Page 26 of Their Wicked Cage

She’s harmless.

She’ll get over me the moment she gets under someone else.

But when she slams the door behind her, the ice she leaves in her wake freezes my weary bones.

Days of travel, political maneuvering, and the ever-present weight of hoping Gwyn can save the Fae Isles finally gave way to a night that left me genuinely rested for the first time in ages.

I step into the dining hall in an unexpectedly good mood and find Ark humming as he loads a plate with fruit and pastries. He slides into the seat beside my usual spot at the head of the table, nudging my chair out with a booted foot.

A staff member hurries over with juice, while another sets down two more plates of food. The warm scent of candied pig fat and cheesy eggs drifts over to me, and my stomach growls.

Ark doesn’t even glance at me as I approach, digging in and continuing his tune, completely at ease.

“Did you have a nice night spending gold from the treasury?” I ask, the corner of my lip twitching.

“No,” he says, swallowing a bite of something flaky. “I had the best night spending gold from the treasury.”

I can’t help but chuckle, and he goes back to humming.

Through the window overlooking my mother’s gardens, the sun crests the horizon, painting the sky the color of love bites and flushed cheeks. It’s too pretty a morning for the truth I must reveal, but I’ll show Gwyn nonetheless. Soon she’ll see the Viretree and witness the worst of the blight, whether the sun is shining or not.

Something cold hits my cheek.

My gaze whips toward Arkyn just as he readies himself to toss another grape at me.

“Don’t,” I warn.

“I asked you a question,” he says, popping the fruit into his mouth.

Did he? I take a sip of juice and stare blankly at him.

He spears his eggs with his fork.

“You know, you were so swift to dodge the witch’s apple yesterday, I thought you’d been practicing dodging,” he says, hastily chewing. My mother, if she were alive, would’ve forced him from the table for a lack of manners. “Seems I was wrong.”

I lean out of my seat to pick up the grape he lobbed at me and set it on the table to be thrown out later, right as Gwyn strolls into the dining hall.

A vision in leather.

Arkyn’s eyes widen as he takes her in, starting with the boots laced up over her knees and the leather molded to her thighs. A hint of cleavage peeks from the neckline of the top hugging her soft curves, cinched at the waist with a black leather corset layered over the creamy white fabric. It’s incredibly different than anything I’ve seen a lady wear at court. More an outfit for a seafaring siren than a royal advisor, which makes the entire ensemble that much more charming.

She slides into a seat at the table with a cheerful, “Good morning, pups.”

Ark coughs his good morning back to her and his goodbye to me before excusing himself from the table and rushing out of the dining hall.

She glances at me, one eyebrow raised and lips unsmiling.

“What was that about?” she asks.

I lift a shoulder. “Maybe he’s bespelled by you.”

“Don’t jest.”

I open my mouth to tell her I’m not jesting, that anyone with eyes can see how attractive she is, but I’m not sure I have the words or capacity to convince her otherwise.

“Maybe it’s because females who reside at court don’t usually dress so…” My words trail off as I try and fail to find a word that won’t insult her or make her feel as if I’m judging her. The last thing I want to do is put my boot in my mouth the way I did back at her cottage. Reluctantly, I settle on, “Common.”

“Oh,” she says softly. “Lettie did set out a rather beautiful gown for me this morning, but since you and I have plans to investigate the blight, I figured it’d be best to wear something better suited for riding.”