AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t mind—”
“I know, but you deserve a break.”
“Your king has asked you to join us,” I couldn’t help but add in a flat voice, mouth twitching with a supressed smile when she stared at me in terror.
“Lonan,” Ash admonished, then went to stand up. “I’ll get you a chair.”
“I’ll get it!” Gillie barely wobbled as he made his way to the nearest banquet table and grabbed an empty chair.
I cleared my throat, leaning forward. “Nua, how exactly is Gillie still standing?”
He laughed. “Strong constitution.”
Jora fidgeted beside us nervously until Gillie returned and set down the chair. He gestured to it with a flourish, grinning at her. As she hesitantly walked round and sat, Gillie thumped back into his seat beside her and started piling food on a plate.
“Do you want wine or ale?” He set the plate in front of her and reached for a cup.
“I—erm—”
He paused, raising his brows at her expectantly. She glanced at Ash again, flushing even darker, before blurting, “Wine. Please.”
Gillie poured two cups, passing her one and knocking the other against it before he downed his drink in one go. “Drink up, lass.”
She took a sip before setting down the cup and picking up her fork. But she just fiddled with it nervously, eyes darting to Ash.
He grinned and leaned forward to grab a roast potato, using it to gesture at her plate before stuffing it in his mouth, even though I knew he was already full. “Go on.”
Her shoulders unclenched a little, and she started eating with gusto.
“So, Jora.” Gillie leaned in, his voice low and conspiratorial. “Are any of the palace staff total bastards?”
She choked on a mouthful, eyes darting back to Ash.
He laughed. “It’s a good question. I don’t want you to have to work with any bastards.”
Jora glanced around warily before leaning in. “Well, none of the staff. But the courtiers were… unpleasant. Everyone’s very glad you removed them from the palace.”
Gillie snorted. “Fancy little fuckers. I wonder where they’ve gone.”
“We found them homes in the town.” Nua waved his hand and picked up his wine glass. “They still complained.”
“They might cause you problems,” I said to Ash quietly.
He nodded and pulled my hand over to thread our fingers together on top of his thigh. “We’ll deal with it if they do.”
My chair was already pushed as close to his throne as it could possibly be, but I resisted the urge to rest my head on his shoulder. I could be myself when we were alone, but I refused to let my guard down around the rest of the seelie Folk.
Gillie was whispering in Nua’s ear now, something that made his golden face flush darker as he fiddled with the stem of his wine glass. He cleared his throat as Gillie stood up and stretched with a big, theatrical yawn that made me want to snort.
“I think we might go to bed now,” Nua said, giving Ash a smile. “If that’s alright with you.”
“Oh, of course.”
Ash jumped up to hug him, not seeing the wide grin Gillie shot me as he waggled his eyebrows, which almost made me smile. After they said goodnight to me, Gillie threw his arm around Nua’s shoulders and pulled him away from the table, already whispering in his ear again.
Ash sat back down and smiled at me. “Shall we go too?”
“Yes.”
