Page 8 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

I fist my hands and force myself to my feet. Alira won’t like these new arrangements, but I’m going to make sure she understands how important they are. After all, it’s only temporary. We’ll send the demigods fleeing before she grows suspicious of anything.

I can’t let her find out about any of my secrets.

Chapter 3

Alira

Kalel’s palace hasn’t been the same since the day he was called to the king’s castle. Every wall, crevice, and ghost here seems to creak and moan. But it’s not just his palace; it seems that the entire kingdom is charged with odd energy. It’s almost as if the magic of the warding veil seeps into all things here. The cobblestones, the lavish palaces, the vitality of the plants, even the health of the residents.

Everything thrives and is so abundantly rich.

I’ve had plenty of time to myself to notice it. In the quiet moments when I’m left to wander alone with only a knight or two as my company. It’s been a long two weeks since Kalel was pulled away by King Achill.

Two long weeks of this strange isolation I’ve found myself in.

I never understood how truly gray and dark my world was in Alzhor. Of course, there were plenty of statues and columns made of marble, gold frames and doorknobs, but a city of only those colors dulls your perception of the world. At least it did for me.

I’m grateful I have the company of Kalel’s staff. Ustel is typically free most mornings, tending to the horses, and he appreciates it when I’m able to help. But his afternoons are rather filled with his apprentice training. Agatha is the head chef in the kitchen, and I’ve somehow managed to cozy up to her rather nicely. She’s at least as tall as Kalel, easily the tallest woman I’ve ever met, and she makes the most delectable meals. Once I got to know her, it became clear her fierce appearance was just that.

Each demon possesses so much life and talent. They are free to pursue their desires and dreams to their own delights.

It sets an ache deep inside me. The demigods could’ve been this way if not for King Borlin and his cruel ways. He made us believe we were better than the rest. To let go of humanity’s ideals because we are not human. We were above them. We are half divine. The demons are odd for their adoption of humanity and the fickle things the mortals partake in, and yet I long to be like them.

I long to truly belong somewhere where I can feel more human, like the demons. A part of me thinks I’ve found it, that Devicit can be my new home, but as wondrous as this all is, there is a chill that I cannot seem to shake. It feels like there’s a storm welling behind the mountains just outside the veil that we cannot see.

The Krinsle’s eerie warning from my wedding night resounds in my head. The gods watch you closer than the others. Be careful.

Why would the gods be watching me? I’m nothing more than a lowly knight. Well, was. I fidget with the wrinkles in my ridiculous dress. That seems to be the downside of being the duke’s wife. They won’t let me step foot outside of my chambers without adhering to the proper dress code.

The corners of my lips pull down as I stare out across the rows of raised flower beds. Nikolai happily helped the maids set up a gazebo here since I enjoy this spot the most. It’s been like a two-week prison sentence in the prettiest place, but still, I can feel the walls drawing in closer around me each day that Kalel is away.

My husband’s one rule about the garden, which he reminds me of almost every time I see him, is quite odd. You mustn’t pick any of the flowers.

I prop my chin on my palm and lean my elbow against the bistro’s wrought-iron table, staring at the lovely peonies and the energy they fill the air with. The raised garden beds are made of stone, keeping straight lines and designs throughout the walking paths. I’d love to keep some of the flowers in a jar of water in my chambers; they would brighten the long days I’ve been spending without him.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing if I did pluck one, would it? I cast a look over my shoulder at the knight who’s standing post until Tessa gets here. He’s not looking in my direction, and I doubt he cares what I do in the garden.

I casually stand and walk through a few of the flower beds. The knight looks over just to see where I am before he lets his attention fall anywhere else but on me.

Perfect. I quickly crouch beside some low-hanging flowers and wrap my fingers around one. I bend the stem, but before it snaps, I’m hauled up by two strong arms wrapped around my center. I yelp and move away from the cold armored body as fast as I can.

The knight glares at me. “What are you doing? Lord Lornhelm said no picking the flowers,” he practically shouts at me. I jolt at the shock of it before nodding with a bit of shame reddening my cheeks.

“Sorry, I forgot.” I smile innocently, but he doesn’t look like he’s buying one bit of it, and I don’t blame him. He walks behind me as I make my way back up to the gazebo and plop back on the chair with a huff.

Can’t pick flowers. Can’t practice with a sword or go horseback riding through the woods. I’m at my wit’s end.

My desire to train with a sword and suit up in armor for a day is overwhelming. And I need it sooner rather than later, I can feel the restlessness that’s building up inside me. But Nikolai and Kalel have said over and over again that I’m not to do anything that might make the demons uncomfortable with a demigod being in their kingdom, unchained, especially while I’m still new here. But these few weeks have already been unbearable…playing tea parties and trying to be proper when I’m anything but.

How can I go from being a knight, soaked in the blood of my enemies to a “proper” lady? I feel like a monster in a dress, something made to look nice and innocent when I’m a lethal weapon that’s slain so many… The guilt starts to ebb in my chest at the memories of screams from the village I led the raid on, Thornhall. I killed Kalel’s mother. It’s my fault, and yet here I am, sitting in his garden and listening to the birds sing. Not able to go anywhere without a knight following close by.

I wonder what changed that day Kalel was called away. That’s when all the rules seemed to become stricter. I purse my lips in thought, sighing and shifting uncomfortably in the white wrought-iron chair. Tessa finally arrives and swaps positions with the knight who caught me picking a flower. I’m glad it was him who caught me doing it; Tessa would’ve ripped my head off over it.

“What has you so down today, Alira?” Tessa asks as she moves around me to get a better look at my face.

She’s my assigned guard today. It must’ve been last-minute planning since she had to have a substitute for the first few hours of the day. She leans against the white wood frame of the gazebo. Up until now, it’s been Nikolai and not her, so I’m curious as to where he could have gone off to today without any notice. I try not to dwell on it too much, especially since I’ve been meaning to spend more time with Tessa anyway. I would love for her to finally open up a bit more to me.

Since the day Kalel was requested by the king, I’ve been assigned a guard any time I leave my chambers. I’m assuming it’s to ensure that I don’t break any rules, but Kalel has been acting differently too.