Page 10 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
I shift my gaze back to the man with the silver eyes but find only snow-dusted air in his stead.Who is he? A ghost? He could be. I’ve known my fair share of ghosts. Castle walls have a way of trapping things inside. Even the dead cannot escape their royal prison.
Gestin follows my gaze, seeking the source of my attention. “Did you see something?”
“No. Everything is fine.” I allow him to lead me inside, glancing over my shoulder once more. I find only the quiet sweep of snow and the whispers of winter on the wind.
Melly is waiting for me when I return to my room that evening. She pulls me into a fierce hug. “I’ll stay by yer side no matter where ye go.”
I sigh into her hold. “I know it. Thank you.” As my handmaiden, Melly will be expected to accompany me to my new home.
“Even help to bathe ye after you’ve taken those wrinkly old balls to bed.”
“Melly!” I draw back in shock.
Melly’s grin is too devious for her own good. “Just trying to defuse yer somber mood with a little ’umor. Ye won’t actually ’ave to touch ’is balls if ye don’t want to. It’s not a necessary part of?—”
I press a hand over her mouth. “Enough.” A smile finds its way onto my face. “Help me undress and draw me a bath. I am eager for sleep this evening.”
Gestin was true to his word. He allowed me to beat up the newer guards until the animosity had drained from my limbs. I only agreed to call it quits after the blister on my hand tore open. The damn thing burned like mad.
The warmth of the tub as I sink inside is something dangerously pleasurable. I’m silent as Melly helps me bathe. She doesn’t mind carrying the air when I don’t feel like talking. There appears to be an endless amount of gossip amongst the castle’s servants and staff. I remain in the tub until it’s gone tepid, declining Melly’s offer to fetch a new round of hot water. Sleep has added weight to my eyelids.
The soft fabric of my nightgown slides across my clean skin. After a long day in my too-tight, too-many-layers wardrobe, it’s nice to wear something so simple. Not to mention I can finally breathe without a stuffy collar shackling my neck. I shrug my robe on, dismissing Melly for the evening. Once alone, I slump into the armchair by the fire.
My fingers absentmindedly stroke the silky, raised skin that runs along the column of my throat. Memories of my time outside the castle walls always arise when my world gets too quiet.
I died.
It’s still so hard to believe. The three men who snatched me from the garden and dragged me to some broken-down shack on the edge of town were brazen—at first. As their plan began tounravel and their dreams of striking it rich with a ransom turned to fears of imprisonment and beheadings, they panicked.
I’ve never screamed as loudly as I did the moment they raised that blade to my throat. All the royalty in my blood wasn’t worth much when it went spilling onto the dirty floor.
When the castle guards found me, I was breathing again. Eyes paler than before and sporting a snowy streak amongst my dark locks. Changed, but alive. How was such a feat managed? That is a curious question indeed. One that puzzled the doctors who were sworn into silence after that day.
Because in death, I was granted a gift.
The flickering flames of my personal fireplace lull me into a trance. My mouth parts wide on a yawn. Enough dwelling on the past. It is time for rest.
Toasty and half asleep, I rise from my chair and stumble toward my bed. The sapphire-blue comforter is velvety beneath my fingers as I grip the edge, using it to haul myself into the oversized bed. The dull thud that sounds through my room as I plop onto the mattress and snuggle into the sheets drops me further into my cozy bliss. Rolling onto my side, I tuck my arm beneath the pillow, allowing my eyelids to finally fall shut.
Wait. They snap back open. Something caught my eye in those last few seconds. Something sitting on the pillow beside me.
Shaky fingers slide from beneath the covers to gently clasp the item.A black feather. I sit up, fully roused now. The feather in question belongs to what must be the largest bird to exist in these lands. Measuring two lengths of my hands or more. It’s soft against my blistered palm. Pinching the hollow quill between my thumb and forefinger, I raise the feather up, allowing the fire’s glow to illuminate its details. A shimmery iridescence passes along the feather each time I move it. What kind of bird is this? A raven, like the one from today?I’ve certainly never seen a feather shine with a pearly hidden rainbow like this one possesses.
My thoughts switch from what kind of bird it’s from to how it got onto my pillow in the first place.Someone was in my room.
A full-body shudder courses through me. Was ithim?
I wrap myself in a blanket and pad to the window. Frost obscures my view of the outside world. I squint, my forehead pressed to the glass. There, I find the subtle outline of a man standing in the center of the garden.
A man with wings.
Chapter 5
Harrow
Watching her from the cover of my shadows at night is foolish. Watching her during the daytime while the sun is shining high above is downright lunacy. This pretty little mortal has me fixated and unable to think clearly. My visits were more isolated in the beginning. Weeks later, and I find myself tearing at my skin with impatience to catch a glimpse of her elegant face. The weather has kept my fair Lenore trapped within the castle walls for far too long. Today, the sky is clear, the sun is bright, and my little raven has come outdoors.
She moves swiftly, peering behind her every few feet. I’ve watched my raven long enough to know when she has snuck past her guard detail. Naughty little thing. More concerned with freedom than safety. She uses a side entrance that blends seamlessly into the castle wall. I can only assume it is a secret passage of sorts.
