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Slipping off my robe, I noted that all the guards turned away respectfully, keeping their backs to us, but one, Jasper, cast sidelong glances at Maywin expectantly, like he was waiting for her to strip off her work uniform, too.
I sprawled my tan legs in front of me, dropping my head back against the back of the angled chair.
“I’m getting accustomed to the guards,” Maywin admitted, her gaze back toward Jasper.
My eyebrows shot up in vague amusement, but I made no comment as I realized perhaps my servant had developed a small romance right under my nose.
At least one of us is enjoying this madness. There’s some silver lining.
I couldn’t complain too much, however. In the wake of the attack, Cade had spent every possible moment with me, his worry palpable.
He didn’t want to leave me alone, and I savored his companionship, even though it was for the wrong reasons.
Maywin began to unpack the picnic basket she had brought along. I nodded toward the guards again.
“Offer them something to eat and drink, too,” I suggested. “They’ve been in the hot sun all day.”
Maywin’s face brightened. “Thank you, miss,” she said happily, rising to speak privately with Jasper, and I grinned at the sight.
I turned away to stare at the still waters of the pool, debating whether or not it was warm enough for a swim yet, the early morning hours still bearing a mild chill to the air. Inhaling the succulent summer air deeply, a small movement caught the corner of my eye. Tension sprang me forward in my seat, my sunglasses falling to the bridge of my nose, and my lips parted to call out, but the words died there when the figure emerged from the shrubbery beyond the poolside, her finger pressed worriedly to her candy-pink lips.
Glancing behind me, I noted that all the guards were now distracted by Maywin and her picnic basket, and I slowly rose, inching toward the blonde-haired fae lingering in the bushes.
Careful to move slowly and casually, I finally wandered discreetly to where Stralia hid.
“What are you doing sneaking around like this, Stralia?” I hissed, again looking over my shoulder, sure we’d be found, but Maywin was distracting the males well enough at the moment to buy me some time.
“Forgive me, miss,” she told me, curtseying without irony or malice for once. She kept her eyes trained on the ground when she straightened. “I’ve been trying to get you alone for days, but it’s impossible with all the guards around you.”
Alarm spiked through my veins, and I stepped back. “Why?”
“Oh!” Stralia’s head jerked up, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “I just wanted to speak with you. I’m sorry. That sounded threatening, didn’t it?”
I swallowed and kept my distance.
“Miss, what are you doing over there?” Maywin called out, and I was sure the gig was up.
Stralia ducked back into the shrubbery, shaking her head vehemently. “Please, don’t tell anyone I’m here. If the Alpha King hears about this, he’ll banish me for sure this time, and I just wanted to have a private word. I wouldn’t have come to you when guards surrounded you otherwise.”
I made a split-second decision, believing her in the heat of the moment, and whirled around to address Maywin.
“Stay where you are!” I ordered my servant as the security team started toward me. “I’m… just getting a closer look at the flowers over here.”
In unison, everyone stopped in their tracks.
They looked at one another and remained in place as I stepped back into the shrubs with Stralia.
“Please, don’t tell anyone about this,” she begged.
“Cade won’t banish you, Stralia,” I told her. “He cares about you.”
I spoke the words evenly, keeping my own sentiments out of the statement. As much as their relationship still bothered me, I couldn’t discount their history. “Is that why you’re here? You’re worried that he’s going to ask you to leave?”
“I-I can’t…” She inhaled and twisted her fingers nervously. “Could we talk tonight? Just you and me? Alone, without guards breathing down my neck?”
“I don’t see how,” I replied honestly. “I have guards with me constantly.”
Stralia looked around nervously, sweat popping over her brow as if she could sense the guards closing in.
