Page 10 of Thorn Season
3
Father used to read me fairy tales—stories of strapping young heroes who slayed monsters and rescued damsels, all without getting a speck of blood on their hands.
The gods had sculpted King Erik after those heroes. That same power and grace sang in his every movement—honed his knife-sharp bone structure, then generously softened it with romance: fair starburst lashes framing his frost-blue eyes and a lush mouth that flirted on the edge of swollen, like he’d either just returned from a heady kiss or was about to engage in one.
But it was those clean hands that cemented his fairy-tale image: never stained by the blood he’d spilled.
My skin crawled at the cold feel of them—one clasping mine, the other settling at the dip of my waist—as he led me in a dance. I hoped Father couldn’t see us. The sight of me in the king’s grasp would be hell on his rash.
“I felt it my duty to rescue you.” King Erik smirked, his voice low and sultry. Dressed in his usual finery—silver-embroidered indigo, with a cape fastened at his shoulders—he stood out like a pillar against the twinkling pink backdrop. “You looked terribly affronted. That was one of Briar’s boys, wasn’t it?”
The king wasn’t much older than Garret, but I knew what he’d meant.One of Briar’s boys.As if she’d molded him herself.
“It was, Your Majesty.”
“I hope he wasn’t bothering you.”
“No more than usual,” I said, and regretted it instantly. Because Erik’s gaze tightened over my shoulder, closing in on a target.
I didn’t know what exactly compelled me to clunk forward, digging my heel into his polished boot. But I exhaled when his icy attention slid off Garret.
“My apologies,” I said. “I rarely dance.”
The king smiled, all warmth and tolerance. “You may step on my toes as often as you wish. You’re saving me from dancing with Lady Perla.” He whispered intimately, “It’s like dragging a wet fish across the dance floor.” At my false laughter, his smile grew sharper. More satisfied. “I’m fortunate you’ll be joining court this year, Lady Alissa. I’m far too dependent on your trampling feet to let them wander off now.”
Here we go.I’d grown accustomed to Erik’s appreciative glances since I’d come of age.
I’d grown equally accustomed to batting away his flirtations like swatting flies.
“I’m afraid Your Majesty will have to manage without me,” I said, laughing again. “Though I’m certain your shoes will thank me.”
His head tilted—a predator prickling with awareness. “This is your eighteenth season, no?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then I assume you’re unaware of Rose Season’s origins. You see, the tradition began so each new generation of nobles could swear fealty to the Crown.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” I maintained my smile. “I look forward to the ceremony at the end of the season.”
“But you won’t be remaining at the palace in the meantime?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
He licked his lips, his wry smile glistening. “Forgive me, Lady Alissa. I feel myself growing offended, and I doubt that’s what you intend.”
My specter twitched at his tone—falsely playful, dark with meaning. The anxious thrum of my pulse grew palpable where my palm pressed his.
You’ve always thrived here, Garret had said. Because court had always enthralled me—the schemes and secrets, the verbal warfare that sent my specter zipping with a little thrill. In different circumstances, I might’ve joined court despite Father’s wishes. But it wasn’t court he wanted to keep me from.
It had always been the king.
“We have a large house, Your Majesty,” I said, thick with apology. “I couldn’t bear to leave my father alone in it for so long.”
“By all means, tell him to join you.”
“You wouldn’t like that, Your Majesty.” Another empty laugh. “You have enough Verenian nobles cluttering your halls for Rose Season. Craftspeople can be a fussy lot.”
“Ah, that’s why you don’t stay? For fear of cluttering my halls?” He twirled me to a swell of music. My twisting skirts dragged me off-kilter, but he steadied me against him—a wolf keeping hold of its prey. “I’m relieved, Lady Alissa. My imagination had quite run away with me. I’d believed you were deliberately avoiding my company.”
