Page 9 of A Sea So Cruel
The way he could make her royal title sound so belittling set Asta on edge.
“You sat in my seat,” she snapped.
His brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”
Asta placed her hands on her hips. “My seat in the dining hall. I always sit between Maren and Linnea, right where you decided to plant your ass today.”
Kaid cocked his head to the side, his dark hair sliding down his shoulder. “I didn’t realize we had assigned seats. We didn’t think you would show up, anyhow. Next time, I’ll make sure there are place cards on each chair.”
“I only showed for the bacon.”
“Ah, so you like meat. I was beginning to think you were a prude altogether.” Kaid smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest, the hard edges of his muscles capturing Asta’s stare for a beat.
Her face tightened at his implication. “You’re despicable.”
“You’re the only one that thinks that.”
“You’re to marry my sister and do what? Have affairs the entire time you’re married?”
Asta had meant for those words to slice through the air, but instead, they sounded as though she were in pain. Was that why she hated him so much? She didn’t want what happened to her own mother to happen to Maren?
The corners of Kaid’s mouth turned down, his posture loosening. “It won’t be like that. I don’t want to be miserable the rest of my life. I need this marriage to work as much as Princess Maren does.”
When she surveyed his face, Asta could see no sign of deception. “This doesn’t mean I’ll instantly stop hating you.”
“I would expect nothing less from you, blondie.”
Her teeth gritted at the nickname, but she didn’t feel like arguing anymore. She just wanted to read and forget about this stupid breakfast. She could feel the bones in her hands starting to ache, that familiar tight ball in her chest coiling by the second.
Asta placed one hand on the handle of her door and the other on the frame of it. She caught Kaid assessing the hand placement, but she didn’t move them. “Goodbye, neighbor.”
Asta tapped the frame and opened the door, about to step inside when Kaid asked, “Why do you do that? The tapping?”
The color drained from Asta’s face. He had been watching her, observing her habits. She couldn’t explain them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Asta rushed into her suite and slammed her door behind her.
Chapter 5
Kaid was bored. So,sobored. He and Halsten could only keep themselves so busy in a suite, but where were they to go? He didn’t want to wander too far in case Maren requested his company, and he also couldn’t exactly head into town without being recognized by villagers.
Asta had struck a sore spot this morning during their argument in the hall. He didn’t want to be the unfaithful husband, and he surely wouldn’t be. Which was why he now decided to fall in love with Maren as quickly as possible.
But that would be harder than he had hoped. First, he had to remold his brain into realizing love was actually a good thing.Second, he needed to actually feel a spark with Princess Maren. She was pleasant enough, but there was no fire in her. He had met many redheads before and they were always plucky and fun, but the princess was different. She was mature, of course, but almost as though she had been alive far longer than anyone in this castle altogether—stoic and ethereal. He hoped that it was a front, and that behind closed doors, he could hear her laugh and let loose.
It was almost dark now, and Halsten had taken to drinking hours ago to pass the time. He had been bouncing a ball against a wall, but Kaid realized the noise had stopped. He turned to see that Halsten had passed out on the chaise in front of the hearth, the ball rolling across the glossy wooden floor.
Kaid laughed quietly, thinking his friend was a fool for drinking so much that he passed out before dark. But that had been their life until this last week, hadn’t it? Eat, drink, socialize, sleep. Over and over and over. He had never wanted anything more than that for his future.
Kaid never felt like he belonged in politics. He never felt like he belonged anywhere, really. He felt like a black sheep, but was not treated as an outcast. Instead, he was a prize to be won. His wool was the rarest color, everyone loving him without even really knowing him.
He walked to his bedroom and stared through the window at the crashing waves. He never imagined the ocean would look so vicious. Everyone had told him how calming it was, how peaceful. All Kaid had seen since his arrival was nearly flooding tides and large, foamy waves. But still, it called to him. He couldn’t explain the pull he felt, the need to run his hands through the briny water. The tug was there while he ate, while he exercised, even while he slept. There was a murmur in his ear, but no words were distinguishable. Like a babbling brook, but louder. A screaming sea.
The sunset over the water tonight was incomparable to any he had seen. Kaid thought the sunsets in Haalberg were the most magnificent, but he now knew he was wrong. He’d never seen such a vibrant array of purples, pinks, and oranges. And those colors reflected onto the grounds around him, causing the world to look as though it were on fire. Like the air itself was ablaze.
There was movement on the castle wall far off to Kaid’s left, and after a few hard blinks, he realized it was a cloaked figure climbing down. He thought he was hallucinating. Who would be crazy enough to do such a thing? Scaling down the castle couldn’t be an easy task, let alone a safe one heading toward the rough waters below. He tried to guess the area of the castle, and though he had only been here a few days, he deduced that it was the north wing.
Kaid stalked back into his common room to find Halsten still passed out, so he swung his cloak over his shoulders and made for the hall. Finally, something interesting was happening around here.
