Page 24 of Of Masks and Fury

When he stepped back, the coldness returned to his eyes. He became a stranger.

I strode to the sitting room, calling out for them to come inside. Mae and two other ladies entered, their eyes flicking to Blain, standing near the window, looking out.

“Your Highness.” Mae curtsied. “Shall we prepare your bath?”

“Please.”

I could feel Trew’s gaze on me, tracking my every movement, but when I glanced at him, his expression remained blank. Professional. As if he hadn’t spent time worshipping my body. As if we meant nothing to each other.

Trew left while the ladies hurried to the bathing chamber. Water soon poured from the spout.

Pherin flew in through the open window and landed on my shoulder. I stroked her fluffy feathers.

You’re safe?I asked her.

She tutted, as if that should be assumed.

I strode into the bathroom chamber, and she flew over to land on a low cabinet while my ladies helped me out of my robe and into the steaming water. I sank beneath the surface, letting the heat ease muscles still tender from last night.

Mae scrubbed my back while another lady washed my hair, their touches gentle and familiar. I’d known these women for a long time. They’d dressed me, bathed me, and attended to my every need since I was a child.

None of them knew the woman I’d become.

“He’s handsome,” Mae said quietly, her voice pitched for my ears alone. “In a rough sort of way.”

I kept my expression neutral even as my heart slammed against my ribs. “Who?”

“Your new bodyguard.” She worked soap into my shoulders. “Blain, was it? You look warm, Your Highness. Is the water too hot, or is something else making you blush?”

“I don’t recall.” Heat crawled up my neck, and I sank deeper into the bath. My body remembered his hands all too well, the places they’d wandered, the marks they’d left, hidden beneath the water where no one could see.

Mae laughed softly. “Your father chose well. He certainly looks capable.”

He was a king, a warrior, and the most devastating man I’d ever known. But I couldn’t say any of that.

“I suppose,” I said instead.

“I noticed he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

My blood chilled. We could not draw attention. Not from my father, his guards, or my ladies. Anyone could be a spy.

“He’s doing his job,” I said in a short tone. “I heard a sound and he came into my suite to find out what it was.”

“Mmm.” Mae didn’t sound convinced.

They finished bathing me and helped me from the tub, wrapping me in warm towels before leading me to the bedroom to dress.

Pherin flew in to land on the bureau, watching.

The outer door thudded closed, and I spied Trew as he stalked around in the sitting area through the crack in the open door. He’d strode over to stand against the wall beside the entrance, his hand resting on his sword hilt. His eyes tracked my movement, but his expression remained cold and detached.

I wanted to scream.

The ladies took me behind an ornate screen and helped me into undergarments before lacing me into a gown of pale green silk. The bodice fit tight, and the skirt had been embroidered with flowers. Each layer felt like armor going back on.

Princess Amarissa, perfect and proper and caged.

I caught glimpses of Trew through the mirror as they worked on my hair. His jaw remained hard and his shoulders tense.