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I gulped back the stone in my throat and wished I’d called Nyx to confirm his text, but given how kind and gently Odette was being with me, I couldn’t help but relax as she began to chant over me.
She wasn’t lying. The ceremony took over an hour, sprinkles of herbs and fae dust spraying over me as she walked back and forth around my body, whispering so lightly, I couldn’t make out the words half the time.
Is this doing anything?I wondered at one point, my hands eager to touch my belly, but Odette had warned me not to move, lest I break the spell.Are you okay in there, little one?
I felt the baby moving in my womb.
Eventually, I just grew sleepy, and I was roused awake by Odette shaking my shoulders gently. “Are you okay?” she asked in a low voice.
Blinking rapidly, it took me a second to remember where I was. “Yes. I must have fallen asleep.”
“That’s all right. These things can get boring. You’re all set now, though. Sit up carefully, or you’ll get dizzy.”
I did as she instructed, but there was no dizziness. I felt nothing at all but a light growl in my stomach, reminding me that it was way past dinnertime, and I had been interrupted waiting for Nyx in the dining room.
“That’s it?” I asked Odette.
“That’s it,” she agreed. “I’ll walk you back to the dining room. I’m sure the king will be along soon.”
The king. Miss Maren. I barely even recognize her. What the hell happened?
I wondered if Odette had finally realized that I wasn’t her enemy.
“You could join us for dinner,” I offered on a whim. I’d seen her eating in the dining room many times when I’d stayed there before, but she looked appalled by the suggestion.
“No!” she said quickly and looked away, like she was embarrassed. “I don’t think the king would appreciate that.”
Again, my eyes narrowed as I tried to understand what had transpired between them.
“Why not?” I demanded. “You have to eat.”
“I’ll eat with the servants,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushing, and my mouth gaped open. An awkward silence fell between us.
“You don’t need to walk me back,” I said, slipping my shoes back on. I waited for something to happen, anything, but I felt exactly the same as before.
“I don’t mind,” Odette said quickly. “If it’s all the same to you.”
She added the last part apologetically. I nodded in agreement. She exhaled as if she had been holding her breath in anticipation of my negative response.
Waving her hand around, she extinguished the candles she had lit while my eyes were closed, and with a single clap of her hand, the light bulb went off overhead as the door swung open in unison. The guards all jolted at the unexpected arrival but quickly recovered their positions.
“You need to stay here,” the guard I had argued with earlier told Odette.
Baffled, I stared at him, casting Odette a sidelong look. She hung her head and ducked back across the threshold.
“No, she doesn’t. She’s with me,” I countered. “Or are you going to make this a big thing, too?”
He frowned but bowed his head and stepped back as Odette gave me a grateful look. “Thanks,” she mumbled. “I don’t deserve your kindness.”
No. You don’t,I conceded silently, but I shoved aside my lingering animosity. She had just encompassed me in a shroud of protection. The least I could do was give her a second chance.
Nyx never did tellme what had specifically led to Odette’s in-house exile, which made me think it had to do with me.
“It doesn’t matter,” he told me that night as we snuggled together in bed. “All that matters is that you and our baby are safe.”
“Can I start leaving the castle again, now that I’m protected?” I asked hopefully.
To my astonishment, he kissed my forehead and nodded. “That’s my hope. I still want to take it slow, though, okay? Can we baby step this?”
