Flames of Auriel (A Caeles Adventure Book 1) (11 page)

“Make sure you get all of those over there. Be careful with those!” Alice kept a watchful eye on the maids as they packed up the princess’s things. “Keep it moving ladies. We would like to be out of here before the sun is high.”

Zoe giggled at her nurse’s commanding facade. “What has you in such a hurry to return home?”

At the sound of her charge’s question, Alice picked up a discarded tunic, folded it and then handed it to a passing maid. “I’m not. I just have a bad feeling. I haven’t heard from your father since Garrett arrived.” She gave a pointed look at her charge, “And we all know a quiet Seraph is never a good sign.”

Zoe rolled her eyes and picked up one of her gowns from a trunk, “You worry too much, Alice. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Alice grabbed the gown from the princess’s hands and flicked the edge of it at her. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and go say goodbye to Prince Asher?”

Zoe felt the heat fill her face at the mention of her betrothed. She still had not been able to get her thoughts off her last encounter with him. The princess had even woken up from dreams filled with hot kisses and secret touches all starring a certain raven-haired prince. Zoe was sure her nurse could hear the quickening of her heartbeat from just the mention of Asher’s name.

The old woman raised an eyebrow at her charge and then gave a mischievous smile. Her princess’s face was as red as a tomato and her eyes had a dreamy haze to them. “Zoella?”

Zoe tugged her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it in thought. “It’s nothing, Alice. Just leave it alone.”

Alice’s laugh caused the princess to give her a sharp look, which only made the old woman laugh harder. Her little princess had done exactly what she had sworn never to do. She wondered if she knew how far she had fallen or if the prince had even figured it out yet.

“What’s so funny?” Zoe glared at her nurse’s laughing face, the blush in her face dissipating as anger set in at being the butt of a joke.

“You’re in love with him.”

Zoe scoffed, “What? No. Why…How could I?” She shook her head in denial. “He’s arrogant and stubborn, and…and such a prick!”

Alice stroked her arms, “He maybe all those things, but he’s also kind and generous to his people, and that’s what will make him a good king and a good husband.” She combed Zoe’s hair back, “That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

Zoe wrapped her arms around herself. She did not want to believe the things her nurse was saying to her. There was no way she was in love with him. If she was going to fall in love with anyone it would have been Garrett, except he had taken himself out of the running.

Garrett had always been there for her when she was unhappy, he had been the one to hold her hand whenever she was sad about her mother, and the one to tell her it was okay to cry. He had never made her feel like she had to be someone she was not just to please him.

Asher on the other hand was usually the one who caused her tears, though she never would admit it. He pulled her hair when she was small and taunted her relentlessly when she would trip over her overgrown limbs. He never let her forget that she was a girl and should not do the things she loved.

If she could think of one person in the whole kingdom to be with, Asher Greenwich would not even make the list of possibilities, but for some reason something in her still felt drawn to him. The smirk that graced his face more often than not, the way his eyes would light up when he was trying to be witty, and the feeling of being alive whenever he was near. Alice said he was a good man and Zoe was hard pressed to admit she was right, but he seemed to have a hard time showing that part of himself to her. Though, whenever she was around him she felt the need to be more of a lady just to see the look of surprise on his face.

On the other hand, Zoe loved Garrett’s heart and gentleness, but she could not stop thinking about how consumed she felt in Asher’s arms. It was like nothing mattered, Garrett was not even an option anymore. But Asher. Just the feel of him against her made her entire being feel like it was on fire. These feelings scared and excited her all at once. Auriel help her, but she wanted him. She wanted him more than she wanted anything in her life.

Could that be what love is? She was attracted to Garrett and she felt like she could be herself with him, but did she really love him or did she think she did because he was safe? He is what she knows and she knew he would never try to hurt her, but she never felt like she had to see him or just to be near him. Honestly, she had not given two thoughts as to what he was up to since she stepped into Aldabel’s Castle.

All her thoughts and actions had everything to do with Asher. She spent every waking minute thinking about him and how to elicit a certain response from him. Never once in all the years they had known each other had she wondered what the whole point of it was. Why did they pick at the other so?

Maybe Alice was right. Maybe the reason she tormented him all these years was because she could not stand the thought of him not paying attention to her. Maybe somewhere in her irrational mind she had decided that if he would not accept and love her, he was sure as hell going to notice her.

She finally looked up at Alice as tears streamed down her face. Zoe touched the tears on her face and rubbed the moisture between her fingertips. Laughter bubbled up inside of her as she realized the hilarity of the situation.

Alice looked at her, worried at her sudden outburst. “Zoella, it’s alright. You can cry if you want to, but if you are planning on seeing your prince before we leave I’d suggest you make yourself presentable or do you want him to see you a puffy mess?”

Zoe grimaced at the thought of facing Asher. Now that she knew how she felt, she could not control the unreasonable urge to run the other way. What would she do if he did not feel the same way? Would he laugh at her? No. She could not let him know not until she was sure he felt the same.

Alice placed a hand on her face, “Zoella? You should go talk to him. Quickly now.”

Zoe shook her head, “No…No, I don’t want to talk to him.” She held up her hands and tried to ward off Alice’s comforting arms. “I need time.”

“But you don’t have time. We are leaving within the hour. You won’t get another chance like this until next year.”

Zoe turned away from her and headed for the door. “I just can’t, Alice. I’m going to go see if Garrett is ready yet. I’ll meet you at the gates.”

“But, you can’t just leave.” But she was already gone. Alice sighed, her princess was a proud woman, but that pride was going to make her life harder than it needed to be.

***

As she arrived at the castle gates, Zoe breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it thus far without running in to Asher. She would have to see him one last time before she left, but since they would be in mixed company there would not be any time for them to talk.

She glanced around the gates at the little group of people gathered there and took her place by Alice who was chatting with Queen Marie about their upcoming journey. Garrett was lounging against the carriage, his eyes scanning the crowd just as she was now. The footmen hurried to get everything packed and tied down for the trip, while the guards were fidgeting on their horses, ready to be under way. There was only one person she was interested in seeing and that was Asher.

Asher was deep in discussion with Bryce, but when she arrived he had locked his eyes on hers. She suppressed a shiver at the intensity of his gaze. She promptly ignored him, approaching the queen instead.

“Marie, thank you for accepting me into your home once again. It has been a pleasure as always.” Zoe made a pained noise in the back of her throat as the breath was knocked out of her when the queen enveloped her into a tight embrace.

“Of course, my dear. We look forward to your return in May.” She pulled back to look at her. “And hopefully to stay?”

Zoe’s eyes looked to Asher, unable to keep the blush from her face, “We can only hope.”

With her eyes still trained on Asher’s approaching figure, she felt her breath quicken and everything seemed to move in slow motion. With every step he took she felt her heart pounding in her ears and then just like that he was before her. She chastised herself for letting him affect her in such a way.

She stared down at the ground when he grasped her hand in his and bent at the waist to lay a kiss on the back of it. She sucked in a breath at the feel of his lips against her skin. She could not explain how just a single touch of his lips could cause such a reaction to her flickering stomach.

“Come now, Asher. So formal! You are to be married next summer. I would like to think there is a little bit of love between you?” Zoe could have killed Marie in that very moment and not cared a bit about it.

Asher, who had not taken his eyes off of his betrothed since she had appeared, now crinkled his eyes at the amount of heat that had filled her face. He took the hand that was still in his and guided her into his arms. Her soft curves melted into the hard contours of his body.

Zoe froze at the sensation of his hands on the back of her olive gown. She lifted her face to gaze up into Asher’s eyes. His usual slate-colored eyes now reminded her of rolling thunder clouds crossing the sky. The unreadable emotion behind those eyes made her eyebrows furrow.

Zoe’s petrified form filled with life when the Prince’s mouth made its descent down to hers. She moved her face to the side before he could place his lips upon hers, so he got her cheek instead. She tensed when he chuckled against her cheek.

“I’ve been looking for you all morning. I had hoped we could pick up where we left off the other day.”

“And what day was that?” She tensed, very aware of the audience they had.

“Any of them would do. Though I have to say I am quite partial to you in a towel. Wet is definitely a flattering look on you.” He pressed her tighter against him at her silence and moved his mouth to brush her ear, “Just promise me one thing.” She shivered at the feel of his breath, “Only think of me when you are wet, I know I will.” He laughed when she shoved him away, the blush on her face intensified.

She smiled for the sake of his mother’s watchful eyes, but clenched her teeth. “You are such a pig.”

He gave a lavish bow in return, “Only for you, my love. Only for you.”

She brushed past him and headed for the carriage, a small smile playing on her lips at his term of endearment. Could he be telling her he felt the same way? She shook the thought from her head. He probably did not even mean it that way. She forced herself to face forward as the carriage prepared to leave, but her eyes stayed on him until they pulled out of sight. She had bought herself nine months to sort out her feelings and to become acquainted with the thought of being with him forever. She just prayed it was enough time.

***

Zoe fought to keep her eyes open, but the unwavering parade of Aldabel’s cherished green forest caused her eyes to droop. After several hours of travel, her heartbeat had finally returned to normal. Though thoughts of Asher rapidly faded into the recesses of her mind with every mile between them, she could not shake the feeling that Garret knew something was different.

He kept his horse alongside the carriage, his face switched between sadness and suspicion whenever he looked her way. She knew she would have to tell him soon about her change of heart. She could not think of a good way to break the news without upsetting him, even though he had been the one to break her heart first.

“Do not fret, Zoella. He will understand.”

Zoe pulled her gaze from the window to Alice. Alice kept her eyes down at the knitting in her lap, her face in deep concentration. When she had come to the palace her husband and son had just been killed in the Celestial War and she had come seeking solace from her mother, the palace seamstress. Alice, consumed with grief, needed something to fill the emptiness of her family’s passing and her mother had suggested to King Brom that she be placed as the princess’s nursemaid. Too filled with his own grief from the recent passing of the queen, King Brom granted the request without further thought. Alice had been at Zoe’s side ever since.

Zoe sighed and slumped down in her seat, “That doesn’t make it any easier.”

Alice stilled her hands and studied her charge, “Things will be easier now that you love him and he loves you.”

Zoe crinkled her nose, “How do you know he loves me? As far as I can tell he just wants me to warm his sheets.”

“The way he looked at you today proved it, Zoella. He –” She paused at the shouts of alarm coming from the guards. “What could that –”

Zoe screamed in horror at the arrow penetrating Alice’s chest, cutting the older woman off midsentence. She ducked down at the flying arrows coming through the windows and pulled Alice down to the floor.

She shook Alice’s shoulder, her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t be dead. Please Auriel, don’t let her be dead.” She held back the urge to scream when Alice’s lifeless eyes stared back at her.

The carriage door wrenched open and Zoe grabbed her dagger from underneath the seat poised to strike. She let out a sigh of relief when Garrett’s face appeared inside. His eyes flickered down to Alice’s body beneath her.

“Come on, Zoe. We have to get you out of here.” He grabbed for her hand and hurried her away from Alice.