Page 28 of The Iron Fae
“That’s enough for me.” His hands disappear behind his back, again. “I think I know of a seer we can go to that can help. It’s a rather hard and long trip for a human. Pack up a bag and I’ll make arrangements for tomorrow. Will that satisfy you?”
“It very much will.”
Kai bows. He takes my hand, flipping it, and presses a kiss to my palm the way he’s always done. Always so proper.
“Kai, are we friends?”Wow, Briar. What a fucking awkward way to say that.
“I like to think so.”
I take a step closer to him. He leans away but doesn’t move from where he stands. His lips tilt slightly into a frown. The smell of Reminints clings to his clothes, and his breath.
This court, though they haven’t left me alone except to get some sleep, has felt lonely. Lincoln hasn’t been here and while I’m sure Rowan would take me up on the offer, I need some form of contact. A hug. I just want a hug.
Trying to force every ounce of my stiff, gracelessness, I rush to close the space between us. I bury my face in the finery of his suit, weaving my hands under his arms, and fasten my grip around the hard, lean muscle he is built out of.
Kai feels like an immovable prop for the entirety of a minute. His words fan my hair onto my forehead as he talks against my head. “I’ve been awfully polite. I’ve tried very, very hard to keep some sort of space for you since you were not raised in our ways. You were exclusive, now you’re not. I, uh, understand this is by no means sexual or romantic, but I’m ecstatic that you’re doing it.” He melts over me. One arm winds over my back, the other presses my head against him, tucking it under his chin. We stand like this, soaking up each other.
As time passes our breathing synchronizes. Every heartbeat is shared. My warmth becomes his warmth and his mine, seeping into my very bones. I press my eyes shut tightly. The servants pass by us without a word. Their attention fixated on us for as long as they can before they’ve passed us and it’d be too rude for them to turn and gawk.
Yes, this is it. I needed this. I neededtouch.I needed to feel close to someone and not just a guest in a foreign home.
Kai waits until I step back. He has a different sort of glow when we pull away. Perhaps we’re more alike than I’d thought. Perhaps… Kai needs physical affection too.
“Thank you.” I give him a small curtsey, pulling at the scraps of my skirt.
“Thank you.” Kai fiddles with the buttons of his white shirt. “It’s, uh, been a long time since someone has given me a genuine hug.”
Oh. I think back to the handcuffs. Kai doesn’t havelovershe hasfuck buddies.
“That’s very sad.” I crinkle my nose. “Well I’m around if you need another one.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
His yellow eyes stay on me as I step into my room. I give him a slight wave, closing the door.
“I’ll be packed and ready for tomorrow.” I remind him just before I close it all the way. I wait, against the door, until I hear his footsteps fade down the hallway.
Anticipation, excitement, fear, anxiety, adrenaline, I’m not sure what emotion consumes me like fire. My veins are hot with it.
Carefully, I undo the thin straps on my heels and let them fall to the floor. My bare feet slap against the black and white tile. I dodge the furniture. A fire has been lit in the hearth for the evening, its heat waves over me as I jog by.
I don’t have a bag to pack with. At least not a duffle bag or even old grocery bags like what I had wadded up for days under my sink in the apartment. As soon as I open the closet door, light cascades down over the assortment of clothing that’s filled it. Gowns, gowns, and more gowns. Ranging from scandalous, to porn inspired.
Whatever this “long hard trip” is, gowns will not do. I can’t do anything in these slips of material. Not unless we are paying this seer with a brief flash of my chest.To be clear, we are NOT paying the seer with a glimpse of my prize winning ta-tas.
There is a wall of shoes, very few without heels. Slowly, I pan through them and find my old worn boots hidden amongst them. I grab them and hug the worn leather to me, the soles still smelling of my feet as I squeeze.Ah, my long-lost boots!What a reuniting moment. These have to come with. My boots have gotten me through more hard times than anything else.
Well, with the exception of Jase. The thought crosses my mind, fleeting and sorrowful.
Beside the shoes I find hooks. Purses. Mainly small clutches covered in rhinestones. Though, as I hoped, there’s a small option of oversized purses—totes. The largest bags hanging from the highest hooks, as if to discourage me from using them. I stretch on my toes, my fingers not even close enough to brush their fine materials.
Pouting, I look around for anything to reach up and knock it from its home. Nothing. So, as a last resort, I begin scaling the shelves for the shoes. Slowly at first, to get a feel for how sturdy the structure of it is. Under foot, the wood holds without a bend or protesting groan. A sure sign I’m safe to proceed.
My fingers clasp each shelf, holding on only with the whisper of the prayer on my lips. Sweat builds in my grip, under my fingers, making my hands slide ever so gently. I stretch a few shelves up, grazing along the edge of the bag. It swings on its hook.
I let out a huff of hair and clamber one shelf higher. This time I grab a shoe off its shelf and swing for the bag. My momentum plucks it from the hanger, just as it plucks me from my perch.
A nervous scream, unbecoming of a queen, leaves me. Wood scratches against my calves, my hands finally slipping from the shelves. I land roughly on my heels, teetering backward only to stumble to my butt. The ringing of my head hitting the metal hanger rod on the way down repeats, as pain blossoms in my skull.
