Page 117 of Hollow Court
Eventually, between the warmth of the whiskey and the flames and the comforting scent of parchment and cloves, I finally fell asleep.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Davin
My eyes flewopen at a familiar rap on the door.
It took me a moment to orient myself, to register the amount of light streaming in through the window…and the body melded against my chest.
I had started my night on the chaise lounge, but after her fourth or fifth round of nightmares, I wound up on the bed with her. Onmyside of the bed, hoping my nearness might calm some of whatever had her sleeping so fitfully.
But apparently, she had seen fit to wrap herself around me at some point in the night.
After that, she hadn’t stirred again.
There was another knock at the servants’ door before it cracked open, Blaine poking an apologetic head around the corner.
Galina shifted, blearily opening her eyes.
“What time is it?” she asked, her voice raspy from disuse.
“Nearly noon, My Lady,” Blaine answered from the other side of the room.
She startled at the sound of his voice, clutching the covers. Pink bloomed on her chest, winding all the way up to the tips of her ears.
“Der’mo,” she whispered, darting a glance toward the balcony.
It was raining even harder than it had been last night.
“You might as well use the front door.” I answered her unspoken question. “While Blaine is the epitome of discretion—”
“Thank you, My Laird,” he interjected as he poured two cups of coffee.
“It’s very unlikely at this point that the castle doesn’t know you slept here last night.”
Lina looked to Blaine for confirmation, and he offered her an apologetic expression.
She shook her head then, climbing out from the covers. The bed was immediately colder without her in it. I told myself that was the only reason I wanted to pull her back down to me.
Blaine crossed the room with our cups of coffee, holding them out for each of us as I reluctantly climbed out from my side of the bed.
She thanked him, the blush in her cheeks not fading as she avoided meeting his eyes.
I followed her to the door and then out into the hall to her rooms, sipping on my coffee the entire way. The guards on duty that morning arched curious eyebrows in our direction. It wasn’t until Hamish pointedly cleared his throat that they went back to focusing on anything else.
Unfortunately for Galina, there was no way word wouldn’t spread about our sleepover now, if it hadn’t already.
A part of me registered that it would only work in our favor, helping us sell this love story we were so desperately perpetuating. Another part of me was disgusted for thinking so practically. It tainted the moment somehow.
Then again, I wasn’t sure if there had even been a moment.
“Thank you,” Galina said quietly, pulling me from my thoughts.
She had turned to face me in the doorway, her body only a few inches from mine. “For last night.”
“Any time,” I said, offering her a small smirk.
She returned it, easing backward into her room before closing the door behind her.