Page 10 of The Blade in the Ashes
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just that…” Nessira swallowed. “Well, I believe you are stronger than you realize, Thea, for more reasons than you think. Even so, youmustremember that you don’t have your powers right now. You must be careful.”
She squeezed my wrist once, in a final silent plea as I nodded reassuringly. Of course, I would be careful.
I knew what I was doing.
I’d managed Camilla’s attacks.
I'd managed the Dragon’s persecution.
I could manage Hyrax andCaldrius too.
“How long are you going to stare at me?” I exhaled, my toes tapping impatiently against the floor.
We had been in this silent standoff for five minutes. When I had first opened the door, Caldrius had taken a single, long look at me, opened his mouth, and then slammed it shut, before tilting his head, giving me a second once-over, and sighing.
Even now, he only blinked in response, eyes sweeping over me from the top of the jagged crown to where the gown pooled at my feet. That was thethirdtime he had given me such an appraisal.
“What. Are. You. Wearing?” He punctuated the sentence with a purposeful pause between each word.
I looked down at myself, ignoring the sound of Nessira’s snickering from where she lingered in my bedroom.
“It’s typically referred to as a gown.”
“Where did you get it?” he asked incredulously, his upper lip curling backwards as if my fashion choices offended him.
I peered up at him blankly. “From my closet, of course.”
He clicked his tongue, brows pinching together.
“Do you not like it?” I questioned with a lifted brow.
Caldrius continued staring, his eyes rapidly filtering over the fabric.
“It’s…” his voice trailed off, and he waved his hand in the air while he searched for the right words. “I like it perfectly fine. I suppose I’m just surprised thatyoulike it.”
My stomach flipped uneasily, and I took a quick step forward, forcing him to back out of my parlor and into the hall. Nessira approached behind us, resting her hand against my wooden door and preparing to close it behind us.
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought.”
“Maybe I know you exactly as well as I thought.”
He refused to back away any further, so we lingered in the doorway of my suite. Nessira stood at my back while the guards stood at his, a captivated audience to whatever we said to one another.
“You told me to come to dinner,” I reminded him. Another step forward. “You told me to wear the crown. So here I am—dressed for dinner and wearing the crown. What else would you like from me at this juncture?”
His own crown, a matching one to that on my head, rested easily above his tousled dark hair. It was the only part of him that looked like the consort of a Crown Princess, though. His clothing resembled the garments that he had favored in the Underworld. Thick trousers appropriate for riding and a simple buttoned black shirt under a thick jacket.
Caldrius’ eyes scanned over me again for the fourth time, and I could practically see the thoughts whirling about his head.
He would not make this easy, and my patience was as thin as a wire.
“Fine. You’re right,” I sighed, rounding my shoulders and forcing a show of sounding defeated. “This isn’t the kind of gown I would normally wear.”
His eyes narrowed, dark lips pushing forward into a doubtful pout.
“But my circumstances are different now. Iamthe Crown Princess. Whether or not I like it, the people of this nation are going to look to me with certain expectations. I had thought this might be more appropriate for my new station.”
