Page 47 of The Exile's Curse

For one horrifying moment, Chloe found herself thinking idly that Irina might not be wrong about that. Then she came to her senses and wrenched her thoughts away from the idea of Lucien lying on a bed, clothes rumpled and eyes hot and fierce. "I don't need a new husband," she said firmly. "And Lord Castaigne is perfectly able to find a wife should he want one. He and I wouldn't suit."

"No more kafiet for you," Katiya said firmly to her sister. She waved away the servant who was heading for them again. "In fact, I will call for some tea."

Chapter 15

The tea the Andalyssians served, robust and earthy as it was, was not quite enough to counteract the effect of two glasses of kafiet on top of several glasses of wine. Chloe did her best to pay attention as Katiya introduced her to everybody else in the room, but the evening began to take on a dreamy quality she recognized as her being both tired and having, as her mother would phrase it, more to drink than was ladylike.

Fortunately, it wasn't enough to make her do anything too embarrassing. Her laugh was possibly a little too fast, and she wished she could shed her uniform jacket, or throw open one of the sets of curtains and stick her head out into the cool night air, but she didn't disgrace herself. But names and faces blurred together, which meant she had to work hard to remember who was who and not make a mistake.

Finally Katiya delivered her back to Lucien's side and wished her a good night. Chloe concentrated, determined not to let him see she’d overindulged.

"Lieutenant," he said, sounding vaguely amused. "Have you had an enjoyable evening?"

She looked up at him, determined to keep her face serious. "Yes, Major." Trouble was, Lucien had been with her too many times before when the three of them—Lucien and Charl and her—had indulged in too much campenois. He knew her tells.

Damn the man.

And damn Irina for being right. Hewashandsome. And in the firelight, the green of his eyes was wild and tempting.

Goddess, that was another thought she wasn't going to indulge.

She looked around, seeking a distraction. "Did the colonel and the captain leave?"

"Thirty minutes or so ago. The Wardmeister wanted to go over something about tomorrow's schedule," Lucien said. "Didn't you notice?"

If she hadn't already been too warm, she would have blushed. She hadn't noticed. Damn it. Losing track of one's senior officers wasn't a good thing. "I was busy."

"So I saw. You seemed to be getting along well with Lady Katiya. The colonel said to leave you to it."

Was that a compliment? Perhaps it was. She suppressed a pleased smile. "But you're still here."

"Well, it's a big palace. I wanted to make sure you get back to your room safely. That green stuff they were serving is, er, potent."

"It's delicious."

"I don't disagree. But it would be easy to overindulge by accident, I think." Green eyes smiled down at her.

"Are you accusing me of being scuppered?"

His brows lifted. "Scuppered? No. A little merry, perhaps. And you never did have the greatest sense of direction."

She scowled at him. "It's not polite to point out a lady's faults." But she couldn't argue. She had improved her sense of direction a little over the years, but she'd need Irina's earth sense or whatever it was to find her way through the maze of hallways tonight.

"No," he agreed. "But it's also not polite to let her get lost in a strange palace either. So, Lieutenant, shall we return to our rooms? The party seems to be over."

So it was. There were a few people left in the room. Katiya and Mikvel stood, smiling at each other, near the fireplace. Irina lolled on one of the couches, yawning, clearly waiting for her sister to be done.

"All right," she agreed. "If it's not out of your way."

"My room is in the same corridor as yours," he said drily.

"It is?" She hadn't realized.

He nodded. "There are only two corridors of rooms, after all. It was a fifty-fifty chance."

He gestured toward the door, and she moved forward before he could offer her his arm. And before she did anything stupid like take it. Kafiet or no, she would keep her distance.

Lucien watched the swish of Chloe's skirts as she headed for the door, then threw a hasty bow in the direction of the king and his fiancée, who were too busy gazing at each other adoringly to pay him any heed, and followed her.

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