The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(88)
“I think you and Blue have done enough talking for now.”
He fell silent. She was right. He knew she was. But his traitorous heart wanted to argue. Wanted to sneak out of the castle window and go see Blue again that night.
His mother stood and nodded toward his bedroom suite. “You’re dismissed. And if you disappear off these castle grounds again anytime between now and the ball without my express permission, I will make your life absolutely miserable. Are we clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and made a hasty escape to his bedroom. He shut the door behind him, allowed his valet to undress him, and then dismissed the man so he could fall onto his bed and close his eyes.
So many bones.
Blue reaching for the gate, a fevered light in her eyes.
The way she’d leaned toward him in the meadow, her lips parted.
He should have kissed her. He was never going to get another chance, and he’d spend the rest of his life regretting it.
A hand tapped his shoulder, and his eyes opened. Nessa stood there in her pink nightgown, fluffy white slippers on her feet. Her hands flew.
You still know how to make Mother angry.
He sighed. “I know.”
Was it worth it?
“Maybe.” He wasn’t going to tell his little sister about the graveyard of children’s bones. About the wraith kept strong on the blood of innocents. Or about wishing he’d kissed Blue just once.
She hopped up onto the bed beside him, and he scooted until he was sitting with his back to the headboard to make room for her.
Who are you going to choose at the ball?
He closed his eyes again. “I don’t know.”
She smacked him lightly on his knee. He opened his eyes.
Pay attention. I’m going to help you.
He smiled, though it felt so much harder to do than it had a few weeks ago. “My little sister is giving me marriage advice?”
I’m old enough to understand how love works.
He ruffled her hair, and she batted his hand away. “So what is your advice, O wise one?”
Which girl would make you want to move back to Loch Talam if you had to sit across from her every morning at breakfast?
He laughed, and Nessa’s eyes sparkled. “I’m not going to answer that in case I end up having to choose one of the girls who makes that list.”
Nessa’s expression grew serious. All right, new question. Which girl would you regret not joining for breakfast every morning?
Blue’s face flashed across his mind, and he shook his head. “I don’t know.”
She gave him a perfect imitation of their mother’s glare. Yes, you do.
“Nes, I like several of the girls enough to enjoy eating breakfast with them.”
That’s not what I asked, but fine. I’ll change the question. Ready?
“Always.”
Who do you want to kiss?
He stayed quiet.
She smiled, wide and triumphant. I knew it. There is someone you want to kiss. Wait. Have you already kissed her?
“I am not discussing kissing with my little sister.”
But I want to know!
“We don’t always get what we want.”
She rolled her eyes. Who do you want to tell your darkest secrets to?
“Who says I have any dark secrets to tell?” he said, though Blue’s eyes, filled with understanding as he unburdened himself to her, filled his thoughts.
I’m your sister. I know you have secrets. All right, last question, and this is most important.
“Hit me with it.”
Which girl would you die to protect?
He quit trying to get Blue’s face out of his head. She’d taken up residence when he hadn’t been paying attention, and now it seemed impossible not to think of her with every question Nessa asked.
Well?
“I’d die to protect you,” he said, and meant it with every fiber of his being. Pulling her into a quick hug, he said, “Thank you for your help, little bird, but I’m afraid you’ve missed one very important thing.”
What did I miss?
“I don’t get to make this decision based on who I love. I have to decide what’s best for our kingdom. If I’m lucky, my emotions will follow my decision like it did for our parents. If I’m not lucky, well, then at least I’ll have brought peace and prosperity to Balavata.”
But what about you?
“What about me?” He pulled back to look at her. At her nimbus of curls and her big brown eyes. At the dimple in the corner of her left cheek and the joyful energy that radiated from her.
You deserve to be loved. You deserve someone who would die to protect you.
“Then let’s hope the girl I choose eventually feels that way. Now, off to bed with you.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and watched her leave his room. And then he blew out the light beside his bed and lay in the dark for hours thinking of bones, magic, and kissing Blue.
THIRTY-SIX
BLUE ROSE WITH the sun, though it took immense effort to force herself out of bed without Dinah’s furious prodding. She wanted to leave the house before Dinah or the girls woke and began giving her a long list of chores to complete. Or worse, before Dinah decided she needed yet another spell of Mama’s and made Blue go back down into the root cellar again.