Page 94 of Wolf Caged
Determined to make the most of the day and not hide away in my room as he probably expected, I bathed and did my best not to think about him as my hands glided over my bare curves. I jumped from the bath earlier than I had wanted when he refused to leave my mind and dried off and then dressed in my leather pants, riding boots and a dark blue blouse, and paired it with an under-bust corset that had been delivered to my room with the new blouse.
I imagined it was a gift from Jenavyr rather than Kaeleron, since I had admired the one she wore.
It laced at the front and I cinched it tightly as I looked at my reflection in the mirror, making sure I could still breathe but that it showed off my curves too.
For no reason in particular.
There was no one in this castle I needed to impress, or wanted to catch their eye.
I braided my silver hair in a long rope that hung down my back and added a little kohl around my eyes, liking the look of it now. I had never been one for make-up, had only bothered with it on special occasions, but now I preferred how my eyes looked with a smudge of darkness around them. It brightened the blue of my eyes.
There.
I looked quite pretty.
And not at all like a female a male might jilt.
I forced my chin up as I stepped from my room and headed downstairs, noting the absence of guards.Freedom. It put a spring in my step as I took the sweeping marble stairs two at atime, bounding down them, and broke out into the warmth and light of the garden.
The scent of the blooms blended with the salt of the ocean, a delectable perfume that I breathed deep of as I meandered around the garden, picking paths that no one occupied. Not because I was trying to avoid someone. I just needed a little me time. That was the reason I kept my gaze on the flowers and insects too, tracked a bird that flitted across my path and up into one of the trees. I wanted to be alone today.
A perfectly reasonable thing to want.
All perfectly normal.
My senses reached around me, charting the position of all the fae, from the highborn that lingered in the shadows of heavily foliaged arbours, whispering among themselves, to the gardeners that worked hard to deadhead the flowers and keep them looking beautiful. Not to avoid them.
Well, maybe a little to avoid them because I didn’t want to run into Elanaluvyr and her clique.
My step faltered.
Had she sought out Kaeleron again when he had return to the feast alone?
Had he accepted her advances?
I shook my head. I didn’t care. It meant nothing to me if he had sought her out and they had been together. What we had done had been purely physical, a release I had needed, and an end to my suffering. I could be practical about this, just like any other wolf female of mating age.
Yet I found myself sneaking down unoccupied paths and steering clear of everyone else in the garden and not really enjoying my walk as my mood slowly darkened, my thoughts returning to how Kaeleron had looked when he had rejected me.
“Maybe I should head back,” I murmured.
My ears twitched.
“Did you hear about the king’s unplanned absence from court today?” a female whispered and I peered through the bush of bright violet flowers to my left, trying to see her.
Her male companion chuckled. “No doubt he is sleeping off the festivities. The rite was rather energetic this year.”
“I barely had the strength to leave bed this morning. Had I not been sharing it with a common guard, I might have lingered.” The distaste in her tone made me wonder why she had slept with a guard at all if she was going to hate what she had done afterwards.
Forbidden fruit, I supposed.
What happened at the rite, stayed at the rite.
I had seen many males and females I had recognised as highborn there, cavorting with servants and guards, seeming to enjoy having a taste of them. Slumming it apparently had appeal in the fae world as well as my one.
“Normally the king is present for court the next day though,” she said, her tone thoughtful.
They drifted off together, leaving me standing there, an answer for his unusual absence ringing in my mind.
