Page 40 of Betraying Korth

After several long beats, Korth leaned over to push the paneled doors ajar, opening our isolated box to the cool breezerushing in from the kitchen’s lowest level. The air’s chill nip whisked away the inappropriate thoughts as my true purpose slunk back into my mind.

“Ladies first,” Korth said with a strained smile, gesturing at the empty corridor.

CHAPTER 18

Ihad expected more pushback over my plan of escaping the castle, but once we left the dumbwaiter, Korth was surprisingly willing to go along with my rebellious little scheme. As we passed the laundry room, which looked empty now that night had fallen in earnest, I saw servants' clothing hung out to dry and insisted on a detour. Korth donned a servant’s black clothing and tied the mask around his face without complaint.

In the next room, I changed into the handmaiden clothing, which felt far more familiar than the regal gowns I had been wearing, then I took a moment to splash water onto my face.Keep it together, Dahlia.I merely needed Korth to trust me enough to lend his military support until the rebellion was won. Once I was inevitably discovered, I would sever all ties and leave. My heart gave an involuntary pang as I pictured Korth’s face when he realized the betrayal that was unavoidable.

We used the small passageway where deliveries were made to exit the castle. Once we were outside in the fresh air, it became easier to push away my apprehensions about the future and focus on the task at hand: to get Korth to enjoy himself and feel comfortable around me.

“You know, if we’re going in disguise, we’ll need fake names to call each other,” I told him. “Is there a name you want me to use?”

His brow, only barely visible behind his mask, furrowed slightly. “I’ve never thought about it.”

“Well then, you can be Heath, and I’ll be…Dahlia.” The name slipped out of my mouth before I could think of a better alternative.

“Dahlia,” he repeated experimentally, testing the way it felt on his tongue.Shoals, the way he said my name was far more seductive than any love potion could ever be. “That’s a beautiful name.” I felt just as hypnotized as I had been in my dream. It would be torture once he reverted to calling me Odette again.

It felt liberating to walk around in the town square, masked and in disguise. No one spared us a second glance, no crowds parted or stared as we strolled along, and there was none of the bowing and scraping that normally accompanied Korth everywhere he went. Colored lanterns hung on strings stretched between rooftops and the town’s square was ringed in glowing braziers. Cooking pits roasted three sheep and a bullock that hissed and sputtered as fats and juices fell onto the bed of red-hot coals. Long trestle tables were laden with crusty pies, braided loaves of bread, and sliced fruits. Friends sat shoulder to shoulder, laughing and raising tankards to invite others to join their merriment.

“Tess would like it here,” Korth said, watching as acrobats tumbled across the square, flipping over each other while others cartwheeled in circles.

“You really love her, don’t you?”

He grinned an embarrassed sort of smile. “Who couldn’t love her?”

Barkers called customers toward their booths, advertising flower wreaths, jewelry, different foods and beverages, and avariety of other goods. A crowd of young men were laughing and joking as they challenged each other to a knife-throwing competition. Pirates, by the look of their clothing, but they didn’t appear nearly as dangerous or as old as most of the pirates the rebellion had dealt with in the past. In fact, many looked my same age. I angled my head to the side. Were they the children of other pirates, perhaps?

“It’s a long story,” Korth told me, following my gaze and accurately guessing my thoughts.

“Which one is in charge?” My eyes flicked from one young man to the next.

Korth looked around. “I don’t see him here. He’s missing a hand; Captain Hook, they call him.”

“Is he that young, too?”

“From what I remember, he’s a little older than they are, but not by much.”

I pulled my attention away. I was here to make Korth fall in love with me, not wonder at the origins of some younger-than-average pirates. “What do you want to do first? Are you hungry?”

“I already ate supper.”

“But have you had festival food? It’s terrible for your health and tastes sinfully delicious.” I winked at him through my mask. “If I’m going to be a bad influence on you, I may as well do it properly.”

“I really shouldn’t…” Korth began as I purchased a dessert that had more sugar than a week’s worth of meals at the castle.

“Enough about what you should and shouldn’t do. What do youwantto do?”

Slowly, Korth took the bite I held out to him and closed his eyes. “Wow.”

“What was that you were saying about what you shouldn’t do?” I asked as I snuck a bite of my own.

“I forgot.”

After we finished the dessert, I pulled Korth into a speed painter’s booth. “Didn’t you say you wanted a portrait in one of the recent letters before I arrived?”

“Yes, I did.”

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