Page 67 of Hollow Court
A Year and a Half Ago
If any lingering part of me had thought that Lina was someone I could get out of my system, last night had effectively robbed me of that notion.
Destroyed it, really, with the feeling of her skin against my lips and her hair running through my fingers, and her lithe, warm body moving in perfect synchrony with mine.
Even now, my pillow smelled like her, like lavender and rosemary and something heady and intoxicating.
All of which was a problem.
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, staring into the fireplace and wondering what in the hell I was going to do now.
On one hand, my life was in Lochlann, and hers was here. Even if I told her the truth, I couldn’t be sure she would want to leave her entire family behind to come with me, especially when things were so uncertain between our kingdoms.
On the other, I wasn’t even sure any of that mattered. I wasn’t sure she wanted anything at all.
The alarming part was how badly I realizedIdid.
How often I had considered bringing her home to meet my family, had wondered which festival would be her favorite, and whether she would make the same face at whiskey that she did at vodka. How often I imagined a life with her, and how difficult it was becoming to imagine onewithouther.
A light rap at the passageway door startled me from my thoughts. Unreasonable hope surged through me, even though she made it clear she was expected at breakfast with Inessa this morning.
But it wasn’t her, of course. It was Aino, one of the maids of Clan Elk, and more importantly, the first of the Lochlannian spies I had found.
She shut the door behind her before crossing to the middle of the room, the better not to be overheard.
“You have news?”
She nodded, speaking in low tones.
“The runner finally got back from the tunnels. The king and Prince Oliver are on their way through, along with their friend, the lady thief. He’s passed your message along to them and said they should be well into Socair by now.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me. Since he had missed out on the first six months of my life, my father had spent every day making up for it. Of course, he would come through the mountains himself.
Hell, I was half surprised my mother wasn’t with him.
Still, my stomach sank. All this time I had spent trying to get out of Socair, but now…
It hardly mattered. I wasn’t the only one at risk, and it wasn’t like I could stay here as a not-quite-captive indefinitely.
“Do you have a message to send back?” Aino prompted when the silence had stretched on too long. “Should I tell them to come here?”
“No. They need to get Rowan to safety first, but…” I hedged, trying to think through a solution, a way to help them without getting them caught.
Somewhere in my hazy memory, through the scent of lavender and the taste of white wine and skin, I remembered Galina’s lips moving and something about Iiro leaving with the guard.
I swallowed hard. I had forgotten all about it in the hours since she first mentioned it, just an aside, a small note that neither of us expected to be important.
“Tell them—” I hesitated then, realizing that for all the lies I had told Galina, this would be yet another breach of her trust. And after last night…
But could I reallynotuse the information she gave me? Could I really withhold it if it meant my family’s safety?
Rowan’s life was at stake. She had already been hurt. Scarred. I shoved away the guilt, stuffing it down to a place that existed in a world where I had the luxury of making easier decisions.
“Lady Galina mentioned that Iiro is leaving today. Heading west. The guard will move to accommodate him, so my uncle and father should be freer to cut through the north to Bear,” I said, letting out a huff of air as I considered my next move. But the bastard owed me, and I knew he would help Rowan. “We can also arrange things with Theodore in his absence, which will make everything easier.”
She nodded again, her features turning coy.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Her intent was blazing from her dark brown eyes.