Page 68 of Court of Winter
And there was dancing. No, there wasn’t dancing. But I’d wanted to dance?
Blessed Mother. The entire evening was one giant blur.
“Ilara?” Daiseeum knocked on the door. “We only haveminutesuntil he arrives.”
I hurriedly set the comb down and joined her by the wardrobe. She waved a hand over me, casting me in rushed magic as her cleansing spell fell over my frame, cleaning the spit from my cheek and ridding my body of all dirt, sweat, and grime.
“Thank you,” I said, my cheeks reddening. I really needed to learn self-cleansing if I actually had magic now.
She held up leggings and a fitted tunic. “You’re to wear training clothes.” Her lips pursed in a sour frown.
“You don’t like them?” I felt the soft material. The tunic and leggings had been spun from soft wool. Warm yet dry, and practical for our northern climate.
“Ladies should wear gowns. Notthis.”
“You’re forgetting, once again, that I’m not a lady.”
Daiseeum and I had been through this multiple times during the past month. She kept insisting that I wear one of the many dresses that had been crafted for me, but unless I was simply trying on the garments as a way to pass time, I kept demanding pants and woven tops. Dresses and gardens didn’t mix, yet Daiseeum seemed aghast each time I refused her silks and brocades.
“Youshoulddress like a lady. He certainly treats you as such,” she muttered under her breath.
I frowned, not knowing what she meant by that, but before I could ask, she was pulling my nightclothes off and demanding that I slip my limbs into the garments she held. In seconds, I was dressed.
“Your bosom has grown since these were crafted for you.” Daiseeum clucked her tongue as she surveyed my breasts. “I shall have the tailor return tomorrow to adjust your garments. And your hips...” She placed her hands just below my waist and smoothed my leggings down. “Who would have known you had such a female figure. You were skin and bones when you arrived.”
I lifted my chin proudly. “I’ve gained two stone.”
“And it was two stone you needed. Skin and bones won’t do.” Daiseeum clucked her tongue again and began picking up my discarded clothes just as a knock came on my door.
The doorknob turned, and the prince appeared. Since he hadn’t waited for me to let him know he could enter, I placed my hands on my hips.
“You’re lucky I’m not naked. If you’d come two minutes earlier, I would have been.”
He stopped dead in his tracks.
I instantly regretted my words. I’d meant it as an admonishment, but when his lips curved in a smile, I wondered again what had transpired between us last night.
“Noted.” His husky voice rolled toward me like a gentle wave caressing my soul. “I shall endeavor to arrive earlier next time.”
My jaw dropped just as Daiseeum let out a shrill giggle and traipsed from the room.
“I thought princes were supposed to have manners,” I said as my stomach began flipping with a vengeance.
“I’m sure some princes do.”
“But you don’t, obviously.”
“Oh, I do when it suits me.”
He sauntered toward me, inhaling deeply, and my heart beat harder.
Flustered, I waved my hands at my training clothes. “Well, I’m up. Daiseeum was insistent that I be ready. So what am I ready for?”
“You’re to begin training today. Do you not remember?”
“Yes, I remember that, but I didn’t know if that was why you were here.”
“It is.” Every particle of my body was acutely aware of how closely he stood. It was like a buzzing energy vibrated between us.