Page 94 of The Faceless Queen

His mouth tightened, some unreadable look in his eyes, but he nodded. “That was kind of you to do.”

I shrugged, knowing we were in dangerous territory. “Is everything all right with the hunt you spoke about?” I asked, my heart racing.

“Oh,” Brennan laughed, “of course. It was nothing, as usual. He just wanted to ask about some of the recent sightings of the boar we’re after, questions he certainly knows the answers to.”

“I see.” A weight lifted from my chest. Gods! The boar hunt. Not the hunt for me. I nearly gasped in relief.

“And in good news, the king granted us permission to take a temporary leave of the ball.” He gestured to his guard, half a dozen soldiers in blue cloaks and tunics embroidered with blue moonstags and flames.

We exited through the stairs leading to the back hall, and then Brennan took me through a maze of corridors that led right out into an atrium garden where fresh flowers were blooming beneath the light of the moon, their scent filling the air, and in the leafy oak trees peppering the space, robins chirped. Vines ran up the surrounding walls full of roses that reminded me of the ones in Azeal. We were perfectly encased within the safety of the castle, and yet surrounded by nature, with a clear view of the sky.

“This is Lafir Castle’s moon garden,” he said.

I stared in genuine awe, looking up at the full moon, and then seeing how its reflected light lit up the garden, an effect achieved with some carefully placed mirrors and torches. I spun around and shook my head, almost in disbelief. “It’s beautiful.”

His eyes were on me. “It is.”

My chest tightened as I stared back, and for a second, Brennan seemed to lean in toward me, like he was lost for a moment in my eyes. But then he began to scan the garden slowly and methodically, his gaze falling on every garden entrance and every guard who’d come to protect us.

“There’s something I want to show you,” he said, and reached for my hand.

Brennan walked us past a small bench situated beneath two trees whose branches looked as if they were reaching for each other. And then behind it was the oak, its branches hanging so low, we had to duck to get past them and reach the trunk. His guard dispersed to take their stations at every possible entrance to the garden. But they were just out of earshot, and with the low-hanging leaves, for once we couldn’t be seen. We were completely alone.

“This is nice,” I said, somewhat nervous. I released his hand and turned in a circle, taking it all in. “Peaceful.”

“Private,” he said.

I swallowed, turning my body back toward his.

“I used to come here as a boy,” he continued, running his fingers through the leaves of a branch just above his head. Though it was spring, they looked more gold than green in the moonlight and torchlight. “I called it my secret spot.”

I smiled, glancing side to side. “Doesn’t seem so secret.”

He laughed. “Well, to me it was when I was too young to understand that just because I couldn’t see my guards, it didn’t mean that they didn’t know exactly where I was, and were standing at the entranceways, exactly as they are now.”

I laughed.

“But I guess the nickname stuck. At least in my mind. I still like to come here to read, to draw, to think, and while I know it’s,” he sighed, “clearly not so secret, it’s a good place for us to talk, a place where we’re not likely to be overheard.”

“Oh,” I said, my heart racing.

Brennan’s expression turned serious, and he took another step toward me. “Can I ask you something? Something … strange?”

The racing in my chest turned to a drum-like thud. “Of course. Anything.”

“That dancer you spoke to just before—I-I didn’t want to say anything at the ball—but,” he gestured to my arm, then slowly, his fingers moved down the bracelets that still covered my wrist, until he reached my hands, his fingers lightly grazing over my skin before he pulled away. “I count four.” His eyes lifted to mine. “You started the night with six.”

“You-you noticed?” I asked, barely daring to breathe.

“I find myself noticing everything about you lately.”

“And?” I asked, too afraid of where he was going.

“You gave her two of your bracelets, didn’t you?”

I nodded slowly, my throat suddenly dry.

“Why?”