“Who are the poor souls who have to clean this up?” I asked him, not sure I wanted to know.
“Oh, I’m just going to pay to have the building demolished,” Evander said carelessly.
“Oh.”
He leaned his head over and unshielded his face. “Don’t tell me you actually like this little shop?”
“I never said I didn’t like the shop. I just didn’t like that you’d already filled it.”
He grinned, his eyes lighting up. “I’m only teasing. I’ve already told the castle’s cleaning staff to be here in an hour or two.”
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. “Has it ever occurred to you that you make their jobs harder on them?”
His sea-green eyes sparked with mischief. “Okay, Miss Judgmental. You shattered more glass than I did.”
“I’ll just have to clean it up, then. You can stay to help me if you wish.”
He rolled his eyes and sat up, and I tried to ignore the emptiness I felt when the weight of his head no longer rested on my belly.
“I informed the cleaning staff beforehand and offered a hefty tip to anyone who voluntarily decided they wanted to help clean it up. Those who wanted the extra money agreed. The others stayed behind, specifically the older ones. Apparently, from what they tell me, they’ve had plenty of tips from me to fund their families’ cottages in the city. And that I do too much for them as it is.”
“Oh.”
“Mhm.” He stood to leave, and I struggled against my suit to follow him. A flicker of amusement crossed his lips. “I should just leave you here for your rude little comment.”
I sighed and laid my heavy head back on the ground. “I can’t say I’d blame you if you did. Sorry, I can’t seem to stop the insults from flowing. I don’t know why I do that.”
Evander just laughed, and he scraped his gauntlet against his helmet, like he’d forgotten he couldn’t scrape his fingers through his hair. “It’s all right. I’d take your little snubs over your silence any day,” he said before tossing his helmet across the room.
He extended a hand, and I took it. When he lifted me, my feet left the ground for a moment, and he drew me close to his chest. He pulled a bit harder than necessary, sending our armor clanking against one another’s yet again. My breath caught as he drew his face close to mine. “Forgive me yet?”
I nodded, breathless, as he leaned in closer, his shining eyes piercing me through.
“Good,” he said, drawing back quickly with an amused grin on his face that said only one thing: I win.
It took everything in me not to throw a rock at him as he made me trudge back up to the castle in that ridiculous outfit.
CHAPTER 38
ELLIE
I might have spent more time replaying my and Evander’s escapades in the glass shop had I not happened across something else that snagged my attention.
By the time Evander returned me to my room, my mother was gone. She’d left a note on my vanity saying how wonderful it had been to see me and that she hoped I enjoyed whatever adventure Evander had planned for me.
It took me at least half an hour and a few scratches and yelps, but I somehow managed to free myself of the suit of armor.
I took one look at the pile of metal on the floor, buckles hanging loose like snakes from tree limbs, and decided I’d worry about it later.
Besides. I had an urgent need that demanded attention.
And Evander had left behind my brand new key.
Using the map Imogen had made for me before the attack that had left me unable to explore as much as I would have liked, I wound my way down staircases and through dark corridors until I reached the kitchens. Blaise had once mentioned that her and Imogen’s room was close by… There.
A scullery maid pushed open a door, and behind her I caught a glimpse of a hallway full of doors. She took note of me, scanning me with skepticism, but she said nothing.
A moment later, and I was in.
Now to find Blaise and relieve the desperate need I suddenly had to discuss the blooming butterflies in my stomach with a girlfriend.
It was an odd sensation, a lovely one. Not just the whirl of emotion I got in Evander’s presence, the song of his voice as it echoed in my ears. But the way it welled within me, filling me up until I was threatening to burst and just had to tell someone about it.
I had to tell Blaise about it.
Was this what all those girls growing up had been raving about—the instant bestfriendhood that had never quite been within my grasp?
It would probably disgust Blaise, the idea of her friend developing feelings for the male who was practically her brother, but perhaps she could put that aside for a moment.
I just needed someone to giggle with.
How odd.
When I knocked on Blaise and Imogen’s door (thankfully there was a plaque with their names on it), no one answered. Though I could hear shuffling inside.
A moment later Imogen answered, though she cracked open the door only a smidge. “Milady,” she said curtly, her murky eyes slit with suspicion.
I forced a smile to my lips. I tried to feel pity for Imogen; I really did. But honestly. I’d done nothing to encourage her mood swings or the venom that often seemed to leak from her presence. “I’m looking for Blaise.”
