Page 125 of Hollow Court

“One moment, Anna,” I called. “Go out the balcony,” I hissed, practically throwing his coat at him.

“I see how it is. You get to sleep in until noon and go out the front door, and I get treated like your dirty little secret.” His tone was mock offended, but his features were pure amusement.

“That can’t possibly feel like anything new to you,” I said flatly, though the corner of my mouth threatened to turn upward.

“Just for that, I think I’ll stay.” Davin’s eyes were still heavy with sleep as he gave me a half smirk.

His hand came up to run through his disheveled midnight hair, somehow made even more attractive by its disarray. I tracked the movement, following it down to the open laces on his wrinkled shirt and the taut muscles they revealed.

I hadn’t realized I was staring until a deep, sleepy chuckle pulled my focus back up to his devilish smirk. Der’mo. No one should be this attractive so early in the morning.

Shaking the thought away, I grasped for a half-hearted threat.

“If you do, I’ll tell your cook that you’ve suddenly become allergic to that crustacean soup you love so much. She’ll never make it again.”

His eyes went wide with mock horror. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Do you really want to find out what I’m capable of?” I challenged.

Davin raised an eyebrow, mischief sparkling in his wicked gaze. “As a matter of fact—”

Heat ignited low in my abdomen, spreading like wildfire the longer I looked at that grin. Ocean eyes skated from mine down to my lips before slowly wandering even lower.

All at once I heard him telling me he only wanted to play the fun kind of games, which then brought forth the rest of last night’s conversation.

“Out!” I hissed, shoving him through the open balcony door, not quite trusting myself to let him stay, even if Anna hadn’t been right outside the door.

He left with a last, lingering chuckle.

With my next breath, I finally called for Anna to come in.

“Good mornin’,” she said cheerfully, her curious gaze going directly from me to the disheveled bed.

Of course, the pillows were sunken in on both sides, but she didn’t so much as make a tutting sound before gesturing for me to sit down.

Even if her smile did get a bit wider.

I dutifully sat at my vanity, letting her steady stream of conversation keep me from overthinking last night.

Which was good, since I still had no idea how to feel about anything Davin had said.

I wanted to say yes, unequivocally, but storms if I didn’t know what it felt like to be broken by him. This wasn’t something I could just jump into on an hour’s notice, and there was hardly time to think about it today.

As I sipped my coffee, I remembered Gwyn’s warning. This festival was important to Davin. And whatever else may be true, Davin was important to me.

I resolved to set everything else aside, at least for today. After all, compartmentalizing was my specialty.

Excitement thrummed through Anna as she twisted my hair into ornate braids, the movements careful and practiced. She looped through small sprigs of the purple flowers I had seen growing on the hills around the castle. Heather, she had called them.

I hadn’t been prepared for their woodsy scent. It reminded me of home and my father’sherberyin a visceral way that made me homesick. Not that I wanted to be back in Socair.

But I missed him. Both of my parents, really.

Focusing on my rosemary charm, I remembered this was what he had wanted for me—a life away from Alexei and out from under my uncle’s thumb.

That would have to be enough for now.

When I was finally ready, I stepped out into the hall where Davin was waiting. His expression was halfway between surprised and expectant as his gaze raked over me.