Page 11 of Deadwood
Her shoulders sagged a bit in the reflection. “Just be careful who you trust out there.”
I turned to face her, adjusting my skirts. “You think my future husband would lie to me?”
Maybe she knew his family better than I thought she did.
“People can be deceiving, Auria, and with your isolation, you may not know what to believe.”
As much as I hated it, she was right. I was naive to the world and what went on outside the chasm that surrounded Amosite. The only way out of this kingdom was the one old bridge that had stood for decades. Inside the border, I only knew of some of the things that happened in Silicate, due to Taylin’s stories. Everything else, I was clueless.
I faced the mirror again, at a loss for words. My eyes roamed over my reflection. I truly hated the color red.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Katie. Thank you. I need a minute alone before I go down,” I told her.
She dipped her chin, then slipped out the door, closing it behind her.
Moving away from the mirror to my window, I gazed out at the glowing city in the distance. The sky was beautiful as the dome of amber faded into the silver light from the rings, and while the world looked so silent in this moment, I knew it was anything but.
My hand instinctively reached up to loop a finger around my hair, and I thought about how it must be to wander the city streets and look up to see that sky looming above, rather than seeing it all from the outside, as if Silicate was kept in a glass bubble, and I might never enter.
I wished I could say I had hope that this marriage would allow me the ability to visit the city, to have a speck of freedom, but I’d lost my faith in much all too long ago.
A knuckle rapped on my door, and a small sigh slipped from my lips.
The size of this castle truly didn’t matter when all the walls felt like a prison, caging me in from the world surrounding it.
Maybe Lander wouldn’t be so bad. He could show me the various landscapes other than the grass and woods I could glean from my window, the city streets and how they cracked. The colorful flower beds outside shop windows and citizens that didn’t only wear tight dresses and don swords on their hips.
Maybe hecouldbe my key to getting out.
But something told me that wasn’t my father’s intentions with the arrangement, that it was rather a way to keep me hidden further.
How far could I go before I disappeared altogether?
* * *
My guard stayed postedby the door as I entered the dining room. Instead of searching the group of people for who might be Lander, my eyes landed on the full glasses of wine sitting on the table. I beelined for one of them, not caring whose place it sat at. They could get another glass. I just needed something to replace the buzz of my nerves.
Halfway to the table, I was stopped by a large figure stepping in front of me. My flats practically screeched on the stone floor as I halted and took a step back to steady myself.
“Excuse me,” I said, narrowing my eyes up at the man. “Can I help you?” He should know not to get in the way of a woman trying to fetch herself a drink.
“I’d simply like to get to know my brother’s fiancé,” he answered. “Where’s the harm in that?”
My brows shot up before I quickly cooled my expression. “I didn’t know you two were siblings.”
He smiled, the look anything but settling. “Ah, yes. But, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m the far more handsome one.” He added a wink for emphasis.
“Cocky, too,” I remarked. I didn’t mention that I hadn’t seen Lander in the flesh yet. The man before me, however, looked nothing like his parents—his hair shades darker and his eyes nearly more pitch black than the sky at night. Taylin had said Lander was blonde, but I supposed if I looked hard enough, I could have found some similarities in what she’d described. But I was too focused on craving some sort of buzz to care.
He chuckled, extending a hand out to me. I laid mine in his, allowing him to press his lips to the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure, Lady Auria. I’m Paxon Bular.”
I arched a brow at the use of my name and pulled my hand from his grip after he lowered it, taking a mental note of the calculated look in his deep brown eyes rimmed by dark lashes. “Well, Paxon, I’m rather thirsty, so if you’d please excuse me.”
He stepped to the side, gesturing toward the elegant setup. A thin, red tablecloth spanned the center, and shimmering gold trays were spread about. “Pick your poison.”
Moving past him, I reached the table, grabbing a glass and downing half the contents. Alcohol might not make this dinner go by any faster, but a girl could dream.
“Auria,” my father called, interrupting my sip.
