Page 21 of Starchaser
Would the Reaper?
“What would you have us do, my prince?” Gabriel’s muffled voice sounds somewhat bored. “I could throw her from the train.”
“The thought crossed my mind,” Titus mutters.
“Try,” Margaret says, baring her teeth.
Flynn snorts a laugh.
Titus scowls, his lean, toned muscles straining against the fabric of his shirt as he steps into the hall, towering over Margaret.
And Margaret—Stars, I almost wish she wouldn’t, and yet my heart leaps at the sight—doesn’t give up ground. She cranes her neck to look up at him, mirroring his glare.
“Lord William asked that I help Aster dress,” she says, enunciating every syllable as if she were speaking to a toddler. “So either throw me off this train or get out of my damn way.”
I think I hear Gabriel choke.
A slow, vicious grin tugs at Titus’s lips. “Does the entire Oberon clan have such unruly tempers, or is it just the two of you?”
Venom laces Margaret’s smile. “Harm my sister in any way and you’ll find out.”
Titus rolls his eyes before fixing a look on Gabriel. “Has William made all the proper arrangements?”
Gabriel dips his head. “He said he wanted to speak with you. We’ll be arriving soon and—”
“Very well,” Titus says with a sigh. He takes a step to the side, holding out his arm as an indication for Margaret to enter his chambers.
She takes a step, but he sticks out his other arm, barring her path.
“Miss Oberon,” he says with lethal quiet, “you’ll do well to remember your place. I’m not always in such a generous mood.”
Thankfully, Margaret says nothing. When she closes the door to his chambers, however, she lets out a furious groan.
“I don’t know how you put up with him!” She makes a vulgar gesture at the door, where Titus can probably hear everything she’s saying. “He makes my skin crawl!”
“Marge,” I say, careful to keep my voice low. “Just because he’s in the Order doesn’t mean you can disrespect him in front of the king’s men like that.”
“I heard you screaming!” Margaret grabs me by the shoulders. “And those twoboneheadsout there wouldn’t let me through. I didn’t know if—if he’d done something—”
“He wouldn’t hurt me,” I say, my stomach twisting. “He’s… not like you think.”
But even as the words leave my mouth, a chill snakes through me. How well do I actually know Titus? And from what I do know… maybe Margaret has a right to be concerned.
Her brows shoot to the top of her forehead. But she doesn’t argue. “Whatever you say.” She shrugs finally. “I still don’t like him.”
“I don’t think he likes you too much, either,” I say, stifling a laugh despite the unease that settles in my gut.
Margaret grins. “Good.”
Margaret and I stand betweenFlynn and Gabriel, waiting for the door to open and let us out onto the loading platform, growing more impatient by the minute. A part of me wishes we could have continued straight on to Castle Grim, but I’m thankful for the chance to see my family before I have to leave them again. At least this time I can give them a proper goodbye.
“Wait!”
The four of us turn to look as Eliza hurries—impossibly graceful—down the corridor, smiling at me as if we’ve been friends our whole lives. But there’s something in her eyes—worry? Fear? Whatever it is, a chill sweeps through me as she takes me by the hands.
“Take care, Aster,” she says, her grip firm. After what happened last night, I can’t help but feel like there’s more she wants to say. “I’ll save you a seat at court.”
Margaret watches the exchange with narrowed eyes, her expression incredulous.
