I was so transfixed—watching the riders sweep across the dance floor, hearing the notes and soft melodies glide through the air, the giddy chatter, the drinking, the laughing, the carelessness of it all—that I forgot what I came here to do.
There were nearly a hundred people standing on the portion of terrace I could see, and I still couldn’t take everything in fast enough.
“This is for riders only.” A deep voice had my heart in my throat. I whirled, my foot catching on the curtain I was hiding behind as I came face to face with pale brown eyes.
Arrik’s expression was set, just as hard and menacing as he had been all day. It made it impossible to read his emotions other than the slight agitation radiating from him. It was obvious being my escort was a nuisance to him, but I didn’t care. I found him equally as annoying.
“I wasn’t planning on going outside,” I intoned.
“I told you not to leave your room.”
I straightened, my own eyes narrowing to match his. “I wasn’t aware I took orders from you.”
“Is this what got you into trouble in Moriann that had you risking your life to flee the Dead King?” He crossed his arms over his chest, the movement drawing my attention to his biceps before I flicked my gaze back up. “Being in places you shouldn’t be?”
“It’s none of your business.”
He assessed me for a moment. “I’ll walk you back to your room.”
“No, you won’t.” I honestly had no idea what was coming over me. I couldn’t compose myself around him.
A glint of annoyance flashed across his face. “If anyone catches you right now, you’ll be worse off than you were in Moriann.”
I glanced back toward the terrace, seeing the debauchery in a new light. The riders honestly looked more intoxicated than the crowd who had watched them from the stands all day. Everyone was sloppy, careless, acting as if this was their last night alive… which according to Cash, it would be.
“Trust me,” he added when I still didn’t move, but there wasn’t any taunting to his voice now.
“Why?”
“Because there’s always one Wielder who doesn’t listen to the rules.”
I arched my brow. “Rules?”
“You’re not a drakin and you’re currently standing outside a rider-only threshold.”
“So why are you here instead of out there?” I gestured past the curtain, toward the dancing.
“I’m looking for the feast’s entertainment, and I’ve seen enough of you today that I don’t particularly care to watch you become it.”
My gaze snapped to his and my stomach plummeted. I honestly couldn’t tell if I wanted to ask him what that meant.
Either way, I wasn’t going to press my luck by standing here any longer. The rider with the blood on his pants flashed in my mind—they did that to their own and I watched all day as the other riders seemed tomock him—I didn’t want to find out what would happen to me if I broke their stupid rules.
Well, if I gotcaughtbreaking their rules, because in order to do what I needed to for Dahes, I was going to be breaking numerous rules. I didn’t have a choice.
I stormed past him, making my way toward the hallway I came from. I heard footsteps behind me and knew he was following without turning to look.
I didn’t need or want his help—I knew my way around the castle enough to find my way back to my room. He didn’t have to show me, which made his heavy footsteps alarming. I kept thinking he was going to change his mind and I’d find out what ‘being theentertainment’meant.
It had me walking faster.
I was a second away from grabbing the handle of my door when his voice startled me again. “Nollie.”
My body locked up the moment my name left his lips. It shouldn’t have bothered me. It was just a name—a name I hadn’t heard someone call me in the past seven years until I came here…
“You should leave.”
I whirled, then pointed toward the door. “What do you think I’m doing?—”
