Page 236 of Blade of the Nightking

She helped me bathe before using Tideland magic to draw the water from my hair, drying it in mere moments before sending the suspended droplets swirling down the drain with a practiced wave of her slender hand.

She dressed me, too, while I stood there staring into nothing, my heart so leaden I felt as though I might simply crumple beneath its weight. Whether she failed to notice my silence or merely chose not to acknowledge it, I couldn't tell. She busied herself fastening my dress before lining my eyes with kohl, never once asking if I was all right.

When she finally turned me to the mirror, I scarcely recognized the woman staring back at me.

Gone was the travel-ravaged female who'd crossed the salt flats, survived a raging fire, and been beaten by the Pelagan guards. My skin, scrubbed clean of days' worth of dust and salt and blood, glowed with a healthy flush. My hair had been pinned into a loose updo, threaded with fine silver strands beaded with polished sea glass that winked softly whenever I turned my head.

The gown was exquisite in its simplicity. Creamy silk skimmed my body as though it had been poured over my skin, embracing my curves before plunging between my breasts almost to my navel. The fabric swept over my shoulders in soft folds that gathered at the nape of my neck before giving way to a sheer back fastened with a single row of mother-of-pearl buttons that trailed down my spine. The skirt brushed my ankles, the fabric shimmering with the soft lustre of an oyster shell.

I looked like a goddess—but a sad one.

Beyond the windows, the last of the daylight faded from the waters above, leaving Pelaga wrapped in the ocean's twilight, lit only by the bioluminescent glow of the sea. Somewhere within the palace, music drifted through the corridors, its sweeping melodies rising and falling like the tides.

I sighed, unlatching the door and pulling it open. Rìan stood on the other side, his fist half-raised as though he'd been about to knock.

We both startled.

For a heartbeat, we simply stared at one another.

His eyes found mine, then caught on my hair before drifting helplessly down the length of my body. Just as quickly, they snapped back up, a muscle feathering in his jaw.

As always, he was dressed entirely in black, though tonight the filthy travelling clothes had been exchanged for finely tailored linen, buttoned neatly to his throat and cut to skim his broad shoulders and powerful chest. The dark stubble that had shadowed his jaw throughout our journey was gone, leaving the hard, clean lines of his face even more striking. His dark hair, usually left to fall untidily across his forehead, had been combed neatly back, though the damp Pelagan air had coaxed soft curls free at his temples.

"Are you..." The words died before they fully formed. He cleared his throat, as though discarding whatever he'd really meant to ask. "Are you ready?"

He offered me his arm. I regarded it for a long moment before finally slipping my hand through the crook of his elbow.

We walked in silence through the opalescent passageways of the palace, the music growing louder with every step. Servants and courtiers passed with polite bows, their curious glances lingering just long enough to notice the unmistakable stiffness between us.

"You can't sulk all night," Rìan said at last, as the distant hum of voices became discernible beneath the music.

I turned my head sharply. "Sulk?" His infuriatingly flippant remark was enough to wrench me from the maelstrom of my own thoughts. I had, in fact, been sulking. Though, in my defense, my world had shattered.

He cast me a sidelong glance, his face as composed as ever. "You must behave as you always do with Aedric."

"Is that so."

"Yes. For the sake of appearances, there can be no doubt. No suspicion that things aren't as they seem."

I rolled my eyes. "Is that really necessary? I thought you were powerful."

"I can make them believe what isn't real." His voice remained maddeningly patient. "But Thalassis knows Aedric well. He'll notice if anything is amiss."

"That sounds like your problem, not mine. I barely know him."

"He'll find it strange if Aedric's mate suddenly shows him no affection whatsoever."

"Affection?" I hissed out of the corner of my mouth as another elegantly dressed couple passed us arm in arm. Rìan inclined his head politely to them without breaking stride. "You expect me to be affectionate?"

"I expect you to behave as you always do with your mate."

I considered that for a beat. "Does that mean I can strike you?"

His lips kicked upward, the barest hint of a smile, but he said nothing more until we neared the open doors of the hall, the bustle within spilling out into the corridor.

"Thalassis may seem laid-back, but he's observant," he murmured. "I'll already be holding too many minds at once. If I overlook something—something as simple as you scowling at me the way you are now—and he notices, it could unravel everything."

His gaze slid back to me, glowing faintly now.