Page 60 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
As the music picked up speed again, returning to the fast-paced string melodies favored by the Tenebrisians, Emperor Kamon began speaking animatedly about the musicians and their skill. I tried to focus on his words, but my attention kept drifting back to Clay. He stood at the edge of the room now, his wineglass in hand, watching me with an intensity that set my skin aflame.
Then, without a word or a glance in my direction, he turned and strode out of the room, leaving me alone with the lingering echoes of his touch.
Chapter Sixteen
Veric kindly walked me back to my room at the end of the evening. He animatedly pointed out his favorite aspects of the palace’s architecture as we walked. He truly came alive while talking about Tenebris, his passion awe-inspiring but also somewhat disheartening. It had only taken a single night in his presence to see how painfully clear it was that he was going to miss this place terribly.
And I felt downright awful that I was the reason he was being dragged away.
After bidding him goodnight, I lost myself in my thoughts as I sat in front of the mirror, combing out my hair. There had to be a way to ensure some semblance of his happiness in Athenia. Surely, I could use my funds to redecorate Hyrax Estate. While I couldn’t rebuild the manor in Tenebrisian style, I should be able to add brightly colored textiles and pillows like those common here. We could even hire a chef familiar with Tenebrisian cuisine. Perhaps I could find a temporary cure for my sea sickness, allowing us to return to Tenebris regularly. We could build a home here to visit when the air got cold in Athenia.
Veric had been nothing like I’d expected, and I couldn’t help feeling disappointed in myself for not considering him more deeply before tonight. I had been so consumed by my hatred for this arrangement that I hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that he, too, was being forced to marry astranger. And if that wasn’t difficult enough, he was also being uprooted from his home, his family, and the culture he so clearly adored to spend the rest of his life in Athenia—with me.
This arrangement wasn’t just hurting me.
If there was a way to make this easier for Veric, I would find it—for him and for both of us. And maybe, just maybe, after enough time, I could grow out of the burning want that consumed me every time I met Clay’s eyes and learn to show a fraction of that affection to Veric.
I wasn’t expecting any more company that evening, so the gentle knock at my door startled me. Jumping from my seat, I clutched my chest. Tentatively, I called my magic to my fingertips, and grasped the dagger in my hand as I approached the door, relaxing only when a familiar voice called my name.
“Thea, let me in.”
I pulled open the door quickly, glancing at him in confusion.
Clay was alone, leaning against the doorframe with heavy-lidded eyes and a lopsided smirk. His disheveled hair dangled slightly in front of his eyes, and I felt an overwhelming urge to brush it back even as he chuckled at the dagger in my hand.
“Are you going to stab me?
“What do you want?” I asked with exasperation, pulling my rust-colored robe tighter around me.
His grin widened, more playful than usual, as he held up a bottle of wine like an offering. “I want help finishing this.”
Gods.Thatwas the cause of the playfulness and the mischevious smirks. He was drunk.
I frowned. “It’s a bit late for a visit, don’t you think?”
His head tilted to the side and he pulled his lower lip across his teeth. “No one has to know.”
“It’s improper.”
“So what?”
Who was this man and what had he done to the Clayton Vail from last year who had insisted on decorum at all costs?
This was a terrible idea. Allowing Clay into my room, drunk, alone, in the middle of the night was aterribleidea. There was no way I could let this happen.
“I’m still angry at you!” My voice raised an octave as I struggled to find an excuse to turn him away, and I wondered if he could hear it for the lie it was.
“Exactly. That’s why I’m offering to split the finest wine in this kingdom as an olive branch.”
“Well, what would your fiancé think of that?” I shot back.
He groaned, holding a hand to his chest as he rocked back on his heels, but his smile didn’t falter. “Trust me,” he said, “she’ll be thrilled to hear about this.”
That… was intriguing.
And I was definitely running out of excuses to stop myself from grabbing his shirt and pulling him inside. Want for him coiled in my stomach as I stared at him, at the line of his jaw and the fullness of his lips and the effortless confidence of his stance…
No.
