Page 129 of Hollow Court

I breathed him in, the faint scent of bourbon and spiced wine on his breath. He was right, the wine must have gone to my head, because, regardless of the people undoubtedly watching, I suddenly found myself wanting to close the distance between us. To see if he tasted even better with the remnant of hippocras on his lips.

“You looked cold,” he explained as his hands returned to his sides.

I nodded, taking another long sip from my mug, not trusting myself to speak.

A deep chuckle rumbled up from his chest at whatever he saw in my expression, and I was powerless not to return his smile.

He stepped away then, pulling up his own hood as another gust of wind blew in from the west, bringing with it the faintest scent of wintergreen.

My smile abruptly fell from my face, and my stomach churned.

“Lina, Love?” Davin’s tone was concerned, pulling me back to the moment. “Are you all right?”

Instinctively, I glanced around, my heartbeat thundering as I scanned the faces of the crowd.

My gaze flitted past a self-satisfied Lady Fiona before landing on Laird Gray and Lady Gracie playing a game of darts, and finally a rather confused-looking Lady Fenella as she tried and failed to figure out a blacksmith’s toy that some of the children were showing her.

Finally, my eyes landed on the branches of a birch tree, rustling in the breeze just overhead. They were notorious for smelling like wintergreen.

Not Alexei. Just a tree.

I considered Davin’s question.

Was I all right?

Davin’s grip was light on my arm, a stark contrast to Alexei’s bruising hold. Children were laughing at the games nearby. The hippocras was warm in my hands.

And I was safe.

I laced my fingers in Davin’s, pulling myself closer to his side before nodding.

“Yes,” I answered him.

Alexei had haunted enough of my past. He didn’t get to have this day, too.

FORTY-TWO

Davin

A partof me had been dreading this day. Between concerns about another attack and having to face the festival without Mac or Row, it had lost the appeal it used to hold.

I was surprised by how quickly I lost myself in the distraction of leading Galina through the stalls and introducing her to every food and drink the festival had to offer. It had taken me all the weeks she had been here, but I finally figured out she didn’t like things that were overly sweet or rich, and she was much more susceptible to delicious beverages than she was food.

The more she smiled and clung to my arm like she wanted to instead of just for show, the less acutely I felt the loss of the best friends who weren’t here with me.

“It’s almost time for our event,” I said, leading her to the edge of the village.

Her hands froze with her mug of hippocras halfway to her wine-stained lips.

“I thought you were joking about that,” she said, her eyes wide as she scanned the field.

“Nope. Mamá makes sure that every member of the family joins every year. Says it’s good for our image and public relations.” I said the last part in my mother’s brusque voice, and Galina snickered. “She’s over there, throwing darts with my father.”

Lina nodded warily, her icicle eyes scanning the gaming booths. Unmitigated horror seeping into her expression as she took in the potato sack races and the caber toss.

“You’re not going to make me do anything embarrassing, are you?” she asked, suspicion lining her tone.

I shook my head, wrapping an arm around her back to lead her over to our game. It felt right, having her tucked against me.