Page 20 of The Rat King
When I heard her settle back onto the bench, I stepped forward and retrieved the basket. With it, I sat down and leaned against the wall, crossing my legs at the ankle. I fished inside and pulled out what looked to be diced up chicken in a creamy sauce wrapped in some sort of flatbread. Probably something from her plane she had the cooks make. There was also a half-eaten bowl of fruit and a glass bottle of water that was untouched. I moved the paper off of the sandwich-like thing and took a bite. The creamy dressing, the walnuts, and the avocado made a delicious combination.
“This is good,” I said.
“Kind of a strange way to have a picnic when you’re eating on the other side of a building from someone, isn’t it?” she asked.
I huffed a laugh and continued chewing. When I swallowed, I asked, “What are you reading that made you laugh? I assume since you haven’t come running to me with the solution to the curse, you’ve moved on to some lighter material?”
I could almost feel her grin whenever she said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I would. That’s why I asked you,” I said.
“Well, you’re right. I haven’t found some grand solution and currently I’m biding my time reading something I pulled off the romance shelf calledSecrets of Scoundrels. And I would call to attention that your library has a very weak selection of fun books.”
“Fun books?” I asked.
“Yeah. Most everything in there is history, ledgers, or spells. There’s hardly any fiction. You brought a book with you out here too?” she asked, her voice lifting hopefully.
“I did,” I said, glancing down at the title I was about halfway through.
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I asked, letting my voice take on a rare, teasing edge. She groaned, but didn’t take the bait, so I said, “It’s a thriller calledThe Reaper’s Kiss, about a serial killer called The Reaper and the team of warlocks who hunt him down.”
“Sounds morbid,” she said, and I could hear the rustling of pages. “Happy reading, warlock.”
“Happy reading, witch,” I replied. After that she said nothing else, and I picked up my book flipping to where I had stopped last. As we sat reading around the corner from each other, I couldn’t help but notice the quiet was welcome, peaceful. Birds chirped, and the wind rustled through the leaves, but the charge of the air wasn’t uncomfortable. Did she sense it too?
We sat like that for a long time. Long enough that gray clouds eventually covered the sky and thunder cracked overhead. The witch cried out as the first droplets fell. Instantly, I was on my feet, pulling off my cloak. I held it around the corner for her. “Here, take this,” I said. “I’ll clean up. Get inside before you get soaked.”
She didn’t hesitate, taking it out of my hand. A moment later, she had it wrapped around her head, covering her face, and she was darting past me toward the castle. An unbidden smile formed on my lips as I tracked her. Something about seeing her in my garment, watching her flee, called to my blood. But instead of chasing after her, I stood there and let the rain wash away any dangerous illusions I might have before they took hold.
Chapter 12
Avery
Dippingmymascarawand,I pulled it out and swiped a few more passes on my lashes. Tonight marked the two-month anniversary of arriving in this plane, and I was to be married. This was by far the most makeup I’d worn since I’d arrived here, and I kept going with the one thing I usually took comfort in because my nerves were zipping around in a really nerve-wracking way.
This wasn’t at all how I’d imagined my wedding day to be. I thought I’d have surely made some friends by now. We should be sitting around, giggling, and sipping champagne. Them reminding me of wild stories from my single days. I knew I wouldn’t have that coming here, but I thought I’d at least have something. A few friends to share it with.
I mean I had April and Alice, but it didn’t really count since they were paid to work for me. And while I had awkwardly bumped into Olive a few times since our initial encounter in the hallways, she was adept at avoiding the tea I’d suggested or any further conversation. Even the handful of visiting Ladies who had come through the Ravsted had been standoffish of me. As if they, like everyone else, had been through this before and weren’t willing to make the time commitment. That was fine though. It felt weird being the only one in human form around a bunch of rat-women, because my eyes wouldn’t behave, and they seemed to be a pack I wasn’t a part of.
Outside of those few encounters, Xavier was saving all of our public functions until after the wedding, so there were few other opportunities to meet anyone. I’d been spending most of my time, since I’d finished cleaning the library, my suite, and the study, assessing, and putting together a plan of action for the rest of the castle which included much needed redecorating. Leviticus had gotten me two additional maids so far and they were making decent progress with my projects. While I still didn’t feel like I had free reign to do whatever I wanted, Xavier had permitted most of my ideas, and I was feeling decent about my time here.
My head snapped toward the creaking door to find Nighval stepping through. “What are you doing here?” I asked. The warlock was the last person I expected to see walk through my bedroom door tonight. I hadn’t seen him since our little picnic, and admittedly, him arriving was a welcome distraction from the nerves that were zapping through my gut.
“Xavier asked that I deliver you to the ceremony. In case you decide to change your mind at the last minute, or perhaps he is gloating,” he said, leaning against a wall, crossing those long legs at the ankle. “Not going to run, are you, witch?”
He said it like he almost wanted me to. Like he wanted his brother to fail. But I would not fail at this. I made a promise, and I would keep it. And besides, pretty much all royal marriages were arranged things. Tons of women over the centuries had been in my position and made the best of it. And who knew? Ten months was a long time and maybe something magical would happen, and Xavier and I would fall in love. Stranger things and all.
Nighval’s dark gaze met mine in the mirror as he walked by. “Back in your true form and back to being a dickhead, I see. Oh, that’s right. I recall you could never get one of us to marry you.” I made a show of looking him up and down and said, “It totally makes sense.”
He flinched as my jab landed. Not only was it a full moon, it was the reprieve which meant the man Nighval faced me and he wasn’t bothering to soften his appearance on my behalf. While I wouldn’t say I was getting used to it, since those first shocking moments, I didn’t find him nearly as frightening as in our last handful of encounters. Maybe I was settling into my soon-to-be role as queen and the authority of the position was coming naturally becauseI was prepared.
Nighval sneered as he stepped up behind me. “I still don’t understand why my brother told you. Honestly, it never occurred to me to tell a woman she was meant to break a curse in order to get her to fall in love with me. But good for him. You two will make quite the couple. I imagine you are eager for your wedding night.”
I sneered back at him. “I can see there is no love lost between the two of you. What’s that about?” I didn’t think asking him would be any harm. After all, between the two brothers, he’d been the most forthcoming.
Sighing, Nighval strode over to me, gripped the back of the stool I was sitting on applying the perfecting touches of makeup, and spun it around so I was facing him. As he lowered his scarred face to mine, I decided I was still totally terrified of him. “Sibling rivalry, jealousy. Power struggle. General personality conflict. You know the usual.”
