Previously on "A Court of Fear and Ice"
After saving Nerida, Tarquin's eldest daughter, Lexi and the rest of the fairies go back to the palace to get some sleep. With Cerys's help, she gets to the tower room and climbs into the bed completely naked. In the morning, she wakes up next to Rian.
Chapter 29
Never in my life had I expected to go inside a wardrobe and actually enter a place.
The moment I went in, I waited for Rian to lock the damn door from the outside and laugh his arse off. Even though we knew each other for only a month, I realised he was able to play a trick on me, just to make me angry. But nothing like that happened. To my astonishment, when I opened the second door on the other side and took a step forward, I saw a real room.
Bright and spacious, the bathroom was half the size of the tower room. It had two gold washbasins, something that looked like a toilet, but I didn't have time to check it thoroughly, and a huge marble bath. There were also shelves with glass jars and small bottles which probably contained scented oils, and a few wooden cabinets where they kept towels and bathrobes.
Not wanting Rian to wait for me, I tried to get ready as quickly as I could. First, I cleansed myself and took the liberty to borrow one of the towels from the nearest cabinet as I knew that with so many spare ones no one would even notice it. Then, I changed into a new blue dress that I found on a big coat tree in the corner of the bathroom. Unfortunately, the dress was a bit too small and I didn't feel comfortable wearing it, but the yellow one from yesterday was nowhere to be found. I just hoped the new dress wouldn't get snagged during the day and humiliate me in front of the whole Summer Court. That would be awful, to say the least.
Fresh and sweet, I headed for the exit, expecting Rian to winnow us immediately to the dining room. But no such luck. With a smile on his face, that handsome muppet announced that I had to wait for him because it would only take him a couple of minutes, and then he disappeared in the bathroom right after I left it. To kill the time, I approached the nearest open window and started looking at the marvellous blue sea.
Several minutes and countless swearwords later, I was sitting on a chair in the tower room, waiting for that handsome muppet to take me to breakfast. Having crossed my arms, I fixed my eyes on the 'bathroom' door. Though I didn't have a watch to check the time, I knew it was getting late, but there was still no sign of him anywhere. Clearly, the heir to the Night Court had time management issues and I suspected that no one had even thought of making him realise that. Well, apparently, it had to be me.
Huffing, I tried to ignore my poor empty stomach. It had been roaring like an angry bear since the time I washed my face, thus letting me know it was feeding time. But before I was able to munch on some delicious pancakes with jam and whipped cream, I had to leave the damn tower room first and it was more difficult than I had thought.
Feeling really irritated, I decided it was time to change my place of dwelling, so I stood up and climbed onto the bed. After I found the place right opposite the wardrobe, I sat crossed-legged and leant back on my hands. Then, I started staring at the damn door, waiting for that handsome muppet to leave the bathroom.
"Oh, God, I'm so hungry," I said angrily and closed my eyes. "Where the hell are you?"
"Right here."
Terrified, I quickly opened my eyes and saw Rian standing next to the bed. He was dressed in brown trousers and a loose white tunic with short sleeves, and looked as if he was ready to go for a lazy walk on the beach. Flashing me a smile, he asked, "Are you ready for breakfast? Because I'm starving."
Still sitting on the bed, I took a deep breath. I needed to calm myself down as my heart was beating rapidly. "You scared me," I finally said, looking at him disapprovingly. "I told you not to appear out of nowhere, but you did it again."
"I'm sorry, lovely Alexandra," he said but his voice wasn't apologetic. "It's force of habit, I suppose." He extended his hand towards me and repeated his previous question, "Are you ready for breakfast?"
I stood up, but didn't grab his hand. "I've been ready the moment I left the damn bathroom," I grumbled and looked at him. "What took you so long? You told me it would be just a couple of minutes, remember?"
Rian shrugged. "Well, apart from appearing out of nowhere, I have another habit."
"Which is?" I asked, coming closer to him.
He put his arm around my waist and whispered to my ear, "I lie a lot."
Feeling unwanted goosebumps all over my body, I drew away from him a bit and said, "And to think that last month you tried to convince me that you don't lie." I rolled my eyes. "Tell me, Tinkerbell, do you have any other habits I should know of?"
"Maybe." Rian smiled mischievously. "But I will tell you about them after we join the rest in the dining room. They're waiting for us." Before I was able to reply, we disappeared from the tower room.
After opening my eyes, I noticed we were standing in a long and brightly-lit corridor. Facing the vast sea, one of the walls was covered with lots of colourful stained-glass windows showing various marine creatures. There were green sea turtles toddling on a secluded beach, yellow and orange octopuses swimming in dark blue waters, grey dolphins jumping happily out of a sea, and her.
With a mysterious smile on her red lips, a gorgeous black-haired woman with a bluish tail of a fish occupied the biggest stained-glass window. The mermaid, as it had to be Ariel's distant relative from another universe, had an impressive starry crown on her head and several golden bracelets on both her wrists. Though she seemed to be young and harmless, I was sure that it was just simple trickery to hide her real age and deceive those who were looking at her image. I wouldn't be surprise if it turned out that everyone who met her in real life considered themselves very, very unlucky.
Curious about the sea maiden, I took a step forward and pointed at the stained-glass window. "Who's that?" I asked.
Rian approached me and crossed his arms. "This is Yareli, the legendary Queen of the Sea," he explained. "She is said to be one of the five queens who ruled the world after it was created by the Cauldron. Yareli lived in an underwater kingdom with her five daughters and other fishy subjects whom we call the water folk. She was able to control the sea and all the creatures that lived there." He motioned towards the animals, saying, "Fish, turtles, octopuses, dolphins, everything. The Summer Court," Rian went on, "is probably the only place in Prythian where the stories about her are still known and handed down from generation to generation."
Not taking my eyes off the beautiful mermaid, I said, "And the rest of the world don't have a clue about her, do they?"
Rian shrugged. "Maybe. I've never talked with anyone about her, so you're the first person to listen to my version of the story."
"Oh, my. I feel super honoured," I whispered, placing both hands over my heart and pretending to be awestruck. "What had I done to deserve this special treatment?"
He laughed quietly. "To start with, lovely Alexandra, you didn't snore last night."
Making a dry face, I sighed. "Why do you keep repeating that? It's freaking annoying, to say the least."
"Because I enjoy doing it."
Giving him an incredulous look, I said, "Don't tell me it's your next habit." When that handsome muppet didn't answer and kept smiling, I fixed my eyes back on the black-haired mermaid and asked, "What happened to the Queen of the Sea and her kingdom? I have a feeling that it didn't end well."
"You're right." He nodded. "The legend has it that when her youngest daughter was sunbathing near one of the palaces, she was kidnapped by Yareli's greatest enemy. When the princess didn't come back home, the Sea Queen started looking for her daughter herself. She was so desperate to find her that she didn't sleep or eat for several days, and wouldn't let anyone rest until the princess was found. Even though the water folk searched the whole world for her, they didn't find her. And so, Yareli died of grief, leaving her beloved kingdom in ruin."
Rian stared for a while at the stained-glass window and then added, "Some say that her spirit is still looking for her missing child and woe betide if someone meets her in the deep waters surrounding Prythian."
"Oh, boy. Stop scaring me," I whispered, trying to sound frightened.
He glanced at me and scratched his head, suddenly seeming confused. "I'm sorry, Lexi. I didn't mean to. You do realise it's just a story, don't you?"
"I know. I'm just teasing you." I winked and patted his arm.
"Good." Rian let out a sigh of relief and went on, "I'm glad that you're not scared. I won't have to explain to everyone in the dining room that the reason of your rapidly beating heart is a children's story." He motioned towards a double door at the end of the corridor, asking, "Shall we?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I'm very hungry."
We walked in silence for a couple of seconds, listening to the sounds of the waves breaking on the shores and watching the stained-glass windows.
"I see that you have Tarquin's bracelet," Rian suddenly said. When I looked at him, he put his hands into his pockets and added, "I'm sure he would be pleased to see it on your wrist."
Frowning, I asked, "Why did you insist on accepting his gift? After all, I said that I didn't save Nerida just to get a reward."
"I know, but it would have been very stupid and impolite of you not to take it. If one of the High Lords wants to give you a precious gift, you just have to accept it. Besides, the bracelet was pretty and females like pretty things, isn't it right?" Rian winked.
Rolling my eyes, I said, "You do realise it's just a saying, don't you? There are women and females who don't give a shit about pretty things, and might be offended if they were given one." I sighed loudly to emphasise my point.
"I know. I'm just teasing you." He flashed me a smile.
Having approached the glass door, Rian grabbed the handles and was just about to open the door, when I said, "Rian, wait."
There was one thing I needed to do before going to breakfast.
He looked at me with curiosity and let go of the handles. "What is it?" he asked.
"I didn't thank you yesterday for helping me get Nerida out of the water," I added, flashing him a shy smile. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to draw her towards the edge of the pool. I overestimated my strength and it could have ended really badly for Nerida. And for me. Your name–" I blushed a bit when I realised what I wanted to admit, but if you have said A, you must also say B. "Your name was the first one that came to my mind," I went on. "Thank you. You saved both of us."
He nodded. "Don't mention it. I'm glad that I made it in time."
We smiled at each other.
Staring into his blue eyes, I allowed myself imagine what a relationship with him would be like. Just for a second, I saw it all – the burning love, the joy and laughter, the ordinary everyday things – and felt a faint tingle in my heart that vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Sadly, I knew it was never meant for us. Love, joy, laughter, or even everyday things were out of our reach. After all, he was a book character and I was an ordinary human girl that was soon returning to the real world. But it would have been wonderful, wouldn't it?
All of the sudden, Rian grunted and brought me back down to earth.
"Breakfast," he said quickly, looking away. "I hope you do like pancakes and scrambled eggs as they are always served here for breakfast."
Trying to hide my embarrassment, I fixed my eyes on my sandals and replied, "Oh, I love pancakes, especially with jam and whipped cream."
Rian pondered over my words. "Well, I'm not sure there would be whipped cream for breakfast, but you can always ask for it."
I dared to look at him, but he was avoiding eye contact with me.
"Honestly," I said quietly and he finally set his eyes upon me, "I'm so hungry right now that I can do without whipped cream."
"In this case," Rian smiled and grabbed the handles again, "let's eat some delicious pancakes and scrambled eggs, and fill our empty stomachs with them." He opened the door in one swift motion.
With wide windows overlooking the vast sea, the dining room was bigger than I had expected. It had a vaulted ceiling with five stunning silver chandeliers, white wooden walls and a shiny green floor. Each chandelier had beige candles that looked like scallop shells, but none of them were lit. After all, the sunlight coming through the windows was enough to make the whole dining room bright, and no artificial light was needed.
In the middle of the room, there was a large bright table, several chairs, but only a few were occupied, and a buffet with something that smelt great even from the distance. I was sure it was the smell of pancakes and scrambled eggs.
"Good morning, everyone!" Rian exclaimed and went inside. "I'm sorry for being late. I couldn't find my shirt." He headed towards the buffet, leaving me standing in the doorway.
No way, I thought, putting my hands on my hips and eyeing that handsome muppet. He was late because of a freaking shirt?
"If you kept your clothes in order in the wardrobe, Rian, you wouldn't have such problems," Cerys replied. She was sitting next to Zareen and a white-haired man whom I saw yesterday at the party. "Putting them aside and piling them up doesn't count," she added.
"I'm too busy to keep them in order." Rian took a plate and looked at the food. "Besides, my little piles help me keep track of my attire. You should try them too."
Cerys laughed mockingly. "No, thank you. I prefer keeping my attire in the wardrobe."
Rian just snorted, probably too busy choosing his breakfast.
"Lexi!" Marella exclaimed, making me look at her. She stood up and approached me with her arms wide opened, saying, "Good morning. I'm so glad you're joining us for breakfast."
When she embraced me, a flowery smell flooded my nostrils.
I smiled. "Morning, Marella. Thanks. It's nice to see you."
The High Lady drew away from me and added, "Last night, I didn't have the chance to thank you for saving my eldest daughter." She squeezed my hands and there were tears in her eyes as she said, "Thank you so much, Lexi. I can't even imagine what would have happened if you hadn't been near the pool… if you hadn't heard them…"
Her voice trembled and I was sure as hell that Marella wanted to cry, but she calmed herself down and flashed me a beautiful smile. "Thank you for saving my child. I will always be grateful for that. We," she corrected herself, "we, the Summer Court, will always be grateful. We will never forget that you jumped into the swimming pool and pulled our youngling from the water. Thank you." She squeezed my hands again and then whispered, "Thank you."
Feeling a bit awkward because of Marella's profuse thanks, I was staring at her silently. What I did yesterday seemed so natural to me that I didn't quite understand the reason for their over-emotional behaviour. Honestly, a simple 'thank you' would have been sufficient as I didn't need any tokens of gratitude.
"I don't know what to say," I said quietly, still looking at Marella.
We both laughed.
"That's why I will repeat what I have recently heard," I went on. "I'm glad that I made it in time."
The High Lady embraced me one more time, whispering, "Thank you."
I looked at Rian's back and noticed he stopped serving himself the food. I was sure he was listening to our conversation.
"Sunshine," Tarquin cut in, addressing his High Lady, "don't make our guest starve to death."
Marella gasped. "I'm sorry. You must be really hungry! Come with me." She looped her arm through mine and led me towards the buffet. "Our breakfasts are usually very informal. As you can see, we are now using the family dining room which is smaller and cosier, and thus perfect for a meal with family and friends."
"Smaller?" I repeated, looking around.
"Here are the plates," she went on as we stopped in front of the buffet. Rian was standing now on the other side of the long table and glanced at me. "Pick one and have some of this delicious breakfast." Marella patted me on the arm and returned to the rest of the fairies.
"Thank you," I said with a smile and fixed my eyes on the food.
Just as Rian told me, there were mostly plates with pancakes and enormous ceramic bowls full of scrambled eggs which occupied the middle of the buffet. I also noticed smaller glass containers with apples, strawberries, blueberries and something that looked like little yellow stars. Sadly, there was no whipped cream, just several sauce dishes with different kinds of jam.
Having put three pancakes on my plate, I added some strawberry jam on them. Then, I took a look at Rian's food and asked, "Just scrambled eggs and toasts?"
"Don't worry. I will probably have a second helping." Flashing me a smile, he approached the table with a plate in his hand and sat next to Zareen.
"How was last night? Did you sleep well, Lexi?" Marella asked when I joined them at the table and opted for a seat beside her. "I hope that the heat wasn't too exhausting," she added. "After so many years in the palace, I got used to it, but I'm sure that some may have difficulties with adjusting to it."
"Oh, no. The tower room was quite airy," I replied, flashing her a smile and pouring myself water from a glass jug that stood near me. There were also jugs with something that looked like juice but I wasn't sure what they tasted like, so I chose water, the safest option. "And the company was also tolerable." I glanced at Rian.
"Thank the Mother." He sighed loudly, digging into his scrambled eggs.
"What?" Marella asked with surprise, giving Rian a look and then fixing her eyes on me. "You slept in the tower room?"
I frowned. "Yes?"
"No one sleeps in the tower room," Tarquin announced loudly, observing me carefully. "That has been the unwritten rule in our palace ever since Rian was old enough to chase everyone away from the highest tower."
"I remember the first time," the white-haired man said. "He used his shadows to get rid of my sister and her lover, and publicly stated that the tower belonged to him. Cresseida was furious."
Tarquin laughed. "I'm sure that the whole Adriata heard the screams of their princess and saw the dark vicious thing that attacked her that day."
"I've almost forgotten why Auntie Cressie hates me so much." Rian drank from his glass. "And to think I wanted to be her favourite youngling and always get sweets from her."
Everyone in the dining room laughed.
"Cresseida?" I asked quite loudly, drawing their attention. "Oh, you mean the princess of Adriata? So you must be Varian," I said, having realised who the white-haired man was. When he fixed his brown eyes on me, I blurted, "I've heard a lot about you."
And Amren, I wanted to add but didn't. The stories were definitely X-rated and would surely make everything awkward, to say the least.
Varian nodded. "I hope they were only good things."
"Of course. Only the best."
"Why do I have a feeling it's somehow connected to the cabin?" Rian asked, giving me a lazy smile.
I coughed, suddenly interested in my last pancake. "I don't know what you mean."
"You do, lovely Alexandra."
"My dearest brother," Cerys cut in, "you do realise that it is very impolite to shield you and your interlocutor, making it impossible for others to hear your conversation. It's not the first time you blocked everyone around and pretended you were alone with your interlocutor." She gave him a challenging look.
Undeterred by her words, Rian smiled. "Since I've blocked all of you, I wanted to keep it between me and my, as you have put it, interlocutor."
Cerys made a dry face, but didn't say anything.
Then, there was this awkward silence.
"The pancakes were very good," I suddenly said, carefully placing my cutlery aside. "Thank you for your hospitality."
Tarquin nodded.
"Do you have any plans for today?" I asked, looking at Marella. "Any more birthday parties perhaps?"
"Oh, no." She smiled. "There's only one each year. I don't think my mate could stomach more of them. Enough is enough, as the saying goes."
"Sure, but who doesn't like getting birthday presents? Besides, you as a High Lady must get incredible ones. Do you remember the best you've ever got?"
Marella shrugged. "They are usually wonderful…"
"But?" I asked, sensing she was holding something back.
"Fine. I'll tell you." Beaming, she drew closer to me and said, "The best birthday present I have ever received was the mating ceremony that took place over thirty years ago. It was the day when I was mated with an amazing male who loves me despite all my flaws." She placed her hand over Tarquin's and flashed him a smile. "And who gave me three wonderful daughters."
Tarquin lifted her hand and kissed it, sending her a loving stare.
"Stop it at once, you two love birds," Varian cut in, "because I'm about to get rid of my partially digested breakfast right in front of you."
The High Lord of Summer gave him a stern look, but didn't let go of Marella's hand. "Should I remind you what you were doing with our dear Amren in the House of Wind when Conri and Rian wanted to improve their fighting techniques?" he asked. "Should I, my dearest cousin?"
"What were they doing?" I whispered quite loudly.
"You don't want to know," Rian replied, resting his hands on the table in front of him. "All I can say that we were two innocent younglings who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." He sighed. "I had nightmares after watching that."
Varian rolled his eyes and said, "It was just one time. One time."
"One too many, Uncle."
"I'm glad that I wasn't even born at that time. I'm sure I would have nightmares as well." Cerys groaned and then glanced at Varian. "I wonder… Does Neven know about it?" she asked.
Varian lifted his eyebrows and muttered something under his nose, but it was too quiet for me to catch it.
"Was it that bad?" I asked, looking at Rian.
"If you like watching your aunt fucking your uncle in the practice ring and shouting dirty things at the same time, then no, it wasn't bad. But if you don't…" Rian shrugged.
I laughed. "Oh, God."
"Can we please stop talking about this?" Zareen asked and she seemed quite uneasy. "It's breakfast, and the girls can come in any minute now."
Giggling, Marella looked over her shoulder. "You're right," she said. "I don't want them to listen to such stories."
"He started it." Rian pointed at Tarquin. "If you want to blame anyone, blame Uncle Tarquin."
"That's right," Varian chimed in. "It's his fault."
The High Lord snorted and crossed his arms. "Well, well, it's two against one."
"Are all your breakfasts so… exciting?" I asked Marella.
"I wouldn't say so." She frowned, pondering over my question. "They are usually much quieter as there are only the two of us. Sometimes, we are joined by the girls and Varian with Amren, but I do like when they are exciting." She flashed me a smile.
"The fun starts when the Night Court comes." Cerys laughed.
"That's a very good point," Rian said and waved his hand, filling his glass with juice. "I think we can use it as our motto."
Fascinated by his trick, I pointed at my empty glass and asked, "Can you do this with my glass?"
He shrugged, but waved his hand. Immediately, there was an orange liquid in it.
"There you go," he said. "The fiery fruit juice, just like yesterday."
"Wow. This is great." I lifted the glass and drank the contents. The juice was as sweet as yesterday's one, so he didn't pull a trick on me.
Rian smiled. "I don't remember the last time someone was amazed by my magic." Then he looked at Cerys and added, "I sincerely hope that you noticed that I didn't block anyone when I was talking with my interlocutor."
Cerys huffed. "Next time, when I'll see you talking with Lexi, I'll remind you of that."
"Fine." Rian nodded and then stood up. "I think I'm going to eat some pancakes now," he said and approached the buffet.
I didn't know why but my eyes darted to him and followed all the way to the buffet. There, I started checking him out, starting with that sexy bottom.
"Cerys told me that you were brought here by Meleri. Is that true?" Varian suddenly asked, making me look at him.
"Yes, she invited me to Prythian without asking for my permission," I responded, feeling that my cheeks were turning red.
"How long are you planning to stay in the Night Court?"
"Honestly? I don't know." I shrugged. "Rhysand… and Rian are looking now for a way to send me back home as there were some unforeseen conditions which prolonged my stay."
"I've heard that your world is unlike Prythian," Tarquin said, crossing an ankle over his knee and leaning back in the chair. "That it looks differently."
I nodded. "There are certain things that we have in common – like pancakes and scrambled eggs – but mostly, my world varies from yours in ways you can't even imagine. Cars, planes, telephones, TVs. I can go on and on and on."
"What did you call the thing that makes air cooler?" Cerys asked. "The one that you told us about in Marella's living room."
"A thing that makes air cooler?" Rian repeated, coming back to the table with a plate full of pancakes. "Sounds like magic to me, but you said you don't have it." He winked to me.
Smiling, I replied, "Yes, it's called air conditioning. It's used mostly during summer to decrease the temperature in a room or car. But it consumes lots of electricity, and I don't think you have it here."
Tarquin shook his head. "No, we don't."
"Maybe someone will invent it in the future. Who knows?" I smiled.
Suddenly, we heard loud footsteps that were nearing to the dining room, and the door sprung open.
"Mummy!" a child's voice exclaimed and two white-haired mini-fairies ran to Marella. They both started hugging her.
"Good morning, my little ones," the High Lady said, kissing the girls on their foreheads. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, mummy." The smaller mini-fairy nodded. She couldn't have been more than five years old. "Before we fell asleep, I lent Nerida my favourite dolly so she wouldn't be afraid in the night." She approached Tarquin and sat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "Good morning, daddy."
Tarquin flashed her a smile. "Good morning, Aya. You look wonderful today."
The girl blushed and asked quietly, "Will you go swimming with us today?"
"Certainly. I think that Uncle Varian will go with us too." The High Lord gave his cousin a meaningful look.
To my surprise, Varian had a happy smile on his face as he replied, "Of course I will."
Content, the mini-fairy cuddled up to Tarquin.
"Are you two hungry?" Marella asked, stroking the second girl's hair. Belatedly, I had come to realise that it was Nerida. Well, it was too dark by the pool, so I didn't get a good look at her.
A bit older than her sister, Nerida was a pretty girl who took after her mum. She had long white hair that were left loose, dark skin, and incredible blue eyes which she inherited from Tarquin. The mini-fairy was wearing a long light blue dress, but didn't have any shoes. There were also colourful bracelets on both wrists that jingled whenever she moved her hands.
"No, we ate with Aunt Carmina and our cousins," she replied. "We knew you had guests and we didn't want to disturb you." Nerida looked around the table and saw me. There was a broad smile on her lovely face as she said, "Hello, Lexi."
"Hello, Nerida. I see that you're feeling well today." I flashed her a smile.
She nodded. Then, lowering her voice, she spoke to Aya, "This is the human girl that saved me yesterday in the swimming pool."
Having stopped cuddling her dad, Aya widened her eyes and asked, "Really?" After a while, she added in a hushed voice, "I thought she would be younger."
I gasped.
"I'm just twenty-three," I muttered, feeling a bit offended.
Marella laughed. "Then you're really just a girl, Lexi."
"Do you really live in the Night Court?" Nerida came closer to me and studied my face.
"For the time being."
She started staring at my ears. "Your ears are round," she announced. "Can I touch them?" When I shrugged, she immediately sat on my lap and put both hands on my ears.
"This is weird," I whispered.
There were giggles and hushed voices all around me, but I wasn't able to discern who they belonged to. I was too focused on that small face that was barely inches from my own one.
"I like your ears," Nerida said, smiling and letting go of them. She was still sitting on my lap when she said, "I hope you're going to stay in our palace for more than just three days."
I heard myself asking, "Do you want me to?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll stay."
The mini-fairy smiled again.
"But no more touching ears, okay?" I added. I wanted to make this clear before she was able to go near them and harass me again.
Nerida nodded and got off my lap. Then, she came up to Tarquin and started talking with him and her younger sister.
"Since you're going to stay here for the rest of the week," Marella said and I looked at her, "should I ask someone to prepare a new room for you? Or do you prefer to sleep in the tower room?"
Immediately, I fixed my eyes on Rian. Talking with Zareen, he didn't even look my way and let me know he heard Marella's question. At first, I wanted to call his name, just to draw his attention, but then I decided it was no use. If he was too busy to eavesdrop on our conversation, and with his super hearing he just had to, then he didn't want me in the tower room.
Feeling a tiny pang of regret, I took my eyes off him and said quietly, "I want a new one." When she flashed me a sad smile, I added, "Can you find a room that is on the first or second floor? I just hate climbing stairs."
"Of course."
I nodded. "Thank you."
So much for using Rian as my pillow again, eh?
Pronunciation guide
Yareli = [ya - re - li] (meaning: lady of the water)
Neven = [neh - vahn] (meaning: everlasting)
Aya = [eye - ya] (meaning: colourful)
Carmina = [kar - mee - nah] (meaning: one who is like a song)