Page 11 of A Bride for the Winter King
Maybe the prospect of joining the Yule pageant tomorrow irks my nerves, or I’m creeped out by the dead cousin, but I’m simply not in the mood—a phrase Seth has probably never heardin his adult life. “Because I need a straight head for tomorrow, and somehow I don’t think you’re the quickie type.”
I leave out the part about me feeling hideous and sore because of the spider bite, because it’s none of his business.
A light chuckle fills the room. “Is that a back-handed compliment?”
I adjust my head on the pillow once more. “Goodnight, Seth.”
“Goodnight, Lori.”
Chapter 5
Teacher's Pet
LORI
At the break of dawn, Baka enters my room through the mirror. The sprite doesn’t need a mask to travel through the sceawere, her bark-like skin and grainy wings rendering her impervious to the nightmares that roam the in-between. Her big ears move in time with the wings at her back, and her gaze darts to the sleeping prince. “I see ye’ve kept yer guest at arm’s length.”
Seth’s light snores echo in the small room, his head buried in a pillow at the foot of the bed.
I sit up, my legs dangling off the edge of the mattress as I stretch. “What can I say? I wasn’t in the mood for great sex.”
Baka cracks a smile. She lands next to me, her weight barely making a dent in the duvet, and proceeds to hike up my shirt over my wound to check its current state.
Textured lids drape over her pink irises as she sighs, “It’s not better.”
“It’s not worse.”
The sprite covers the back of my hand with her wrinkled fingers, her skin soft to the touch despite its appearance. “Nellmight not know what this means, but I do. If it ain’t better by now, it’s never going to be.”
A soft tremble quakes my throat. “I was afraid of that.”
Baka is kind, clever, and patient, but she says it straight like it is, and I can’t bury my head in the medicinal roots anymore.
She grazes my chin with her bony claw. “Don’t go chasin’ ghosts and heartbreak. This poison is contained for now, but who knows what will happen if ye overexert yerself.”
Her comment sparks an itch between my brows. “You think it might spread?”
She presses her lips together, and the worried curve of her mouth serves as an answer. My chest tightens, the ache in my ribs intensifying tenfold, but I jump to my feet and switch my hoodie for a long black t-shirt, the sports bra I’m wearing underneath perfectly modest.
I pat the fabric down over the scar, making sure it’s covered. Out of sight, out of mind. “Don’t tell Nell, please. I don’t want her to worry about me any more than she already will.”
Baka gives a small incline of the head, her bushy brows raised in understanding. “As ye wish. Be careful, my precious nightshade. And if ye find Morrigan, remember that revenge only hardens the heart.”
I clasp her small hand in mine, grateful for her unwavering support. Baka is supposed to be our handmaid, but she’s really the closest possible replacement to the mothers we’ve all lost. She takes care of us, and I’m going to miss her dearly.
“I’ll come back in one piece, Tree Mama. I swear.”
Her long black nail scratches my cheek as she cups it, her pink eyes wet with unshed tears. “There’s always hope, even in the coldest of places. Remember that.”
The sprite flies out of my room through the mirror, and I graze Seth’s leg with the tip of my bare feet to shake him awake. “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”
He yawns and stretches gingerly, his shirt riding over his belly button. “Morning,friend.” The prince bounces to his feet with the verve of a toddler excited to play with his favorite toys, looking fresh as a morning glory. “Are you ready to go?”
I leave my father’s hoodie on the bed, not willing to risk its safety by bringing it with me, but my fingers linger over the bull pattern for a moment. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I mumble, moving away from the bed to lace up my boots.
Seth rolls up his left sleeve to access the runes tattooed on his arm and escorts me to the Winter Court through the mirror. Our short journey spits us out inside a modern bedroom with no windows.
An electric chandelier floods the space with warm light and casts inviting shadows upon the walls. The impressive piece is made of a series of gold and silver threads twisted together, reminiscent of the roots of a tree. The carpet, dressers, and king-sized bed are white as snow. Pink, lavender, and yellow pillows clutter the bed in an array of textures and sizes.
