Page 66 of Bride of the Fae Prince

But itisdifferent. Because it will be worse than losing my staff. It will hurt, and I will hate every minute of it, but I know better than to get attached to my staff.

I give a rueful snort at that.Do I, really?

Either way, the day Stella dies will change me forever, and I doubt for good.

A soft knock sounds at my door. I lift my head, even as my heart lurches. “Come in.”

The face that pokes around that corner is a little hesitant. I smile.

“Your steward announced the midday m-meal. Shall I wait for you?” Stella asks, pale fingers drumming silently on the door. Her hair is back up in that blasted bun I despise so much, and she’s dressed again in her beautiful dove-gray dress.

I pause. It would be better if I told her to eat without me, to just have Edvear drop something off at my desk after she’s eaten. But I push back from my desk. “I’ll come. But first, a thought from you. Or else I’ll kiss you.” The practiced threat rolls off my tongue, and I cannot deny that every time I say it, part of me hopes she’ll opt for the latter instead of the former.

It’s better that she’s still so terrified at the thought of a kiss from me.

Her eyes widen. And then, to my surprise, she pulls the door shut. Straight in my face. I stare at it for one moment, and then I cannothelpthe way a grin spreads across my face as I shove to my feet, march across the room, and yank the door open. “You know the rules. If you won’t tell me a thought—”

I stop. The sitting room is empty.

Is she . . .hidingfrom me?

My grin widens.

I prowl down the hallway to the bedroom, fling the door open, and give a sniff. Not here. The washroom is empty except for a scowling Hylath who mops the floor of the washroom with her tongue. She tells me she’ll throw up over my letters if I step on her wet floors. I quickly vacate those premises.

Then I push open the door to the dining room—and there she is. Just sitting primly at the table, spine straight as she delicately sips from a teacup. “My thought is this. You surprise me much too frequently with these requests for my thoughts. Even if your assessment is true and I have many thoughts that I choose not to speak, those thoughts become very difficult to collect when faced with imminent consequences. So truly, it isn’t a fair request that you make of me.”

And with that, she takes one dainty bite of her food.

That is quite a speech coming from her.

Maybe if we had the chance to be married for decades or centuries, I wouldn’t be surprised by her at every turn. But two days into marriage, everything is a surprise.

Mountains of Ildrid, how it sends glee shooting through my chest!

I want to surprise her back.

Instead of taking my seat across from her, I come around behind her chair. She stiffens, eyeing me warily.Perfect.I duck toward her and wrap my arms around her middle, hugging her as she sits rigidly in her chair.

Even when she tries to be stiff, she’s so soft.

“It thrills me that you’re so easily flustered at the idea of me kissing you,” I say into her ear. “It makes me want to carry out my threat.”

Her cheeks turn the color of wine in a matter of seconds. It’s so satisfying. I feel as though I’ve won a prize, and I want to do nothing but keep winning them, over and over again.

And that’s when stupid Edvear comes around the corner carrying a dish. I straighten too quickly, drawing away from my wife, and take my seat. My collar is suddenly too tight. I give it a few tugs.

Neither of us look at each other for the rest of our meal.

Chapter 26

The Princess

I have hardly afew minutes of refuge in my room, away from the confusing presence of my husband, before it’s time to leave his quarters and attend to thiserrandof his.

The first tip I get that this might be more dangerous than he lets on is the fact that he makes me wear a cloak with a hood, and then pulls that hood down over my head. I’m unsure what good it’ll do, considering that a simple cloak cannot hide my humanity, and it’s not as if it’ll be hard to guess who I am when I’m at his side.

When I press him for information, he says we’re merely paying a visit to someone, and it’s unlikely that anyone will follow us.

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