Page 54 of The Lord of Whispers

I hopped down from the side of the cave pool and met Jay where he was waist deep in the glowing azure water. He reached down and picked me up, wrapping my legs around him. Then he moved to the side of the cave pool, pressing my back against where I’d sat before. He began to rub against my bikini bottoms.

“You’re sure—” I began to ask again whether it would be ok.

I wasn’t sure the water was ok on my skin, much lessinme.

“Promise,” he interrupted, almost sweetly, at the same time that he pushed my bikini bottoms to the side.

Even in the water, he found me ready for him. He rubbed against the outside of me before plunging inside and pushing against my tightness. Each time he moved into me, the water between us splashed up, covering my breasts, leaving glowing remnants in its wake.

When we made our way back to the manor, we ran into Oliver outside. He barked out a laugh at seeing us glowing in blue.

“Real subtle, Jay,” Oliver laughed.

Then I remembered the dinner we had scheduled for that night. Jay was hosting the lords of the Azure Court, including Lord Tildon, the high fae lord from my hometown, Harborview. I turned to Jay accusingly.

“Jay, tell me this will wash off!” I demanded.

A very un-Jay-like mischievous grin splayed across his face.

“It’ll wash off,” he reassured me.

But I noticed that the mischievous look on his face did not go away. Ever since we’d gotten to Breakpoint, it was like something in him had changed. There was an almost lightheartedness to him that had never been there before.

“Jay, you didn’t…Whenwill it wash off?” I asked.

His smirk turned into a smile.

“It should be gone by the time we head back to the High Court.Unfortunately,” he theatrically lamented. “So we should probably take another dip before then to avoid that.”

* * * *

That night, I tried to make polite conversation with Lord Tildon despite the fact that he did not remember me from my graduation ceremony. He’d been the one who’d announced that I’d won my place in the liaison program and would be going to the High Court, but he still couldn’t remember me.

“My mother, she still lives back home. Lana Armand,” I prompted.

Lord Tildon acted polite but disinterested, as if he were trying to remember my mother. Our plates had already been cleared. He took a sip of his wine.

“Fire-red hair, you can’t miss her,” I continued.

I was already eyeing the others down the length of the table and seeing who I could use to pivot out of this conversation.

But apparently, I’d sparked Lord Tildon’s memory.

“Yes. I remember now. But what is truly astonishing is that I failed to recognize someone as beautiful as you. This glow on your skin, doll. It’s as if you have taken a bath in Azurinium,” Lord Tildon commented unknowingly.

He placed a hand too high on my thigh under the table. I stiffened. This small-town hick had no tact. This was not how you played the game at the High Court. This was how a big fish in a small pond abused his power. He was used to taking whatever he wanted. But I didn’t want to rebuff him too strongly. I was very aware of the fact that, although I was out of his reach at the High Court, he could go back to Harborview and make my mother’s life difficult. But before I could decide on the best course of action, I felt a small gust of wind pass in front of my face, like someone had opened a door and air had rushed in.

Lord Tildon released my leg like he’d been burned by a hot iron. I looked up at him, startled by his sudden movement, and saw that his face had gone pale underneath his smattering of freckles.

“P-please accept my deepest apologies, Lady Armand, but I must depart immediately. S-something has… well…” he stammered. “Do give your mother my best next time you see her. Excuse me.”

Lord Tildon threw his napkin into his chair, stumbling over his feet as he walked—almost ran—out of the room. I scanned the others at the table, seeing if they had noticed anything. Jay was still in conversation at the far end of the table. I shrugged off Lord Tildon’s unusual behavior, taking a sip of wine, glad for the conversation to be over, whatever the reason.

But later that night, after dinner and drinks and the departure of our guests, I mentioned Lord Tildon’s odd behavior to Jay. We stood on the veranda to his room enjoying the light of the moon on the water.

Jay looked satisfied. “Glad to hear he understood my message.”

“What message?” I asked.

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