Page 34 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

Just then my stomach let out a monstrous growl.

Azulin met my gaze. Amusement softened his expression, but I still couldn’t make out the color of his eyes despite the superior lighting. “I don’t know about you, but I am famished and exhausted. Ghost—”

“Meals were ordered the moment you set foot on the castle grounds.”

“Good.” Azulin turned cool and assessing. “Then we have a little time to figure out the logistics of where you will sleep tonight.”

“I can take her downstairs.”

“No, you stay here and catch her if she faints.” Azulin released my arm.

“Faint?” I asked his retreating back as he strode to the door.

“How do you think you got up here?” Ghost growled. “I carried you.”

My stomach sank. “You mean I’m going to faint if I move too far from Az—the king?”

“Any sensations of weakness?” Ghost peered at me.

“None.” I glared at him. “What happened in the courtyard?”

Ghost shrugged one of his massive shoulders. “You were just standing there. Then suddenly you paled and collapsed.”

Abruptly, a wave of nausea hit, and my vision dimmed.

“Too far!” Ghost bellowed. He grabbed me around my shoulders and snapped his fingers right in front of my face. “Hey!”

∞∞∞

Azulin

I rested my forehead against the cool stone of the outer wall of my tower. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to suppress the urge to run back up the half-flight I had just descended. Calypso wasn’t alone in suffering the effects of a partially-formed bond. I had the irrational desire to touch her and be near her. Plus, my growing vine burned.

Above me I could hear Ghost trying to persuade Calypso to move back to the bed. By the sound of it, she was being stubborn. I tried to take that as a good sign, but I couldn’t get around the fact that she had almost lost consciousness again. Considering Ghost’s intensity, it had been a near miss.

We had a dozen feet or less.

My stomach clenched. My chamber alone was at least twice that in width, much less anywhere else I might be called within the palace. And even now, Ghost sounded alarmed again.

I groaned. My hopes of keeping my distance, both emotionally and physically, were being dashed to pieces. My marking flared painfully.

“Lady Anon, you really must stay on this side of the room.” Ghost’s voice boomed despite the closed door above me.

“Then where is he standing?” she demanded as her footfalls moved across the room above me.

“In the stairwell,” I answered.

She opened the door and stood in the opening regarding me solemnly. “Then it’s worse than we thought.”

I nodded gravely. “A dozen feet, perhaps less.”

She studied my features with pale intensity. Soot streaked her face, making her appear far younger than I suspected she was. The wild mane of tangled hair rioting about her head didn’t help the impression.

“What do you suggest we do about it?”

“Make do until I can speak to my healer tomorrow.”

She pressed her lips into a firm line and nodded grimly. “I will sleep on your floor tonight.”

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