Kane pauses for a moment, as if weighing the request, then closes the distance between us in just two strides. His presence behind me is an electric current, the fire’s warmth mixing with the heat sparking through my body. He stands behind me, our shared silence punctuated only by our breathing and the soft rhythmic susurrus of the laces as he weaves them through the eyelets.
Each brush of his rough fingertips against my bare skin sends a cascade of goose bumps down my arms and across my chest. Heat creeps into my cheeks, and I’m relieved he can’t see the way they flame when he touches me.
Craning my neck slightly, I glance over my shoulder. Our eyes meet in a loaded exchange. “It fits in, right? I look like I belong here?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Kane’s dark eyes hold mine, something unspoken flickering in their depths. The intensity of his gaze makes it hard to swallow. Then, clearing his throat, he swiftly ties a final knot and steps back. “It’ll do.”
I frown. Not the most flattering compliment, but certainly not the worst I’ve heard.
“Thanks,” I say, a small part of me missing the warmth of him as he retreats to the table.
Sometime while I was in and out of sleep, letting the magick do its work, Kane placed my sodden boots in front of the hearth to dry. When I slip into them, they’re soothingly warm and coax out a contented sigh.
No more desperate-and-stuck Hannah. I begin my internal pep talk, wiggling my toes in the warm cloud of my boots. No, ma’am. She died when I fell into this world, and now I’m beginning a new era. I’m evolving and independent. I don’t need a man. More than that, I don’t even want a man. I want expansion and autonomy.
I breathe in a new sense of determination and mentally rehearse my plan once again.
I’ll go to the palace, tell them I left my purse inside, and they’ll retrieve it from that massive bedroom. Then I’ll pull out the Empress card, and it’ll open a new portal. I’ll be back at home before anyone even realizes I left.
Expansion and autonomy…evolution and independence… Expansion and autonomy…evolution and independence.
I march over to Kane, the mantra cycling through my thoughts and adding a little extra pep to my step. “I’m leaving.”
Kane glances up, pausing midbite. “Stay, Fawn. Wait until the palace reopens its gates.”
I pull the pan over and use a hunk of bread to scoop up a pile of eggs. I take one bite and then another and another, not caring that I’m scarfing down food like a barbarian.
“It’s not long,” he continues. “Only six months. That’s how I gained access before, undetected.”
“Did you sneak in to save the king and stop the rot?” I wave my hand in the air to keep him from re-explaining. I cannot get distracted. “I’m not waiting.” I grab the bottle and take a bold swig of the remaining ale, keeping my expression stoic despite its sweetness and the random herbs that stick between my teeth. “I’m going now. I’d love a ride, but I don’t need your horse. I can walk there. It can’t be that far.”
“Fawn—” Kane starts another protest, but I cut him off.
“Nooope.” I draw out the word and add an extra sway to my hips as I head for the door. Before I make my exit, I pause next to the open chest and dip down to grab a handful of gold coins. “And I’m taking these with me.”
Nine
I’m not far from Kane’s cabin when I emerge from the cover of the forest and onto a path bordered on one side by the dense tree line and the other by a deep and marshy ditch. My boots sink into the soft earth, the road’s surface churned into mud by countless horse hooves and the carved ruts of nonmotorized wheels.
“Figures,” I mumble, unfazed by the complete lack of cars as my gaze follows the path and lands on the distant city nestled around the majestic palace that dominates the horizon. Its spires reach skyward, each one crowned with shimmering golden finials that catch the light and twinkle like stars. Next to it is another tall, wide building, and this far out, it looks like the perfect sandcastle tower. “I knew it wasn’t that far.”
From behind me, Kane’s voice breaks through my grumblings. “Did you say something?”
I let out a frustrated sigh and clench my hands into fists as I pick my way around muddy puddles and jutting rocks. “Not to you.”
“Hear that, Shadow?” The horse lets out a soft blow of air. “Seems the lady isn’t talking to us.”
Shadow nickers, and I can’t help but glance over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of him affectionately patting the mare’s glossy black coat.
“Have you changed your mind? Decided to do the gentlemanly thing and give me a ride?” I toss back at him as I resume watching my footing. The tips of my boots flash from beneath the velvet hem of my dress, making only a fleeting appearance before they disappear back under the long fabric.
He shifts his weight, and the saddle creaks beneath him. “Have you changed your mind and decided to do the reasonable thing and wait for a more suitable time to storm the palace?”
“I’m not being unreasonable or storming the palace.”
“And I’m not making it easier for you to go along with this reckless scheme.”
I glance back over my shoulder at his smug grin. No longer watching where I’m going, I step in a puddle, muddy water and tiny pebbles seeping into my broken boot. “Frustrating, absolutely miserable man,” I grumble, returning to my mutterings.
