Page 57 of The Shadowbound King

“Wow, I feel a lot better.” Bewilderment filled her eyes, and she looked around as if just noticing the bathing chamber for the first time. “Did I…sleep in here?”

“No,” I said, guiding her to the door as pain throbbed behind my eyes and nausea twisted my stomach. “But you should probably go lie down for a while.” As we left the bathing chamber, I stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You have bruises around your neck.” I peered more closely, and anger fired in my gut. “Did someone choke you?”

A blush stained her cheeks. “Oh, yes, but I asked for it.” She leaned toward me, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “I have a matching set on my arse.”

When we entered the main chamber, Rane paced in front of the doors. He stopped when he spotted us, tension hovering around him.

“Let me know if you see the king,” he told the servant. “Right away, you come find me. Understand?”

“Yes, my lord,” she said, curtsying.

He’d frowned as she left, then turned to me and pointed to the toast and cup on the table. “Eat quickly. I have things to do.”

Now, he sat with his arms folded over his chest and his gaze on the doors. One booted foot tapped the floor in an agitated rhythm. He wore black as usual, his clothing plain but beautifully crafted. His long, black hair was loose except for afew strands braided at his temples and pulled into a careless knot. The black feathers and vines around his neck glinted ominously in the morning sunlight.

The headache I’d taken from the servant faded as I hunted for an unscorched section of toast.

Well, maybelessscorched was the best I could hope for. I took another bite, chewing and swallowing carefully as my stomach settled. The tea had been palatable enough, although I would have killed for some sugar.

“Are you almost finished?”

I looked up to find Rane’s impatient gaze upon me. His biceps bulged under his shirt, as if he squeezed his arms over his chest to keep from strangling someone. I didn’t need anyone to tell me who he had in mind.

I lowered the toast to my plate. “If you need to leave, you can just put me back in the cage.”

His eyes drifted over my collar before making a quick trip down my bodice. He turned his attention back to the door, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “I can’t leave you here.”

“Why not?”

The muscle jumped again. “Just eat.”

My headache threatened to return. “I’m finished.”

He looked at the plate. “You barely ate anything.”

“I didn’t like it.”

“You don’t like toast?”

“Not when it’s been set on fire.”

A beat passed, and an inscrutable look crossed his face. Whatever it was, he smothered it quickly as he shoved his chair back and stood. His purple eyes rested briefly on the blackened toast. “Maybe we can find someone sober enough to make a better breakfast.” He strode toward the doors, his footsteps clipped. “Follow me,” he ordered without looking back.

For a second, indecision rooted me to the chair. Then I stood and hurried after him. Rane’s impatience seemed to multiply as we rounded corners and sped down corridors. Before long, a stitch formed in my side.

“Where are we going?” I panted.

He tossed me an irritated look, but he slowed his pace as we moved down the hall of lewdly painted doors. Every few moments, he paused and opened one, sticking his head inside before backing out and moving on.

My curiosity grew. He was obviously looking for Andrin. Maybe they’d argued, and the king had left. But shouldn’t it have been the other way around? And why did Rane insist on dragging me with him?

“Have you looked outside?” I asked as we descended a grand staircase flanked by balustrades carved to resemble tree trunks covered with leaves and vines. Halfway down, a pair of women’s drawers dangled from a twisting branch.

“Of course I looked outside,” Rane snapped. “Everyone knows that’s the first place you look when you’re missing someone.”

I held my skirts as I stepped over a leather leash with a collar attached to one end. “I’ve never heard that before.”

He grunted. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and gazed around, his amethyst eyes clouded with worry. “Let’s look in the Great Hall,” he said finally. “And before you ask, yes, I already looked there. But it can’t hurt to look again.”

---