Page 24 of To Wake a Kingdom

Chapter Eleven

27 days left

The wind continued to howl through the night, dusting the world in an ocean of snow. Great cyclones swept past the windows, obscuring the forest from view. The temperature dropped and Kianna lit the castle’s fireplaces, her magic ensuring they never went out.

Gideon bustled through the kitchen, preparing breakfast where Kianna and I sat at the long wooden table.Common Magical Cures, the book I’d acquired in Tenby,was spread in front of me as I flipped through it, trying to parse out something useful. Thick as my arm, it was taking forever to read through all the thin, nearly translucent pages, the script so cramped I’d hunted down a magnifying glass to relieve the strain on my eyes.

With a hot mug of tea sitting next to me, Gideon placed a dish piled with glazed fruit pastries on the table.

Snatching one, I bit into it with a moan.“This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“That’s what you said about the fish last night, Your Highness,” Gideon said, a huge smile on his face.

“Well, now it’s this. A princess may be fickle,” I said as I bit into the center and a burst of raspberry melted on my tongue. “You are a genius, Gideon. What’s Ronan paying you? I’ll triple it.”

“Thank you, Highness,” he said, returning to the oven.

If we were stuck with their company, at least we’d dine in decadence until the storm abated. I peered out the high squat window, watching the darkened sky, wondering when that would be.

Ronan and Em entered, taking a seat at the table. Gideon brought over pans of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and thick slices of buttered toast.

“How did you sleep?” Kianna asked. “I hope everything was comfortable?” She was watching Em, who gave her a bright, lopsided smile.

“Fantastic, thank you.”

Kianna’s cheeks flushed as she poured Em some tea.

“And you, Your Highness?” Ronan asked me. “I hope your dreams were filled with only satisfied pleasure.”

My eyes narrowed, sure there was some intended meaning in those words. He winked, and the skin on my neck flushed. Why did he have to be so gorgeous?

“I slept well enough,” I said. “Considering vagrants made themselves comfortable in my home last night.”

Ronan snorted. “That’s the third pastry you’ve eaten. It can’t be all bad having us here.”

I stuffed the remaining bit in my mouth. “Gideon is welcome to stay forever. What have you got to offer, Commander?” The words came out muffled, a shower of crumbs landing on the table. Kianna threw me an incensed look that I ignored.

Ronan leaned forward, a suggestive tilt to his lips as he gave me a once-over that would make a fallen angel blush.

My thighs pressed together, and I ground down on my teeth. No. This wasn’t what I needed right now.

“I could teach you how to use that?” He tipped his head in the direction of the sword propped up against the next table. That…wasn’t what I’d expected him to say. I blinked as I was once again forced to stitch up the seams of my equilibrium.

“Why?”

“Because a lady, even one with the disposition of a hungry lion, should know how to protect herself,” he countered, an elbow on the table, the hand of his other arm braced on his knee.

Ignoring his insult, I warmed at the memory of Captain Andrick saying something similar a very long time ago. He’d felt the same way, even if my Fae guardians hadn’t. Andrick had taken my protection personally. It had all started when I was twelve and a daughter from a neighboring kingdom had gone missing. She had been the second youngest of eight princesses. One night she had gone to sleep, and the next morning she had disappeared.

They’d spent months searching for Carissa, but she was never found. Two years later, her older sister Madeline had suffered a similar fate, and it was then Andrick had insisted I learn at least the basics of self-defense.

“You’re going to teach me?” I gave Ronan my most skeptical frown and looked at Em. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“You’re a woman.”

“She’s very observant, isn’t she?” Ronan said to the rest of the room, and I glared.

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