Part 28 (1/2)
”Yes, really.”
”But other men will make fun of you if they find out.”
”Why would they care?”
”Women aren't supposed to learn how to fight,” she said, ”and anyone who dares to teach us is shunned.”
”That's dumb.”
Agreed. In the Fae realm, men were supposed to be their protectors, but as Leopold had proven, protection was often overlooked in favor of l.u.s.t and greed. ”You don't care about being shunned?”
”By these people? I'd consider it a blessing.”
She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. ”I have to ask you a question.”
”Anything.”
”Are you seriously going to marry Synda?” She'd meant to ask as matter-of-factly as she'd asked everything else, but that hadn't exactly happened. She'd whispered, instead, all of her hopes seeping from her voice.
And rather than answer, he began whistling.
Well, that was answer enough, wasn't it?
Disappointment, frustration and anger pooled in the pit of her stomach. She'd been right. His feelings wouldn't change his course.
”On days like this, I wish I had Dear Heloise on speed dial. There's blood on my girl's dress,” he muttered. ”Should I use club soda or vinegar?”
My girl's dress, he'd said. My girl. Josephina.
Argh! You can't have more than one, Kane, she nearly shouted.
The water shut off. ”Throw me a towel.”
Josephina pulled a white cloth from the cabinet, then volleyed the material over the rod.
”Thanks.”
”Welcome,” she said with more sharpness than she'd intended.
The curtain was brushed aside, and she had a brief realization that there was no steam-why?-before her mind...completely...derailed. Kane was still naked, of course he was, but now he was glistening. His hair was darker when it was wet, and dripping water down his face. The dragon brand on his chest was no longer red, but already scabbed and black. The towel was draped around his hips, hiding his b.u.t.terfly tattoo-and other things.
Breath caught in her throat as he hooked her dress to the bar. The soaked ends of the cotton smacked together.
”I need something to wear. I need to leave the room,” she managed to say. ”I have duties.” And I need to get away from you. Before I forget I don't like to share.
”I'll see to the duties. You're going to stay in here and rest.”
Her eyes widened with bafflement. ”You can't. I can't.”
”I'd love to see you try and stop me. Or leave this room. Now make a list of what you have to do.”
If he wanted to do her ch.o.r.es, fine. Opulens would see him and laugh. Even the servants would snicker. Josephina would finally have time away from him-time of peace. The feelings he stirred...she was beginning to hate them. Their intensity.
Grinning with sugary sweetness, she stalked into the bedroom and dug a pen and pad of paper from the nightstand. Then she wrote. And wrote. And wrote. He used the silent minutes to strap on his weapons, rifle through the contents of the closet and dress in the clothes the king had provided for him. Her wrist was aching by the time she finished the list.
He approached her, wearing a black s.h.i.+rt and black pants, and looking absolutely edible despite having covered up his magnificent body. She handed over the paper.
He gazed at it, scowled. ”You do all of this?”
”Almost every day.”
He read over the list a second time. ”I should just kill your father and brother right now.”
”And be hunted by the Fae for the rest of your life?”
”That doesn't worry me,” he said, and he sounded sincere.
”It should. I know Tiberius has allowed you many liberties, and you probably think my entire race is a joke-otherwise you wouldn't be so cavalier-but you haven't seen everyone revved up for a blood vendetta. I have.”
”I'm still not worried.”
She anch.o.r.ed her hands on her hips. ”If the Fae want you dead and fail to find you, they'll find your closest friends and torture them to force you out of hiding. Even the famed Lords of the Underworld.”
”And if I'm already dead?”
”They'll do it just for fun.”
CHAPTER TWENTY.
IN SECONDS, KANE had the lock on his bedroom door rigged, keeping Tink in and everyone else out. Ropes of guilt threatened to jerk him under a river of shame, which was ridiculous. He was doing her a favor. She needed rest and he needed to make sure she was safe and, prisoner or not, this was the only way to ensure those things. Maybe one day she'd even thank him.
Battling a sense of urgency, he hustled together a handful of the servants and issued a round of orders. The humans rushed around to take care of the twenty-nine items on Tink's list-and avoid the consequences of failure. Soon, the wrinkles were being steamed out of curtains, the floors were being scrubbed, the banisters were being polished, and the queen's bathroom was being cleaned.
The last was a ch.o.r.e meant to humiliate Tink, nothing more, he would bet. At breakfast, he'd witnessed the way the queen watched her, with resentment in those royal blue eyes. And he didn't have to guess why. Tink was living proof the king had cheated, and Queen Penelope was las.h.i.+ng out in the only way she could. But that c.r.a.p ended today. No longer would Tink serve a single member of the royal family.
She'd been placed in Kane's care. She would serve him, and no one else.
He smiled. Tink would have balked if she'd heard his thoughts.
After speaking with one of the guards, he'd learned that Synda, his other responsibility, had decided to go for another walk in the garden, without protection and despite the Phoenix infestation.
As he stomped outside, a brutal wind suddenly kicked up, causing a hoe to lift from the ground and slam into him. When Kane failed to find the girl in the garden, he prowled into the forest. One hour pa.s.sed, then two, but he found no tracks to suggest Synda-or even Petra-was out there. He would bet Synda had met someone, had s.e.x, and returned to the palace. Sounds about right. As for Petra...he wasn't sure. He only knew she wasn't the type to give up.
Frustrated, he returned to the palace.
What a mess.