Page 37 of Oath of Betrayal
‘There are things in my life that I regret deeply, Ani, but bringing you here is not one of them. I misjudged the situation and should never have threatened you with the geas, but what’s done is done. I wish you’d understand that I’m not your enemy and don’t want to be the owner of your contract—Ani … I want …’ He reached out, but I pulled away when I saw something dangerous flash in his features, an emotion that made his handsome face frightening.
Orm noticed my reaction and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.
‘I see. Nothing I say or do will change your mind.’ His face reverted to that emotionless mask. ‘We’ll do it your way. You will stay here until you recover, and I will have your room available for you tomorrow … I will give you some time alone now, but don’t expect me to stay away just because you are afraid to like me.’
Orm stalked to the door but then halted, looking back at me. His gaze took me in before he brushed unruly strands of midnight-black hair from his forehead.
‘You will get used to my presence, Annika. And although nothing happened between us last night, I can’t promise that nothing will in the future. I didn’t expect this … pull, but it is what it is, and I’m just a man, Nivale. A man who refuses to deprive himself of your company.’
‘My lady, please wake up … My lady, the bath is ready.’
The strange voice intruded on my dreams, and I pried my eyes open with an expression that made the owner of said voice flinch. My initial confusion, however, quickly gave way to embarrassed understanding.
I was still in Orm’s bedroom, but now the smell of herbs and meat filled the air, making my stomach rumble. I focused on the bravely smiling face of a young girl with blond braids and eyes as blue as the summer sky. She wasn’t from Zalesie, and she clearly didn’t know me, judging by how vigorously she kept pulling at the covers.
‘Who are you?’ I asked, and the girl’s smile widened confidently. ‘Your maid, my lady. You’ve been asleep for several hours, and the lord commander told me to wake you and draw you a bath. He is busy with Master Alaric, but he sent some food from the kitchen and made me promise to make you eat something before the night’s rest.’
‘Night’s rest? But it’s barely morning.’
‘You slept through the day, my lady. The lord commander took good care of you, then Master Alaric came, but unfortunately, they both had to go.’
I looked towards the corner where a tub large enough to drown two grown men in sat filled with steaming water. ‘Right, of course. Well, let’s try this again. How about we start with your name? Then you can explain why I’m not bathing in the communal baths and why someone was forced to carry this monstrosity up here.’
‘My name is Agnes, my lady, and I will be your maid—yourpersonalmaid,’ she said, emphasising the word ‘personal’ and bouncing with excitement. Anyone would think she’d been given a noble title.
‘We have a large and well-equipped bathroom, but Lord Ormond said you needed comfort and privacy. Besides, it wasn’t the servants who brought it here; the soldiers and riders did. And Master Alaric cast this weird spell that made everything so quiet.’
I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they’d fall out. Orm’s idea of privacy came with an army parading through my room while I slept.
‘Fine, thank you, Agnes. I’ll take it from here. You may go,’ I said, but she only shook her head. ‘No, my lady. The commander was insistent when he told me Imustassist you in everything you need.’ Determination flashed in her eyes.
‘What was your previous job?’
‘I worked in the kitchen, but I’ve always wanted to be a lady’s maid.’ My shoulders fell at hearing that. It was a significant advancement for Agnes, and it was clear as day that she would do precisely as the lord commander instructed whether I liked it or not. I was stuck with a maid I didn’t need unless I threw her out.
‘If you insist on staying, then you must call me Ani. I’m a mage, not a lady.’ I gave the maid a stern look and stepped out of bed. I cursed in surprise when my legs refused to hold my weight and almost sent me crashing to the floor. Agnes caught me with a strength I didn’t expect from someone so slim and slowly guided me to the bathtub.
‘I can only call you Ani when no one’s watching, alright? The lord commander would kick me out penniless if I disrespected you. You know, he’s never had a woman in his chambers. He mostly spends his free time with Master Alaric, and we all thought that …’ She made an obscene gesture while blushing heavily before slapping a hand over her mouth. ‘Ohh … I shouldn’t have said that.’
‘Said what?’ I enquired. Distracted by my weakness, I was unsure what she was alluding to. I climbed unsteadily into the tub, still wondering, when she continued. ‘Well, we thought that Lord Orm and Master Ari were … but now that I’m thinking about it, Master Alaric never came here, either.’
The girl was a gossip, but I loved the idea of having such a rich source of information.
‘So you assumed Alaric was Orm’s lover, and now you thinkI’mhis woman?’ I teased, my mischievous smile making my new maid blush. ‘But you are his woman, my lady … I mean Ani. How can you be so indifferent about it?’
‘His woman? Did he tell you that?’
‘Well, no. But you’re here, in his bed. It is the first time the commander has chosen a maiden, and he rushed you to his bedroom. Then there were those noises … If you’d heard him when he told us to serve you—even the cook got scared. So I thought you were his. There was talk amongst the riders that he calls you hisNivale,’ she said, wide-eyed.
I couldn’t fault her logic. Everything she had mentioned pointed to that conclusion, and I closed my eyes in defeat.I willnever live this down.With a deep sigh, I sank lower, trying to let the verbena-scented water ease my muscles and wash away my embarrassment.
‘How am I expected to work with the fortress mage if he thinks I’m here to warm Orm’s bed?’ I asked, and Agnes chuckled. ‘It’s not good to be at odds with Master Alaric. He can be mean to those who wrong him or the lord commander …You know… the sounds that sometimes come from his room, the voices. Some say he is possessed and that the dark fae is blackhearted.’
‘Yes, well. I will have to explain this somehow, preferably before the poor mage hears that I was naked in Orm’s embrace. That won’t give him a good impression of me, and I can’t risk breaking his black heart.’ I winked. Agnes burst into unbridled laughter before positioning herself behind me and lathering my hair with scented soap.
‘You are not what I expected,’ Agnes ventured, her nimble fingers making me moan as she massaged my scalp. ‘Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately,’ I murmured as I felt myself floating away on the perfumed steam. Before I knew it, Agnes had me in a pleasant stupor with her gentle ministrations.
A soft knock, followed by a draft from the open door, made my eyes snap open a moment later. ‘Is she ready, Agnes?’ asked a melodic, masculine voice, and I found myself turning towards the agreeable sound.
