She eyes me suspiciously but says nothing more as I scramble around her. The wine sloshes in the jar as I climb the stairs too quickly, spilling crimson drops that look like blood on the stone steps.
Cook’s gaze bores into my back, but I don’t turn around. Instead, I race up the stairs, my heart pounding in my chest as I navigate the winding corridors. Finally, I reach my bedchamber and hurry inside, shutting the door behind me with a resounding thud. With trembling fingers, I lock it, then rush to my bed.
I sit on the edge of the mattress and trace my lips with my free hand. It’s the first time I have ever been with a man.
Well...as Annora, anyway.
Not that I had exactly been with him in the fullest sense. But he had kissed me and touched me with such passion. Surely, he wouldn’t do those things if he didn’t yearn for me the same way I yearn for him.
I place the jar of wine on the nearby table, the pottery clinking softly against the polished wood. Then, I lie back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling.
He likes me. Me, the woman locked away by her tyrannical grandfather. The woman scorned and belittled by her mother.
Despite all of that, Jasce sees something in me, something worth desiring.
I smile again, my fingertips ghosting over my lips again as I recall the sensation of his mouth on mine.
For the first time in my life, I feel truly wanted by a man, and it’s thrillingandterrifying.
ChapterSeven
ANNORA
When the sunsinks low in the windows, I take a deep, steadying breath and exit my bedchamber. My mind still reels with memories of Jasce, but I know my sisters will be expecting me for the evening meal.
The stone walls blur together as I navigate the familiar path to the Great Hall. When I finally enter the room, the low murmur of conversation falls away.
Emerin looks up from her plate and greets me with a warm, reassuring smile that eases some of the tightness in my chest.
“There you are, Rora” she says. “We were starting to wonder where you’d disappeared to.”
“I just needed a moment to myself,” I say as I return her smile.
Emerin nods understandingly and gestures for me to sit beside her. I settle into the chair, my gaze drifting over the spread of food before us. Succulent roasted meats, crisp vegetables, and freshly baked bread fill the table, but my appetite seems to have vanished.
I pick at a piece of bread, tearing off small chunks and popping them into my mouth.
Tahira leans forward, her brows furrowed in concern. “Are you feeling all right? You look a bit flushed.”
Flushed? That word cannot begin to describe the way Jasce’s heat lingers on my skin.
I nod and reach for my goblet of wine. “I’m all right.”
As I sip the wine, my thoughts drift back to Jasce again. I shift in my seat, trying to push the memories aside and focus on the conversation around me. But it’s no use. Every time I close my eyes, I see his face. Every time there’s a lull in the chatter, I hear his voice whispering in my ear. It’s as if he’s imprinted himself on my very soul, and I don’t know how to break free.
I force myself to take a bite of roasted chicken, but even as I chew, my mind is far away, lost in the memory of Jasce’s embrace.
Asha leans across the table and holds out a package toward me. “I got this for your birthday. It just took me longer than I anticipated to find it.”
I reach out and take the package from Asha, feeling the weight of it in my hands. It’s heavy, but not too heavy, and it’s wrapped in a soft material.
Her eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiles at me. “Open it.”
I carefully untie the ribbon and peel back the wrapping, revealing a leather-bound book. My breath hitches as I run my fingers over the cover, tracing the intricate designs etched into the supple leather.
As I open the book, the scent of parchment and ink wafts up to greet me. The pages are thick and smooth, the edges gilded in gold. When I flip through the parchment, I realize it’s a collection of my favorite poems, the ones I’ve read and reread countless times.
But this copy is different. It’s special. The illustrations are hand drawn, the colors vibrant and alive.
