Page 15

Thorne

L eaning against my carriage, I crossed one ankle over the other and watched the oncoming vessel as it pulled into the dock.

Green and gold sails billowed from the mast, with holes poking through the fabric.

It wasn’t a surprise to see they were battered, considering the size of the storm that had blown through the shores of the North Territory.

Such a strong tempest was unusual for the heart of summer.

We’d seen it forming out on the horizon, and before we knew it, it gained in speed and ferocity and practically tore the Port of North Pine apart.

Now we had to welcome the empress and her crew with barely enough space to bring their ship in.

I’d gathered as many workers as I could to clear the path and get the worst of the wreckage out of the way in the hours since, but, of course, Galen was nowhere to be found.

This storm shouldn’t have left the port in shambles. Our structures should’ve been sound enough to survive. The fishermen and dock workers here had been begging the crown for support to rebuild the old foundations, and now I saw why.

Galen had been putting off responding to their requests, either because he hadn’t even seen them or had let them get lost in his stacks of reports.

My hands clenched involuntarily at my sides.

How long would these people have to spend repairing the docks, something that should have been fixed long ago?

Shaking off my mounting annoyance with a sigh, I uncrossed my legs and stood straighter.

Now that the Veridian ship was closer, I could see the hull was worse for wear.

Barnacles and seaweed were plastered to the front, but considering they’d been on a multi-day journey, some weathering and damage were bound to happen on the open sea.

That wasn’t what caught my eye.

Streaks of dark red painted the wood, as if blood had been smeared across its length.

I snapped to attention and strode from the carriage to the steps of the dock, where crewmembers were guiding the ship in. Galen was going to be furious if something happened to his would-be fiancée.

I was so focused on reaching the Veridian ship that I didn’t see a small group of servants crossing my path. I bumped into one of the maids before coming to my senses.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Your Grace, I didn’t see?—”

“No, no, it’s completely my fault,” I said to the young woman, gripping her hands to steady her. “Did I hurt you?”

A blush crept up her cheeks as her eyelashes fluttered under my gaze.

She was rather attractive. The kind of woman I would have been drawn to in the old days with Galen.

Shoulder-length brown hair tied into a loose braid, a long, slender neck, light eyes hidden behind thick lashes.

I flashed her a smile, and the blush deepened.

“Of course not, Your Grace. I’m perfectly fine.

” She slipped into a curtsy and gave me a coy grin as I removed my hands.

Once upon a time, I would have forsaken my responsibilities and followed her back to whatever household she served.

I would have snuck her away for the night to go dancing in the taverns.

I would have forgotten her name by the morning as my father berated me over my raging hangover.

But those days were behind me .

I raised her hand and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles. “Have a good day,” I said, allowing her and the others to pass. My eyes lingered on her curves before making my way to the ship once more.

Stepping onto the raised platform, I saw deckhands lowering the gangway, followed by several figures descending from the main deck of the ship.

First came two Veridian guards wearing silver uniforms with swords strapped to their waists.

Then an elderly female with graying hair held together in a bun.

She looked tired but smiled at a deckhand as he helped her down the gangway.

I heard the next person before I saw her.

“Emperor’s tits, I don’t need your help, Captain—I got wet, not stabbed. Thank you, though,” the voice said right as a mass of drenched blonde hair appeared from the deck. The sound would have been melodic, if it wasn’t laced with irritation.

She turned her head forward, her eyes drinking in the sight like a predator assessing its surroundings. Cunning, wary, powerful.

And very pissed-off.

She stormed down the path, water dripping from her with every step. Against my better judgment, my lips twitched into a grin.

That was my first mistake.

Those dark eyes didn’t miss a beat. They landed on me with precision, and she stalked across the dock toward me.

“Is something funny?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

I cleared my throat. “Not at all, ma’am. Just wondering why you chose to take a swim before arriving.”

And that was my second.

Her mouth shut with a snap, and I could’ve sworn her eyes changed color with the way they heated in anger at my words.

I wasn’t sure what made me say it. Even as wet as a feral cat, this woman was beautiful. Beautiful things often had a way of taking control of my lips before my mind could catch up. Most women found it charming. Obviously not this one .

“You’ll have to understand, sir, if I’m not in a particularly humorous mood at the moment.” She took another step toward me, her voice cold and sharp like a knife. “Perhaps you wouldn’t be, either, if you’d been caught in some freak thunderstorm and almost decapitated by fowl.”

I blinked. “A foul…what?”

“Not foul, fowl . Literal birds. Falling from the sky.”

My mouth opened and closed. “I’m still not following.”

A growl rumbled from her throat as she swung her hair over her shoulder, exposing how wet the thin fabric at her chest was. My stomach tightened as I tore my gaze back to her face.

“Never mind. I’m looking for Lord Thorne Reaux. The correspondence team said he’d be escorting me to the palace on King Grimaldi’s behalf.”

This was Clarissa Aris, Empress of the Veridian Empire? My best friend’s future wife? The woman I’d insulted the second she stepped onto Mysthelm soil?

“Well,” I said, giving her a wry smile. “You’re in luck, Empress.”

Her stare raked over me, and I felt that same clenching in my gut. “Of course , you’re him.”

“At your service.”

Straightening, she shook out her shoulders, sending water splattering to the ground. How she still managed to look dignified while her blonde hair sopped down her back and her wet clothes smelled like salt, I would never understand.

“Clarissa, let’s get you a towel before you catch a cold,” said the older woman I’d seen walking off the boat. She approached and placed a hand on Clarissa’s elbow. I could tell the resemblance immediately—the same mouth, same nose, same freckles on the cheeks.

“Catch a cold? Mother, it’s boiling out here.” The empress ran a hand down her wet arms with a grimace. “I’m not sure if most of this is water or sweat at this point.”

I pinched my lips together to hide a smirk. She was a firecracker. A bright, golden firecracker. “Hello, Your Grace,” I said to her mother, giving a polite bow. “I hope you had a pleasant journey?”

“Quite the gentleman now, I see. She gets a bow, and I got a joke. And not a particularly funny one,” Clarissa snapped at me before her mother could reply.

“Would you like me to bow for you, Empress?” The words left my mouth unbidden. I waited for her sneer of dismissal, but evidently, my question was a challenge. Heat burrowed under my skin as she stared me down and uttered a single word.

“Yes.”

I licked my lips and shot her mother a wink, whose head cocked in curiosity. Placing one hand behind my back, I bent low, my eyes skating over Clarissa’s tight pants that hugged the curves of her legs. I reached out my other hand to grab hers and skimmed my lips across her knuckles.

“Is this acceptable, Your Majesty?” I murmured, my heart already thudding at the anger rolling from her in waves.

This was far too much fun.

And she’s your best friend’s fiancée.

I swallowed and released her hand, spine stiffening and pulling back into an upright position.

Her mother’s lips twitched. “Why, this one is charming,” she said with a laugh.

“Don’t encourage him.”

“What’s your name, young man?” her mother asked.

“Lord Thorne Reaux. I’m in charge of bringing Her Majesty and those accompanying her to King Grimaldi’s palace.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Reaux.” She held out a hand for me to shake. “My name is Evadine Aris, but you may call me Eva.”

I took her hand. “The pleasure is all mine, ma’am.”

When I glanced at Clarissa, she pursed her lips. “And you may call me Empress Aris.”

I stifled a chuckle. Galen was going to have his hands full. “Can I ask what happened on the boat? Why your mother remains dry, but you seem to have…” I trailed off, smart enough not to insult her again. Jokingly or not.

“Because I made her go below deck when the storm hit.”

“Why didn’t you go?”

“I wasn’t going to leave the others in the middle of danger.”

My smile faltered. “You—you stayed with them?”

“Of course. They’re my men.”

This empress was not what I expected. The leader of an entire empire, who probably had servants who would throw themselves on top of her to keep her covered if she commanded, yet she stood before me without a single inch of dry space on her body.

“I’m sorry you had such bad weather,” I said.

Evadine began wringing out Clarissa’s clothes, much to the empress’s chagrin. “Yes, well, I’m more concerned about the spontaneous burst of dead sea life we had to wade through,” Clarissa muttered.

I froze. “What did you just say?”

She noticed my change in demeanor. Her eyes locked on my hands, which had formed into balls at my sides.

I unclenched them and tried to ease my tense posture, but she was quick and observant, nothing escaping her gaze.

“Hordes of fish and other creatures showed up dead all around our ship, just beyond your borders. There was no other threat we could see. Have you ever seen anything like that?”

Not again .

I let out a noncommittal hum. “How strange. No, can’t say that I have.”

She took a step closer. “Do you know how it could have happened?”

I chose my words carefully. “I have no idea, but again, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t you think someone should look into it? Make sure it can’t happen again? Or worse, make it to land and harm people?”

She’d been here all of five minutes, and she was already taking charge. The worst part was, she was right. But what she didn’t know was there was nothing either of us could do about it.

I nodded. “Of course. I’ll bring it up to His Majesty at once.” Clarissa opened her mouth to speak again, but I swiftly looped her mother’s arm through mine and changed the subject. “Why don’t I help you two to my carriage and have your things delivered to the palace? I’m sure you’d like to rest.”

“What I’d like is for someone to answer my questions,” Clarissa countered.

Good luck being married to Galen, then .

“My dear, the young man has already told us he doesn’t have your answers,” Evadine said, patting my hand. “You’ve had a rough few hours—let’s get you some dry clothes and a bath, yes?”

“A wise woman,” I agreed.

To my surprise, Clarissa scoffed. “Careful, Lord Reaux. My bark may be bad, but her bite is worse.”

And with that, she strode ahead of me toward my carriage, her shoulders straight and head high.

Evadine Aris shot me a smile. “This is going to be fun.”