Page 26 of Straw and Gold
Ignoring him, I pointed to the door, repeating, “Doru.”
He nodded, taking the book from me and placing it tidily back into its spot. “Where are your spools of thread?”
“With Alista. I asked her to take them below to the workrooms.”
He smirked thoughtfully. “Time for your first lesson then, Goldling.” He gestured to the chairs by the fire and I took one, settling myself by slipping off my shoes and tucking my feet underneath me. I was no longer tired. I was no longer frustrated with my task of spinning straw into golden thread. Instead, I was enraptured. My husband sat opposite, taking up all the space in the room, let alone the actual chair. He leaned forward on his legs, built like trunks of trees. A shiver ran through me at his undivided attention.
“Ta fìor lebherahlann a' casteil on ùir ann uamh,” he said.
I scrunched my nose. “Don’t you think that’s a bit too advanced for me?”
“I want you to hear Céaduah often. Really let it settle in here.” He tapped his chest over his heart. “The servants will begin to add it to their speech when addressing you. You’ll pick up on it quicker that way.”
I cocked my head to the side, mimicking the look I’d seen my brother pose a thousand times. “Were you always planning to teach me Céaduah?”
He rubbed his scruffy chin. “No.”
“You decided this today,” I stated.
A twitch of his lips. “Yes.”
“After you saw proof that I am part Changelingfae.”
“Ah, so you’ve figured that out.”
“No, I wastold.And not by my husband, as I should have been.”
He shrugged. “As I said, you are an intelligent woman, Goldling. You’d have discovered it on your own eventually.” Something sat on his face and he leaned back in his chair, folding his hands at his chest.
I studied his features. This man held many secrets—that I could see—but which were the ones I needed to get what I wanted from him?
“Is Céaduah necessary to know as a ruler of the Citrine Cliffs?” I muttered, my mind spinning.
His face remained still as he answered with a short shake of his head.
“You didn’t plan to teach me, yet when you began our bargain, you added this as an amendment. You cannot tell me your true name; I must discover it for myself.”
His eyes filled with something I couldn’t name. Something I’d seen twice on his face. Once when he first laid eyes on me arriving at our wedding on the arm of Fedir. And once more after I’d spun the first golden thread.
“You’re almost there,” he murmured, waiting in the silence.
I straightened in my chair with a wide grin. “Your true namemeanssomething in Céaduah. You need me to learn the language to discover it.”
“There it is, Moh Dhóches.”
“What’s…moh dhóches?”
“You’ll have to learn.”
I huffed, glancing at the fire. “Earlier, what did you say after you sat down? Lebherahlann something something. If lebher means book, what islebherahlann?”
“Impressive, Morella. You have a gift for language.”
I bit my lip at compliment number five.
He continued, “‘Lebherahlann means library. I was answering your previous question as to if this room is the castle library. It’s not.”
“Repeat your answer, please.”
