Page 19 of The Rat King
“I think I’ll just stash these in the room next door in case Xavier comes back for more poems, and he locks it behind him. You can go,” I said, my tone coming off colder than I intended. Why did that realization sting so much? I didn’t care about that disgruntled man any more than I cared about anyone else here. Well, maybe my girls, Alice and April. We’d become friendly as we’d worked alongside each other, and they were no longer exchanging confused glances.
I didn’t turn around as footsteps retreated and the outer door snapped shut.
Chapter 11
Nighval
Aftermyencounterwiththe witch in my mother’s old rooms, I hadn’t left Ravsted and a series of monotonous weeks came and went. Of course, I wanted to retreat back to the Lieden Palace on the other side of the kingdom, but I promised Xavier I’d stay until after the wedding. I felt duty bound to do it, and I only had one week to go, so here I was, slinking through the halls, trying to avoid her. Trying to avoid that feeling I got when I thought of seeing her again. Trying to avoid another dismissal.
That angry mouth and the fire in her eyes, her openly shared playfulness, and the way her words clipped back at me without restraint. No one spoke to me like that. Not even my brother. And I’d only ever laughed with the small handful of friends I kept close, Link, Eshan, and Jetta. But there was something about this witch that I refused to ponder. Just feeling her waist beneath my fingertips was too much. She was the last thing that ought to be on my mind. I should be doing everything in my power to help my brother get this woman to fall for him. If he failed, then I’d be stuck in this form forever. We all would.
This time of year, it rained more than it didn’t, and it had been gloomy for the last several weeks. Finally, the clouds cleared and the sun was coming through. Being here, back in the castle, usually didn’t bother me, but something about this stay was getting under my skin. No, not something. Someone.
Xavier suggested I should join them for lunch, but the last thing I needed was to be in the company of a beautiful woman who I could not have. Who would look at me with disgust as she took in my horrible appearance. Who mocked me for clinging to the shadows, the thing protecting her from this awful creature I was. And I’d forced her to watch me become the monster. Even as I’d done it, I knew showing her the transformation made me an asshole, but I was angry, and I didn’t even know why.
The last seventeen years hadn’t been easy, but at least my brother, as much as I despised him, had enough grace not to throw it in my face. The witch, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a problem goading me.
I had done everything Xavier had asked of me, and I needed some fresh air. To enjoy the sun for a few hours before it started raining again. I grabbed the novel I was reading off of the table in the sitting room I occupied and strode out the door, down the hall, and into the garden.
All of the rain turned the foliage bright green, and flowers were blooming on nearly every plant. Xavier was lucky to have his wedding this time of year because they would be able to harvest the flowers from the garden and the castle might be transformed if only for a moment, into a shadow of its former self.
I walked deeper into the garden, nearing the little hut that sat at the center. It was white stone, like the rest of Ravsted, and had a peaked roof with a swallow shaped wind dial atop it. There was a bench on the opposite side of it that would be in full sun now and was where I was headed.
Melodic laughter filled the air, and I stopped short. The witch had taken my spot. My one place of solace in this Goddess forsaken castle, and she was now occupying it. That was fine. There was a smaller garden on the opposite side of Ravsted. I would go there. As I went to move away, I stepped onto the path and loose gravel crunched below my feet.
“Hello?” she called. I didn’t respond, so she called, “Hello?” again.
A book snapped shut and before she could rise, I said, “It’s me,” like she would know whomewas. “Nighval.”
“Oh,” she said in a tone laced with overt disappointment.
Had she been hoping it was Xavier? “You don’t have to sound so dismayed about it,” I said, stepping closer, drawn forward like the glutton I am.
“Sorry. The sun is out, and I thought I could be spared a few hours without a thundercloud around. Apparently, I was wrong,” she said. Her voice had shifted to something more like amusement. Like she enjoyed sending her little jabs in my direction.
I could play back. “You’re in my spot. First you take my book, then you dismiss me after I do you a favor, and now you take my spot? What else do you plan to take from me, witch?”
She chuffed. “If you want your spot, warlock, then come and get it.”
“You know very well you couldn’t handle me.” I had never wished it had been a full moon more than this very moment, so I could see if there was something to that split second of playfulness she’d given me a glimpse of as she’d realized my brother’s forgery. I wished I didn’t look like this monster, that I could charge around the corner to challenge her and see how brave she really was. But now I was bluffing because the truth was, I did not want her to see me like this. That’s why I clung to the shadows in her presence.
“Well, I’m waiting. What will the big, bad warlock do?” she said, the tease digging its claws into me.
When I didn’t respond, I heard the rustling of fabric. “Stop,” I said. “Stay put.”
“What, why? You seem so eager to get your spot back,” she said, and I edged closer to the corner of the building.
“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t want you to see me like this?” I asked, unsure what came over me. My chest felt raw and flayed open as I’d uttered the shameful admission. Why I’d given her this truth when I knew she’d use it against me, eventually, I couldn’t say. My heart beat wildly as I awaited her response.
The sting didn’t come as the witch sucked in a breath. “Xavier doesn’t mind me seeing him in that form.”
“Xavier’s a fool,” I said. Something so fine, so fucking flawless wasn’t meant for my idiot brother. “Where is he, by the way? I thought you two were having lunch.”
“April said he was called away last minute to deal with something,” she said, pausing, and I could tell she wanted to say more. “I have his portion here if you’re hungry.”
“I don’t see how—” Gravel moved under her feet, causing my breath to hitch. I didn’t think she was cruel enough to ignore my wishes, so I stood in place, waiting. She set something down and then a basket poked out from around the corner.
“I’m finished eating,” she said. “The rest is yours.”
