Page 18 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)
Fennigal Root is a hardy little herb that thrives in mossy, moist conditions—often hidden beneath rotting roots and stumps. Take care when administering, else the consumer might find themselves missing more than a mere few hours.
An Alchemist’s Guide to Herbal Remedies
T he knock on my door came at midnight on the dot, and I let Raithe into my room wordlessly, closing the door behind him. His lips curved as he apprised me from head to toe.“The leathers suit you, little lark.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” I admitted softly.
He really, really wasn’t. The captain was dressed in all black, the occasional silver glint gleaming off his sheathed blades from the light of my bedside candle. In the low firelight, his muscled frame looked softened somehow, like this was the male without his mask.
I stiffened as he stepped closer, his hand reaching for my braid, and ran it down the blonde locks just once.
He chuckled at my reaction, but his face turned serious as he looked me in the eyes.
Gods, why did it have to feel so intimate when he looked at me like that?
So close, with eyes like sapphires. A silly, illogical part of me wanted to know their secrets, but I looked away, careful to gaze at anything but his face as he tucked my braid under the hood of my tunic.
Oh. I had thought touching me was rather forward, but it was out of practicality.
I guessed he preferred not to have any identifiable traits showing, should I be seen.
My cheeks burned, but I bit my tongue and kept a straight face.
When he was finished tucking it away, he held my shoulders, capturing my attention once more.
“There will be guards patrolling the castle, with two posted at the archive entrance. You ready for this?”
“I can manage sneaking around, but why do you need to? Sneaking doesn’t really seem like a captainly thing to do.”
Raithe raised a brow. “I enjoy a little light reading, but the archive stores records from across many ages. Our history is in there, along with artefacts and scriptures that my father and the Pentad guard closely. They would certainly notice if such texts went missing or became public knowledge and would mercilessly punish whoever had taken them. I would like to see what exactly they’re hiding.
Besides, scribes meticulously record all who enter the archive, including which texts they peruse and lend.
It would look a little suspicious for me to suddenly take an interest in borrowing books about Rites and its participants, don’t you think? ”
“Who said anything about borrowing?” I said coyly.
He grinned. “Hence the sneaking.”
I smiled back. “Seems our captain is a bit of a rebel.”
“My father would say more of an anarchist. But I prefer revolutionary.”
“Careful, Raithe, you almost sounded wise there. But a revolutionary isn’t any different to a rebel.”
His eyes lit with surprise. “The little lark has a sharp beak.” A smirk formed. “And I do so like the way you say my name.”
Oh. Was he flirting with me? I bit my lip, wondering what had caused the shift.
It could just be a show of rebellion, seeing as he wasn’t supposed to have ‘favourites’.
Or perhaps it was the excitement of sneaking around and actively working together.
Our truce felt easier than usual, regardless.
He felt relaxed and was not so intimidating.
Like we’d both lowered our guard, even if only temporarily.
I rolled my eyes and tried to squash the smile on my lips. “Archives, Raithe . Now.”
His shadows did a little flourish as he gestured for me to exit the room first. “After you.”
I felt his eyes drink me in as I stalked past him.
I didn’t have time to unpack the playfulness of that exchange.
Not when we had a mission to complete, and especially not when he still very much held my life in his hands.
The door opened with a gentle crack as I peeked out.
Empty. I nodded at Raithe, then waited as he took the lead.
His shadows cloaked us in darkness every time we flitted under a light or past an open window.
The castle was quiet. The odd servant trundled down hallways with tired steps, not noticing our presence as we hid behind statues or in nooks, but our progress was unhindered as we snuck through the castle and down to its lower levels.
Only when we neared the kitchen did we hear voices.
It sounded like an argument. I wondered what kind of food preparations required kitchen staff to be here so early or so late.
Raithe suddenly swept me into the shadows of an adjacent alcove, pinning me against the wall as he covered us in darkness.
Interestingly, the shadows did nothing to hinder my vision, and I peered around his broad shoulder to see three bodies moving in the kitchen.
I couldn’t see their faces from where the doorway partially hid them from view, but I recognised one voice easily enough.
My eyes narrowed. Portia. Raithe must have recognised her first and decided that we should listen in.
“There are no rules, Christine,” Portia snapped. “We can keep killing them off without any consequence. No one will be the wiser.”
“You made the last kill pretty obvious,” a smaller, softer voice said. “And then you drew attention to yourself by wielding at training yesterday. I don’t think we should keep doing this. What if it gets us in trouble?”
“Coward,” the third voice spat. “You’re just too afraid to do the deed yourself.”
“It’s your turn, Christine,” Portia said. “We made a deal, remember? The three of us stick together to take out the competition. Do I have to carry the load for all of us?”
“I just…” Christine’s voice trickled off. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go ahead with this. It’s not an honourable thing to do, and the captain seems to value honour a great deal.”
“Honour?” Portia laughed harshly. “What a lovely moral to have in a game of death. It’s all well and good for him to speak of honour when he’s not the one fighting for survival. Fine. If that’s the way you want to play, go play it on your own. Liv and I are willing to do the dirty work.”
“Run along now,” Liv added.
The one called Christine left the room in a hurry, but before she could escape, a knife point emerged from her stomach. I let out a squeak of surprise, and Raithe quickly clamped his hand over my mouth.
“Did you hear that?” Portia’s face appeared behind Christine, whom she unceremoniously shoved to the ground as she stepped out into the hall. Liv joined her, searching the darkness. Gurgles filled the silence, as Christine’s blood pooled over the navy carpet lining the hall.
I looked at the two females’ faces, then at the female on the floor.
They’d called her a coward, yet Portia had stabbed her in the back.
Christine never stood a chance. By the time a healer found her, she’d be long dead.
Even if I ran to get one now, it would be too late.
My hand curled into a fist, but Raithe placed his hands to the wall above my shoulders and shook his head.
He blocked my view, and all I could see were his eyes, drilling into mine.
I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, the way his body had ensnared me, shadows surrounding us.
I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart beat in my chest.
Footsteps sounded, then backtracked moments later. “There’s no one there,” Liv whispered.
“Probably just a cat,” Portia said with a sniff. “It doesn’t matter. Christine’s no longer a liability. Next on my list? The Lockhart girl.”
“Aeris,” Liv said. “She’s the Master Mariner’s daughter.”
“I know who she is,” Portia said darkly. “I’ve known that name most of my life.”
My stomach tied in knots as discomfort and confusion settled in. I had no idea who this female was, but she sure seemed to know who I was. What could I have possibly done? Did my father have something to do with whatever grudge she was holding?
“You still haven’t explained why she’s the top of your priority list. What did she do?” Liv asked, echoing my thoughts.
“Another time. Her days are numbered; that’s all that matters. Merchant daughter or not, she’s dead. Let’s get out of here before anyone smells the body and comes looking,” Portia said as they strode away.
We waited until they’d passed, then I toed Raithe’s boot. “You can release me now.”
He shifted, giving me a full view of Christine’s body. I did my best to ignore the way her lips were parted in shock, her eyes frozen.“Keep moving, little lark. There was nothing you could do.”
“We could have killed them,” I suggested.
“Is that what you want?” his voice was deep as he took the lead once again.
Yes. No. Maybe? I didn’t have an answer to that, so I stayed silent as we pressed on until we’d descended several stairs and were now underground. The air was cool and dry down here, which was the perfect condition to store priceless and aged books.
“Ahead,” Raithe said with a nod.
Two guards stood at the archive entrance, as he’d promised. “And how were you planning to take out the guards?” I asked. We halted and stood behind a large stone statue.
He shrugged. “A knock to the head should sort them out.”
“Don’t you think they’ll remember who did that when they wake?” I shook my head. “Why not use your shadows?”
Raithe shook his head. “The entrance is well lit. While my shadows can hide us, they would notice the imperfection of light.”
I blew out a breath. “Okay. I have a better idea.”
“What are you—Aeris!” he hissed as I walked confidently towards the guards, whose body language instantly shifted from half asleep to alert.
“A little late for a leisurely stroll, don’t you think, miss?” one guard asked.
“The archives are off limits to female participants,” the other sneered. He licked his lips and smoothed a hand over his bald head. “But I could be persuaded if you’d like to have a little fun.”