Page 35 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

Shaking my head even before she finished her sentence, I replied, “I will have someone fetch a mattress.” There was no way anyone was sleeping on my chamber floor. We both were exhausted. We needed rest, especially if this was only the first of many complications to come. “We both need sleep.”

The door at the bottom of the stairwell opened, and the smell of food wafted up to greet me.

“And food,” I added.

Then pushing off from the wall, I forced myself to climb the remaining steps back to my bedchamber. The whole mess wouldbe more manageable in the morning, or at least that was what I tried to tell myself.

Ten

Calypso

Soren appeared, accompanied by a host of servants. They flooded up the stairs carrying dishes, trays, pitchers, and glasses. In a great show of fussiness, the secretary tweaked and arranged the items as they were placed on a table. Then, the moment everything had been nudged to his satisfaction, he shooed the servants out the door again.

During the whole operation, the servants—all male—kept stealing glances my way. Azulin and Ghost both moved to stand beside me.

“Furintag?” Azulin motioned to one of the older servants, signaling that he should approach. Furintag’s dark hair appeared similar to moss and grew out of the top of his head in a wild crown of patchy brown and green. He bowed deeply to the king, revealing the tips of wings tucked close to his back. “My guest and I will require hot baths this evening.”

Furintag eyed me and then the king. “One or two tubs, sire?”

Azulin narrowed his eyes at the—whatever Furintag was. “Two. One in my dressing room and one in here.”

“Of course, sire.” Furintag bowed again. “No offense intended, sire.”

Azulin motioned impatiently for him to leave, his expression cold and displeased.

“A practical question, sire,” Soren commented as he motioned for the servants to depart.

Azulin ignored him. Instead, he waited until only Soren remained behind with Ghost and the pair of us. Moving close to my side, he said, “You will sleep in the bed. I will sleep on the floor in the other room.”

So weary I could barely stand, I glared up at him. “You are the king. I am only a peasant. Why should I sleep in the bed while you sleep on the floor?” I turned away to eye the fragrant offerings on the table across the room.

I tried to guess the extent of the range I could move away from Azulin. The table was well outside it. I turned back to ask if we could eat only to catch Soren’s displeased expression.

“Sire, that would hardly be appropriate,” the secretary protested.

Ignoring him, the fae king kept his icy gaze on me. “You are my guest.”

I set my jaw. “I won’t sleep in your bed.” My head was swimming and my senses hummed with awareness. He stood far too close. I had to tilt my head back so I could meet his gaze, but I refused to step backward.

Strangely, on some level, I wanted to lean into him, to seek out his warmth. I stiffened, counting for myself the myriad of reasons I needed to stay strong. I slept on the floor at home. And the king having the bed wouldn’t be appropriate, as Soren pointed out.

“I am the king and get to decide.” Azulin’s lean body tightened as he straightened to his full, impressive height and peered down his nose at me.

“Not my king.”

Soren hissed his disapproval. “Sire, I must protest.”

Ghost cleared his throat and all of us turned toward him. “We could have a couch brought up and placed in the dressingroom.” He nodded toward the wall opposite the bed. “It will satisfy Soren’s sensibilities, and no one has to sleep on the floor.”

Soren began nodding enthusiastically. “Indeed, sire, all can be arranged. You cannot sleep in the same room as—”

Azulin shifted his intense stare from me to Soren. The secretary swallowed the rest of what he’d intended to say.

The king resumed studying me. “Very true. She will be in my dressing room. Have them bring the sleeping couch from my office. See that she has adequate bedding.” His gaze narrowed. “Also, she needs clothing, appropriate garb for court life.”

“Court life?” Soren frowned. “Surely she isn’t going to be spending much time with the court.”

“Where I go, she goes. See that she has properattire.” His tone left no more room for argument. “But first, have them bring the couch.”

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