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As I mounted the steps, I found myself angry yet again. Not because of I was being treated as a captive, but because I found myself looking forward to dining alone with him. I didn’twantto crave his company, but the damned yearning stirred hotly all the same.
Chapter 16
GOLL
I stoodon the balcony of my bedchamber, waiting for Una’s arrival.
I decided we would dine here until after the Rite of Servium. I wanted to be alone with her, and I didn’t want to overwhelm her with court meals just yet. Those could be entertaining, depending how much wine was drunk, but I guessed that Una might find them horrifying and barbaric, knowing her kind were much more…proper.
For at least a little while, I wanted to put her at ease with my people, but more than that, I wanted her all to myself. No ones’ eyes drinking in her beauty but me.
I scented Una and Hava before I saw them. Even more, I sensed Una’s moon fae magick. I inhaled deeply, relishing the sweetness of it, a gentle, airy magick.
“Good evening, Sire,” said Hava, stepping onto the balcony.
But it was Una who caught my attention—and kept it.By Vix, she was beautiful.
She wore a dark blue gown of a silky material that formed to her feminine curves, the short sleeves leaving her pale, slender arms free, the deep vee of the dress revealing her generous figure, but it was her face where I found the most pleasure in gazing.
Those otherworldly, violet eyes, her smooth, milk-white skin, her perfect mouth and the lovely line of her cheeks and jaw. She was truly breathtaking.
Hava giggled, dipped a curtsy, then left. I paid no mind. I’m sure Hava found quite a bit of amusement at my expense, but I also knew I didn’t have to hide my dumbstruck behavior from her. Hava was loyal and true.
Una had been studying me as well. No telling what her thoughts were. She blinked quickly from her own trance and stepped toward the chair at the small round table where I stood.
Quickly, I maneuvered to her side and pulled out her chair. She froze, wide-eyed and surprised. Then she sat down, murmuring, “Thank you.”
Gooseflesh rose on her arms. Frowning, I stepped to my chair and lifted the Meer-wolf cloak hanging over the back, then returned to her side and draped it around her shoulders. “Hava should’ve dressed you in a cloak.” Her wings hung low, so I asked, “Will this bother your wings?”
“It’s fine.” She curled her fingers around the top edges of the collar and pulled the cloak tighter. “Thank you.”
“The weather is turning.”
Una looked out over the stone ballustrade while I took my seat. “Back home, the leaves won’t start changing for another month or two.”
“This is the north. Like everything else here, the winters come faster and harder than in the south.”
She caught my gaze, her mouth tilting up in a small smile. My chest suddenly hurt.
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
Two female servants stepped onto the balcony with silver-domed covered dishes. They set one in front of each of us.
“That will be all,” I dismissed them. I didn’t want any of the servants hovering so that they could spread gossip below stairs.
They curtsied then left quickly.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like,” I admitted, “so I asked the cooks to prepare a little of everything.”
We both lifted our domes. She let out a little laugh as she surveyed her plate, piled high with cuts of hog and venison, colorful roasted vegetables, sauced sweetmeats, and steamed greens—all well-seasoned, the smell of the spices rising with the steam.
“I cannot possibly eat all of this.”
“As long as you eat something, I don’t care how much.” I cleared my throat. “Hava said you haven’t eaten well lately.”
A palpable silence stretched between us, awkward and uncomfortable. We’d spent little time alone so far, except that one night in the tent. And that had been filled with the anger sparking between us, and my own lust I was forced to suppress.
This was my attempt at being civil, but it seemed to not be going so well.
