the lake, let’s shove him in.”

Korth let out a laugh that he quickly stifled and arranged his face back into one of calm passivity, but his eyes kept a sparkle that hadn’t been there before. “You’re a bad influence on me,” he told me, so quietly that Godfrey wouldn’t hear. “And I wouldn’t trade you for any other woman in the world.”

Godfrey, true to his chaperone duties, lifted a ceramic vase and set it down again, loudly rolling the base to create a grinding sound that announced his presence once again. I closed my eyes, willing myself to remain patient. The time would come. We just needed to be rid of the chaperone. If Korth was less rule-abiding, it would be easy to convince him to give the wretched manservant the slip and sneak off to be alone, but Korth was much too honorable for such things. A sigh of frustration escaped my lips as the heat of the moment was blown away.

CHAPTER 15

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