Page 40 of The Curse of a Kingdom
Nava had a hard time hiding her trembling smile. He had the gift of an impressive blank expression, but it was hard for him to hide all of his emotions from her. “So, is this lunch to make it up for having locked us away for days? I assume Devon has been treated the same way . . . since I haven’t seen or heard of him.” She paused, taking a deep breath after she’d pretty much blurted out all of the words.
“I thought Fael was taking you out for walks,” Arkimedes shot back, lifting a brow at her.
“Well, who is taking Devon out? You?” And she didn’t mean to sound as petty as she did, but the words left her before she’d gotten hold of her feelings.
His lips twitched. “How are your wounds healing?”
“Fine.”'
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Um . . . could you reconsider the option of taking me with you next time you go to the forest?” she whispered, and his face snapped back to her, his eyes narrowing. She wrapped both hands together in front of her.
He let a deep breath out and shook his head. “You don’t understand your current situation. Even if I scream that you are my guest, the king doesn’t see it that way. There is no walking out, not yet.”
Navadidunderstand, but she couldn’t just accept it. The forest called to her; Ari needed her there to balance, lend, and borrow each other's magic. There was a lot she had to learn about her own power before she could confront a demon alone.
Transferring was her only choice.
She looked forward and didn’t broach the subject again, and they walked mostly in silence, all the way to a part of the garden she hadn’t seen before. They crossed under arches and down stone steps. Sage-green grasses lined the stone pathway, and the tips caressed the stone with the light breeze.
Past that, shrubs of camellias were in full bloom with pink-and-white flowers. Her heart soared as the energy of nature embraced her. Here, she could almost forget the scent of burning around them.
They meandered to a large veranda on the side of the castle. Its roof was molded metal that swirled with leaves and branches. A massive wisteria tree climbed it, draping lavender blooms on the sides.
Nava slowed as she took it all in. The large circular table in the center filled to the brim with food. Tiers of buttery pastries, bowls of fruit, and platters of dried meat and nuts.
Devon stood from his spot at the table, straightening his coat. His hair was slicked back behind his ears, making his high cheekbones and porcelain skin practically glow. “I wondered if I would eat by myself.” He crossed toward them, patting Arkimedes’s arm as his dark eyes met hers. “That perhaps the approaching summer solstice had already gotten to you.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked, taking a seat.
“The solstice affects all magical creatures. Warlocks, sorcerers, and witches are affected the least, as we are the most human—but the fae have curious parties.”
“What do you mean by curious?”
Arkimedes took a seat across from her.
“Seductive. Stimulating. Sexual,” Devon continued, and his eyes shone with malice.
Nava’s face heated. “That answers nothing, Devon.”
“He means the fae have sex all night long while the party is going,” Arkimedes said, filling his dainty cup with steaming tea.
Her face slacked, and her whole body grew warm from something entirely different. She pressed her legs close together, squirming under both their gazes. “Oh.”
“Oh, indeed.” Devon filled his plate with food. “But not only the fae are affected, of course. It’s said soulmates are . . . how do you say this without being crass? Well, they go through a heat spell. Like animals, really.”
Nava reached for the collar of her dress, her cool fingertips calming her flaming skin. “Huh.”
“Whoever has a soulmate around—well, let's just say, all the crannies in this garden will be occupied. Won’t it, brother?”
Arkimedes’s gaze all but seared her alive. She swallowed, reached for a glass of water in front of her, and drank it all in one go.
“Are you two soulmates?” Arkimedes’s growl had her jumping in her seat.
Devon’s rumbling laughter filled the space a second later. “No, no, brother. She is not mine.”
Damn right she wasn’t.
