Page 87 of A Bond in Blood

Olen’s head dropped. “I would be blushing if I could.”

I laughed and laid back on the floor, staring at the moon from the top of the window. My eyes closed while I imagined the sun through this window and bright white clouds above.

“How many passageways are in this palace?” I asked.

“Only Ulrich knows the answer to that,” Olen replied.

I sat up once more. “He’s awful.”

Olen’s teeth peeked above his lips. “So am I.”

“Yes you are.” I frowned and pulled my feet away forcefully. The beast jumped to his feet, scowling at me.

“Leave me,” I said coldly.

His massive head shook in response. “No.”

“You are not my keeper, Olen. I am not escaping. I only wish for solitude.”

We held our glares for a moment before his head dipped to the ground, startling me with the show of respect.

“As you wish, princess. The king expects you to be in bed soon.”

I waved the beast away. “Tell your king I will do as I’m told.”

Olen stalked away silently, allowing me more time alone.

I took it in. The silence of the palace with the lack of wall-trembling music. The red light, warming the hall and my heart. I appreciated the beauty of the city below with the water at its edge and the black mist barely visible in the distance. It was a hidden world of monsters and secrets, but surprisingly beautiful despite the chaos of it all.

When my body began to ache from laying on the ground for so long, I pulled myself up and left the hall. I made my way back down the hall to the stairs, winding through the Unseelie palace with ease as though it were actually becoming my home.

When I found myself before the bedroom doors, my hands trembled as I reached for the handles. They slammed open and Ulrich’s cold wrapped around my lungs.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Shouldn’t old men be sleeping?” I snapped.

His chuckle rang out through the dark and I lifted my hands, finding the wall to guide me into the room.

“I need light to change.”

“No, you do not,” Ulrich replied.

“Ulrich.”

“Get into the bed, Brenna. I am tired,” he replied.

I reached the end of the wall and shuffled through the dark. Making a scene with my stumbling feet despite having learned the room weeks before.

“I grow older by the minute,” Ulrich groaned.

“Perhaps you will wither into dust by the time I reach the bed and I’ll be free of this madness.”

His chest hit mine, taking my breath and his hand landed on my lower-back.

“Is that what you want?” he whispered. “For me to wither away?”

My words stuck in my throat at the heat of his hand on me.

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