Page 79 of Court of Winter
He made to turn away, but I called out, “What was Lord Crimsonale talking about this weekend? A ball of some kind?”
He stilled, his entire body going rigid as his wings flexed. “Yes, there’s a ball being held. Unfortunately.”
I frowned. “Why unfortunately?”
But instead of answering, he gestured to my chambers and took a deep breath. “Not now. Sleep, Ilara. I’ll come for you in the morning.” And with that, he was gone.
* * *
I slept fitfully,tossing and turning all night. I kept picturing the dead Lochen, the illusion the prince had created, and then the vile curiosity on Lord Crimsonale’s face.
Everything about that encounter had left a sour taste in my mouth that permeated my dreams and made me want to vomit.
Not surprisingly, when I woke the next day I didn’t feel rested. Dark circles lined my lower eyes when the prince came for me just as Daiseeum finished dressing me.
“Thank you,” the prince said to the lady’s servant, dismissing her.
She bobbed a curtsy as the prince frowned, taking in my appearance. “Did you eat?”
“I did. I’m ready to begin working again.”
The prince clasped his hands behind his back, right beneath his wings before strolling toward the courtyard. His aura puffed out of him, bathing my chambers in his strength. “You’re to attend the ball this weekend. My father insists.”
My heart beat harder as I moved closer to him. “He does? Why?”
The prince growled low in his throat. “Apparently, Lord Crimsonale went straight to him yesterday, and now my father is curious to meet you.”
I twisted my hands. “So the entire court now knows of me?”
“Yes, and your presence has caused quite a stir.”
“But I thought my only purpose here was to heal the fields, not go to balls.”
“I had hoped to contain your activities to that only, but—” His nostrils flared. “It’s now out of my control.” He held out his hand. “Come. Let us continue in Barvilum.”
We mistphased from my chambers and spent the morning and afternoon similar to the day prior. At least I found some solace in the field despite its dead stalks and gray dirt, but even with that distraction, in the back of my mind, I kept picturing Lord Crimsonale’s interest in me, and now the king’s curiosity.
But that didn’t impede why I’d become the prince’s prisoner. Despite what loomed, the crown prince returned for me each morning before whisking me away in a blur of mist and shadows, air and wind.
He took me to the same field in Harrivee over and over.
The morning sun hid behind pastel-colored clouds on our fourth day in the field. Salty, cool air whipped around me as I knelt to the ground while Prince Norivun sat at my side. Piles of snow lay around us, the only evidence we left behind of what we were doing, but the residents of Barvilum seemed to have given up on this field. Nobody came up here.
I dug into the frosty dirt with my spade, then sank my fingers into it.
Unlike in the courtyard, I still didn’t detect anyorem.
Straightening, I flung my spade to the side. “It’s not working. Theoremshould have appeared by now. I can’t do this.”
It didn’t help that the ball was tomorrow. All week Daiseeum had been gushing about it. I knew it was being held in honor of the prince. She kept talking about the young females that would also be attending, but ballgowns and parties were the furthest things from my mind, even if I was to meet the king at it, so I never listened to half of what she was saying.
All I wanted was to fulfill the bargain Prince Norivun and I had made so I could return home and be done with the prince and the Winter Court.
Prince Norivun settled more beside me. “You’re frustrated.”
“Obviously.”
“Youcando this, Ilara.”