Page 103 of Tales of a Monstrous Heart
‘I’m sure they’re loose skirted enough,’ Thean commented, almost making me choke on the sip I’d taken. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’m too sober for my liking.’
Emrys watched the voyav go, a tension in his limbs that gave me a warning without words. Whatever Thean’s game was, it was dangerous, and yet, I was kept at arm’s length about just how bad that danger could be.
‘I see you survived.’ The words left my lips before I could fully consider what I was saying. ‘Maybe I should have taken your advice and remained abed. If you’ve brought me here to help you shop for a wife, I’ll happily march myself back to the Institute.’
Emrys’s irritated gaze swung back to me; brow furrowed. Probably wondering if I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had.
‘That would have been preferable considering every man in this ballroom is giving me nothing and only interested in debaucherous arrangements,’ he muttered, taking a deep drink of his wine.
‘With who m?’ I frowned, looking to find Thean, wondering what the voyav had been up to.
‘You.’
‘Me? Don’t be absurd.’ I rolled my eyes with a breathless laugh. ‘They’ve said nothing? Not even about the bodies? The upper classes usually love gossip.’
He gave me a frustrated glance, his eyes seeming to get even darker as he ignored my question, looking at my skirtswith suspicion before taking another deep drink from his glass. ‘Where did you get that dress?’
‘William gave it to Alma.’ I huffed in exasperation, wondering if something had happened to his memory and just how long he’d been drinking.
‘Remind me to have a word with him,’ he grumbled murderously.
‘What?’ I frowned. ‘Alma spruced it up. I think she did a wonderful job.’
He continued to consider me uneasily, eyes moving to where the sleeves rested at my bare shoulder drifting to my collarbone, tracing the thin chain of the wishing stone, before returning his gaze to the room. The tension in him made me wonder if he’d lost his mind too.
‘Lord Blackthorn, how wonderful you’re here,’ a male voice announced as we found ourselves joined by a young man, short and large with circular glasses perched on the end of his nose and stark blond hair. ‘I thought it would take a miracle to get you out into society again.’
It was unclear if his mirth was genuine or from the wine.
‘Mr Canthorp.’ Emrys bowed. ‘May I introduce my partner mage, Miss Woodrow.’
‘What a lovely companion. No wonder you’re monopolising her attention, Lord Blackthorn.’ He grinned.
‘Pleasure to meet you, Mr Canthorp.’ I bowed respectfully, but he already had his hand out, forcing me to surrender my own.
‘The pleasure is all mine.’ He smiled, kissing the back of my hand. His lips were repulsively wet even with my gloves on; there to cover up the horrid welts on my wrists. Thankfully, his grip was loose enough for me to pull myself free, his lips puckering slightly in disappointment as he straightened, returning his attention to Emrys.
‘Lord Fairfax said you found the man’s body in the wood by the old ruins,’ Canthorp stated, more of an accusation than a question. ‘Unsecure ground, one wrong step and it would be a long way down. Nobody really knows how far those ruins have sunk.’
I went still at his words. Emrys hadn’t said the victim was a man, or where I had found him, at least not in my company. So why would Canthorp assume it was the ruins?
‘Perhaps, but its best to be cautious in such turbulent times.’ Emrys’ smile was tight, too tight.
‘What are you talking about so excitedly, Mr Canthorp?’ came the high-pitched voice of the woman Emrys had been talking to. Lady Lovell. Her arm was looped through that of a very annoyed-looking Lord Percy.
‘The discovery in the ruins, Lady Lovell.’ Canthorp bowed respectfully.
‘How dreadful.’ She practically swooned before her eyes reluctantly moved to me. She considered me like some horrid inconvenience, smile faltering as she noted where Emrys’s arm brushed against my own with his proximity.
‘Of course, the quieter we can keep the tragedy, the better. We know how feral the fey can be, don’t you agree, Miss Woodrow?’ Canthorp continued with a laugh.
‘Miss Woodrow discovered the corpse after trespassing on these lands,’ Lord Percy interjected before I could speak, making Mr Canthorp choke on his mirth. ‘Quite scandalous.’
‘Fey lands,’ I corrected. A silence followed the words as I felt the intensity of Lord Percy’s gaze come back to me.
‘Excuse me?’ he bit out, tone barely remaining polite.
‘The original lands of Fairfax surround the ruins. Any lord who abandons his ancestral home for longer than a century surrenders that land back to the fey who had once inhabitedit. It’s written in clause thirty-four of the King’s Agreement. Or in section four of the Peace Agreement.’ I smiled, surge of Emrys’s magic brushed my side. An intensity to it that had nothing to do with warning.
