Page 90 of The Mercy of Dawn

A slower tempo this time, but Cyril didn’t mind. It gave her a chance to take a glance around the room, looking and looking and looking—

“Your uncle’s gone, if that’s who you’re looking for.”

Cyril didn’t mean to glare at the prince. But she did, briefly, before scanning the crowd again.

Mikael chuckled as he said, “I’m serious. Saw him leave with, ah…”

She cut him another narrowed glance.

“Who did he leave with?”

It wasn’t Lars or Runa, who she could see chatting with a couple at their table. The crown prince and his wife weren’t at their table anymore, but she doubted Dion would have left with the reserved pair.

If that meant the rest of her uncles had come back and Dion thought they could all slip away unnoticed, she’d have a bone to pick with all of them.

“Ah, well…” A wry, uncomfortable smile pulled at his lips. “A couple of ladies.”

A shudder rippled through her.

Of course, that would be the one reason he’d up and leave Cyril to fend for herself. Ren was right when he said Dion would fuck anything that—

“Ask me something.”

Cyril blinked up at Mikael. “Excuse me?”

“Aren’t rogues supposed to be good at gathering intel?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“They—we are.”

“Then why haven’t you asked me anything?”

“Why haven’t I?” she scoffed.

“Look, Cyril. You’re uncomfortable, and it’s making me uncomfortable,” he said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “So change the topic, ask me something.”

Cyril rolled her eyes.

This felt awfully reminiscent of that awful dinner on her first night in Reykr. At least he wasn’t trying to ask her questions this time.

Mikael spun her away as she thought, that distracting blue gaze on her the entire time. He drew her back faster than she expected, though, and she landed with a quiet oof against his chest.

“Why don’t you wear your hair down?” Cyril blurted out with little thought, if only to smother the awkwardness bubbling up from having her hand splayed center-mass on his chest. She slid her fingers across his well-tailored dress uniform to settle back on his shoulder.

He raised a brow at her, face laden with amusement.

“That’s your question? About my hair?”

“I, well…”

In hindsight, that was a stupid thing to ask.

Like his appearance was something she just sat around thinking about…

Well, maybe she had a few times. Especially over the last week. But he didn’t need to know that, and she was going to run with this.

Cyril straightened herself up a bit and, matter-of-factly, said, “I just don’t understand men who keep their hair long and never wear it down.”