Page 58 of Song of the Dragon Rider
Her lips curled into a faint smile tinged with melancholy. “Just make sure you come back to reclaim what you've left,” she chided.
Her words conveyed a tenderness I wasn’t used to hearing from her. I couldn’t help but show my surprise. With a nod, Iwalked towards the window and looked out into the darkness that blanketed the grounds of the Ryder residence, searching for patrolling guards. The night was still, the estate bathed in the soft glow of moonlight, tranquil and deceivingly peaceful.
Without another word, I slipped through the window and blended into the shadows as I strode across the lawn. Behind me, I left a part of myself with her, a silent promise hanging in the air. The night enveloped me, the cool air brushing against my skin as I disappeared into the darkness, each step taking me further from her, yet somehow, inexplicably tethered to her.
16
CAT
Clutching the bedsheet to my bare chest, I sat up with a start and gasped. “Fuck. I slept with Damien.”
I’d officially lost my mind.
I must have, if I’d decided to have sex with Damien after everything that happened last night. Who in their right mind did that? Obviously not someone sane, that was for sure. Maybe I’d been in Elaria too long and the difference was messing with my head. Perhaps it was a chemical imbalance.
This just went to show that you didn’t need WebMD to diagnose yourself. I could spiral into health-related hysterics just fine on my own, thank you very much.
Just then, someone knocked on my door and I shrieked, hurriedly slapping a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming again.
“My lady?” Maeve called out from the other side of the door. “Are you okay? I’m coming in—”
“No!” I shouted. “Give me a minute!” I quickly scrambled out of bed, tripping over the long sheets and banging my knee on the edge of the bed. “Ah! Fuck!”
“My lady?” Maeve called out again.
“I’m okay, just give me a second!” I squeaked as I hobbled over to my closet to grab a nightgown. I quickly dressed and tried to make myself presentable and pretend I hadn’t turned my room into a sex den before going to open the door for Maeve. “Hey, how’s it going?” I casually greeted.
Maeve was standing at the threshold with a tray and a dumbfounded look on her face. “My lady… are you okay?” she murmured as she sized me up and down.
I nodded. “Of course!” I chuckled awkwardly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, for one, your nightgown is on backwards.”
I froze and slowly looked down at my disheveled clothes to find that my nightgown was indeed on backwards. “Shit,” I muttered, then offered a nervous laugh. “I, uh… was so tired last night I didn’t notice. No wonder I slept so badly.”
Maeve furrowed her brows. “Right…” She pushed past me and swept into the room, all business. “Come wash your face and teeth, my lady.”
As Maeve set the tray down, her eyes briefly darted to the disarray on my floor—my evening dress and undergarments I’d haphazardly discarded the night before, along with a spray of hair pins and scattered jewelry. Her expression remained carefully neutral, though I saw the questions forming just behind her eyes.
“I’ll just clean up here a bit,” Maeve said, bending to gather the clothes. Her movements were slow, methodical, almost as if giving me a chance to say anything that might explain the chaos.
“Thank you, Maeve,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I really must have been more tired than I thought.”
Maeve nodded as she placed my dress on a hanger with more care than usual. “A good night’s sleep is often disrupted by muchactivity.” Her tone might have been innocent, except for the slight emphasis she placed onactivity.
I forced a laugh that was far too high-pitched to sound genuine. “Oh, you know me, always tossing and turning.”
“Yes, my lady,” Maeve carefully replied. Her gaze flicked to the half-open window before returning to her tasks. Her silence was louder than any words. Once she finished tidying up, Maeve turned to me with her usual composure restored. “I can’t stay long, as I’m tending to young Master Jacob’s wounds. Shall we proceed with your morning routine, then?”
“Absolutely,” I said, eager to shift away from the topic of my midnight calisthenics with Damien.
As Maeve helped me wash and prepare for the day, her demeanor was professional, yet I caught her watching me in the mirror a few times with a thoughtful look in her eyes. I knew Maeve well enough by now to recognize when she was holding back. Her loyalty was unwavering, but so was her curiosity. It was a line she walked expertly, never overstepping but always aware. And right now, I felt her silent promise not to pry, paired with an unspoken assurance that she’d be there if I chose to confide.
The room had been returned to order and my secrets remained just beneath the surface, hidden yet palpably present between us. I couldn’t help but wonder how long this unspoken understanding would hold before the truth demanded to be acknowledged.
As Maeve adjusted the last pin in my hair, her eyes met mine in the mirror, a gentle probing in their depths. “Did you manage to see Prince Damien last night after I delivered your message?”
I paused, my heart skipping a beat. “Yes, I did see him,” I managed to say, keeping my eyes fixed on my reflection rather than meeting her shrewd gaze.
