Page 74 of The Rat King
“That backpack was your queen’s most valuable possession, so it is really no trivial matter,” Nighval chimed in, his fingers rubbing familiar, comforting circles on my waist, and I wanted to sink back into his lap. But I suspected his soothing caress, probably unconscious, would stop the moment I did, and he’d be back to the avoidant man I’d been living with for the past week.
“Hmm…” Link patted his forefinger on his mouth. “Our queen’s most valuable possession is missing. Sounds like a job for a warlock.”
His tone was jovial. Was he coming around? “It isn’t important,” I said, giving him a weak smile.
“It sounds terribly important. My guess is Samara’s monsters brought it back to her. Nighval, you didn’t think to ask her about it when you were there?” Link asked.
“If I had, she hardly would have returned it. You know my mother. She can and will use anything she can get her hands on to hang over my head. I’m surprised she hasn’t mentioned it yet,” Nighval said.
“Then perhaps she doesn’t have it. I’ll make it my mission to deliver your backpack to you unharmed, Your Majesty.” With the proclamation, Link stood and bowed low.
He gave me a cocky grin and refilled his glass, making me wonder if the warlocks had a higher tolerance to liquor than humans did, or was it their size? As I learned during the council meeting, that attribute wasn’t just reserved for Link and Nighval. All of the warlocks were broad-shouldered towering men, yet that was the only common thread between them besides their power. Still, I’d yet to see any of them act remotely tipsy.
Already, I felt the effect from a few sips, but I wasn’t much of a drinker. Watching people slur in a high-end bar for years made me uninterested. “Thank you, Link. But it’s just stuff. I don’t want you to go to any trouble or put yourself in harm’s way. Those wraith wards are no joke.”
He chuffed, as if he disagreed, but didn’t argue. I stood, stretching. Fatigue weighed down my limbs, and I yawned. “I think I’m going to head to bed. I have a lot of work to do to get ready for this event.”
Jetta stood, following my lead. “Wehave a lot of work,Your Majesty.” This time when she said it, I knew it wasn’t a taunt. A tentative friendship blossomed. She linked arms with me, and we strode from the room.
Chapter 53
Avery
Jetta’sguestroomwasin a different wing of the castle than mine, so I parted from her in the hallway, and headed to my suite. My heart felt lighter than it had in weeks. When Nighval wrapped his arm around my waist, it was the first contact he’d made on his own since I tried to run from him, and it released a flutter of dancing butterflies in my stomach.
I turned the handle to my door, which was warm, and glanced down to see a fine stream of smoke flowing through the gap between the door and the uneven stone floor. I cracked the door open, and smoke billowed out. The fire in the chimney was ablaze and dense smoke was pouring into the room.
No, wait. The rug had caught fire, too. It must have sparked minutes earlier. I slammed the door shut and sprinted down the hallway, running into Nighval’s big chest as he and Link rounded the corner coming from his sitting room.
His strong hands wrapped around my shoulders, and he held me at arm’s length. “Avery, what’s wrong?”
My mouth failed to operate for an eternal second, and he stared at me with concern etched on his face.
“Fire,” I said, and pointed in the direction of my room. “My room.”
He and Link shared a glance. Then in a blink they were gone, and I was left rushing back to my room. When I arrived, Nighval was standing at the door and his jaw was set, expression locked in deep concentration. He contained the smoke first, his power with a glowing blue halo encapsulating the discolored air, pressing it down. Across the room and through the dome of smoke, Link stood at the window. His own power, which was more aqua, had blanketed the smoldering rug.
All I could do was watch the warlocks as they worked to smother the fire and push the trapped smoke up and out of the fireplace. When it cleared, a fine layer of soot coated everything. The walls, the once white bedding, even the clothes in the open wardrobe. Thankfully, I’d hardly had time to unpack and most of it was undisturbed in a chest by the window.
Link’s boots collected soot as he crossed the room, leaving a trail of shoe-shaped stone in his path. “You did this on purpose?” he said, giving me an incredulous look.
As if it hadn’t occurred to Nighval, he gave me a wary glance.
I rolled my eyes. “Why on earth would I set a fire in my room on purpose, Link? And then immediately come find you two. That doesn’t even make any sense.”
“Maybe, you didn’t want to sleep alone in your room anymore and you needed a way to trick this bull-headed warlock into giving you somewhere else to sleep,” Link said, giving me his best mischievous smile.
It actually wasn’t a terrible idea. Well, it was a terrible idea, but it would probably have worked.
“Thank you, Link. That will be all,” Nighval said, interrupting my thoughts, and I turned to see him drilling me with a dark gaze I couldn’t interpret. Link gave a quick bow and then tracked down the hallway, leaving a path of dark prints.
Nighval surveyed the room from the hallway and then noticed the heap of discarded dresses outside the door. He picked one up and studied it, and then turned his attention to me. I couldn’t help the blush that rose on my cheeks.
“Why are all of your favorite dresses out here?” he asked. Something like anger mixed with hopeful curiosity flitted across his face.
I considered lying, but I had a feeling he’d see right through it. Instead, I stepped into the room and urged him to shut the door because I didn’t want to have this conversation in the hallway. But I was so frustrated. He shouldn’t have just dropped a beautiful woman on me without giving me a warning first.
“I don’t know, Nighval. It’s your fault.” I waved at the now dead fireplace. “In my plane, I had a fireplace in my condo and if I wanted to use it, all I had to do was press a button and it sprang to life. And it wasn’t even for warmth. It was just there because it was pretty. How was I supposed to know that if I threw a dress onto it, the whole room would catch on fire?”
