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Right. But it just seemed as if it would take a lot of hot fire to make enough clear rock to swell a kingdom’s coffers as heavily as it had Donnelly’s. Glancing around, I didn’t see any raging infernos anywhere in Mandalay. So where exactly did they make clear rock?
This time, I was wise enough not to bother inquiring.
Besides, Brentley asked me a question about Allera, wondering what her favorite flower was, and the rest of the trip back to the castle was spent discussing her. That was fine with me. I wanted my sister to have a pleasant marriage, and if Brentley was going to ask, then I was going to give him pointers. Which I did aplenty.
When we reached the drawbridge, an eagerness filled me, a part of me realizing I was going to be able to feel my mate’s nearness again. I couldn’t wait to get her back into my bloodstream and be reassured she was close and okay.
And there, when I finally felt her, I breathed out a relieved sigh, pleased by the tug at my mark, directing me to where she was.
Brentley seemed eager to part ways, as well, saying he had some plan devised to woo my sister into his good graces. I watched him hurry off after we left our horses at the stables and had to shake my head sadly.
The poor sap had it bad. For Allera, of all people.
God help him.
And God help me; I obviously didn’t have it any better. I glanced at my two baskets, heaping with blue fruit.
How the fuck was I going to sneak these to Lady Vienne without anyone knowing about it, especially her?
Well, it wasn’t an easy task. I’ll tell you that. The first person I spotted when I stepped foot inside the keep was her husband, Sir Dickhead, chastising some guard at the other end of the corridor.
Not wanting him to spot me with so much of his wife’s favorite fruit in tow, I turned down a smaller passageway to avoid him and ended up getting myself lost for a quarter of an hour.
After a while, I grew so fed up with trying to find my way back to familiar ground that I gave up on trusting my eyes and simply followed my draw to her, and that led me straight to where she was. When she felt particularly close, I paused at a closed door. After I glanced across the hall, where one door was cracked slightly open, I saw there was a bedroom inside. So maybe this was the wing where the royal family resided. And maybe this closed door led into Vienne’s personal bedchamber.
I drew in a sharp breath, exhilarated by the prospect that this was her space. But I didn’t have time to loiter like an idiot, drooling over a closed door. I heard footsteps approaching.
Not wanting anyone—not even a gossiping servant—to catch me here with two bushels of grumpackers, I set them down outside her door and took off in the opposite direction as I heard the footsteps. But before I went, I snagged a single grumpacker for myself.
I waited until I returned to my own chambers in another wing of the keep entirely before I bit into it.
The bitter flavor made me wince until I remembered, shit, Allera had mentioned it was supposed to be peeled like an orange first, hadn’t she?
Feeling like a moron, I spit out the peeling and then tore the rest of the outer shell away from the fruit until I had a sliver of pale blue in my hand. Slowly, I lifted it to my lips, feeling as if I were sharing the moment with Vienne, experiencing my first taste of her favorite food.
My teeth sank into the tender core and the first bit of juice hit my taste buds.
“Mmm,” I murmured, nodding my understanding. It was sweet without the tang of citrus tart, but not so sweet as to be overbearing. I popped more into my mouth and chewed heartily. Its flavor was actually more subtle than I thought it would be, but then, if it were too rich and overpowering, a person could only handle small portions at a time, while this… This was easily gorged upon without consequence.
It reminded me of Vienne herself, what little I’d observed about her, anyway. She definitely wasn’t the overpowering type, but sneakily unassuming, so much so that I had a strong suspicion I could soak up more of her than I’d originally thought possible and still want more.
A tap on my door made me jump and nearly drop the uneaten half of my grumpacker.
Without waiting for my reply, the door opened and Allera hurried in. “Oh, there you are. Good. I thought I was going to have to go searching, and to be honest, I haven’t a clue where to look for anything in this place yet.”
I snorted, not believing her, because Allera had a freaky-sharp sense of direction. In fact, I bet she had the entire castle already mapped out in her head. Flopping down into a chair, I took another bite and declined to tell her how long I’d been lost inside the castle myself.
“What do you want?” I asked unceremoniously, my mouth full.
With a small frown, she sniffed. “How many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full, Urban? Dear God, it’s like you’re a—Oh!” Her eyes lit up when she saw what I was eating. “You’ve discovered grumpackers as well! Aren’t they just delicious?”
Perching herself on the armrest of my chair, she snagged a slice from me and plunked it into her mouth. “Mmm. I just love them.”
I scowled, dryly muttering, “Help yourself.”
“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” With a jaunty grin, she grabbed the rest of my grumpacker from my hand and hopped off the chair so she could eat and pace the floor.
