Page 31

I did not have the energy for him today.

Just another person I was avoiding. The list was getting longer by the day.

My head poked out of my chambers, glancing down both sides of the corridor before pulling the door closed behind me. I took a few quick steps across the hallway, slipping into thechambermaid’s passage and tossed the apple into the air as I took my first step down the enclosed stairwell. As the apple fell back into the palm of my hand, I brought it to my lips and let my teeth sink into its skin.

Pri and I would be leaving for Ammord tomorrow, a day earlier than we had originally planned. Apparently, one of the Drow generals had been taken to The Silliands to meet with the High Priestesses and Nox, her informant, had information for her that couldn’t wait.

I, on the other hand, would be scavenging. It was my favorite part of this job. When I had no task to complete other than listen to what the people of the realms were whispering about.

I smiled to myself at the thought.

“Ataliia.” My name echoed through the enclosed space and I jolted.

“Fuck,” I hissed, as Dukovich stepped out onto the stairs from a connecting corridor. “What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped, pressing a hand to my chest as a low chuckle rolled from his throat.

“Why do I always seem to find you in the most peculiar of places?” Dukovich asked, casually ignoring my question as he slipped in front of me and began his descent.

“Seriously, stop following me,” I barked, chucking the core of my apple at the back of his head.

It missed its mark and flew past his cheek. I didn’t even have to look at him to know the satisfied look that was plastered onto his face.

“From the looks of it, you seem to be the one following me.”

I rolled my eyes, shoving past him as our boots hit the landing and pushed open the doors to the kitchens.

I would not be stuck in another enclosed space with him.

The doors swung open, revealing the large circular room with a vaulted ceiling that pitched upward into a chimney. Claybaking ovens lined the back walls, all filled with bread as a pig spun on a spit in the far right corner of the room. A large cauldron hung over an open flame beside it, filled with broth boiling for soups and stews.

Long, rectangular windows sat high on the stone walls, letting in natural light. They were all cracked open to filter out the excess smoke and heat. Herbs and pans hung from the ceiling that I knew I wouldn’t be able to reach without some kind of stepping stool. Barrels and baskets of fruits and vegetables were pushed into the corner to the left of us, furthest away from the heat. Large tables were situated into a square in the center of the room where the meals were prepared and one small table was pushed to the side where coffee and other hot drinks sat warming on a hot plate.

The kitchen staff froze as their eyes landed on us, confusion furrowing between their brows. Dukovich’s head dipped down in a slight bow as he reached for the pastries stacked on a platter at the edge of the workers table.

“Do not mind us,” he said, plucking two from the tray, “we are just passing through.”

He bowed his head again, winking at the baker on the other side of the room and I watched as a devious smile spread across her lips. Her cheeks flushed under the flour speckled across her face as her gaze connected with mine. She cleared her throat focusing back on her work as I rolled my eyes at him.

He wasdefinitelybedding her.

“You’re a fucking pig,” I murmured, striding across the room to the door in the far left corner that led to the castle grounds.

“I prefer to call myself a savant of women’s bodies,” he responded with a sly smile.

“Gross,” I spat, the corners of my lips turning down at the thought.

He pushed the door open with his back and we stepped out into the morning air. I turned away from him, taking quick strides in the direction of Pri’s cottage as I lifted the hood of my jacket over my head to shield myself from the cold and shivered against the biting wind. I hadn’t expected winter to come so suddenly.

“Seems we are heading to the same place,” Dukovich said, appearing back at my side with complete disregard for my personal space. “Also, you have a rodent following you.”

“Two, if you count yourself,” I mumbled, glancing at my feet to see the familiar weaving in and out of each one of my steps.

My head snapped toward him, stopping dead in my tracks as his statement sunk in.

“What do you mean we are going to the same place?”

“Are you not heading to Prianaan’s home?” he asked, a corner of his lips tilting upward.

This was not my fucking day.