Page 16 of Wolfkissed
Clad in my dark burgundy dress, the collar buttoned up, it almost feels as if I’m wearing armor. Standing at my window, I look down into the yard of the manor, at the stable hands leading horses to the pasture, the servants hurrying back and forth between the coldhouse, the well, the storerooms, and the main building. I can make out the mountains beyond, a jagged blue outline against the sky, and the dragons cavorting high in the air.
Today I feel I can do this. The shock has worn off, leaving behind a veneer of calm. Let’s hope it’s enough to get me through the day.
“My lady?” Della hovers behind me. “What are your orders?”
I frown. “Are there any activities planned with the guests today?”
“Games in the garden, my lady. Lunch and dinner. Music intervals.”
Of course. Par for the course. No idea why I’d expected anything different, anything to change. Perhaps becausemylife is changing in unforeseen ways, and I imagine that the world will change with me, mirroring me.
But the world always goes on, unperturbed, while the fates of humans and fae intertwine and twist, while we suffer and rejoice and move through time like fireflies through the dusk, brief flashes of brilliance in a vast darkness.
“Your cousins have been asking after you,” she adds. “They were concerned.”
“I will join the festivities, then.” Reluctantly, I turn away from the window. “Are Kier and any other manservant coming to escort me?”
“I will send for them, my lady.”
Good.Because I suppose it’s time I faced my own personal monster.
Kier arrives, and I’m glad to see that he’s been joined by Bert, another familiar, burly manservant. I like these two men. They are serious, committed, and seem to be fond of me.
Which is why I’m afraid I can’t take them with me on this journey. I wouldn’t want to place them in any danger.
Though right now, Iamplacing them in danger, I realize, and yet I’m reluctant to send them away.
“Of course we will escort you, my lady, and make sure that fucking beast doesn’t come anywhere near you,” Kier says, thumping a fist against his broad chest. “Beg your pardon for the language. You will be safe. Have no concern.”
“We will find good chains to wrap him up with for the journey,” Bert says. “I’ll tie him up like a sausage. He won’t be able to move a finger.”
I smile and nod. Let’s hope it will be enough. “Thick ropes and chains,” I say. “Add more thick ropes and chains.”
“Has he tried to attack you?” Kier asks, his thick brows knit. “Shall I go out and bust his face open?”
“He…” I cast my mind back to my first meeting with the werewolf and come up sort of blank. Panic has hazed over the memories. I remember him snarling, jerking toward me… “I think he tried.”
“I’ll show that bastard what’s what.” Kier starts for the door, and for some unfathomable reason, I grab his forearm to stop him.
“Wait.”
He frowns. “My lady?”
“I’m not sure,” I whisper. “Not sure he tried.”
He glares, as if to say,what does that even mean?“If he thought to harm you, that’s cause enough.”
I swallow hard. “I said, wait, Kier.”
“If I kill him now,” he says, very reasonably, “then you’ll have no cause to worry about him anymore.”
Good point. A point I made myself several times already since the wolf’s arrival. But something holds me back.
“What is it?” Della asks.
“Too easy,” I whisper. “If Stepfather wants me gone, if he went into all this trouble to get a werewolf to drive me mad with fear… I’m not sure what he’ll do if the werewolf is killed before we set out.”
Kier’s eyes glaze over as he tries to follow my argument.
