Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
He didn’t get up, just tipped his head back.
I bent in and touched my mouth to his before pulling back.
“Try to sleep well,” I bid.
“You too.”
“Love you, drahko,” I said softly.
He didn’t say the words, he jerked up his chin.
And that was bad.
Totally torture.
I gave him a smile that trembled, that flicker came back to his eyes as he watched it, but he turned to his desk and picked up his stylus.
And…
Yeah.
I was dismissed.
With no choice, I walked out of the room.
A stroke of luck, when I got to my bedroom, I noted the staff were done moving me.
So when I got there, I could close the door, bury my face in the rose silk of the pillow sham, and cry shamelessly.
Chapter 39
Deepest Pit
My eyes puffy from crying, scratchy from lack of sleep, lying in a bed of sumptuous bedclothes, my eyes to the tall window, I watched the sky move from night to a murky dawn.
The weather, it would seem, was continuing to align with my mood.
I gave three fluffballs (yes, even Jupiter remained close) some pets before they were forced to scatter when I pushed the covers back and got out of bed.
The cats stayed with me last night. And although I loved them for their show of loyalty, it was another stab in the heart that they’d had to choose, and they, too, didn’t get to spend time with daddy.
Especially Nova, who always had a doleful look on her face, but now she seemed miserable.
I wandered to the window, not the bathroom, sat on the cushion in the window seat and looked out at the sea.
I caught a school of the sea’s namesake dolphins leaping and playing while swimming south, toward the Three Realms, seeking warmer water for the winter. The barely-there sun still glinted off their glossy skin.
Normally, this would enchant me.
I’d felt Aleksei’s presence leave the suite an hour before, and he didn’t even bother to stick his head in, so nothing was delighting me.
I’d maybe snoozed for about an hour. The rest of my night was sleepless, so his goal of not disturbing it was for naught.
I needed a serious stint with my spa-visor.
I also needed to buck up, suck it up, and get on with it.
Tour first. Shoot vid next. Have a meeting with Nata to get stuck in on the MdV ball, which I had decided I was going to spearhead. We needed more to do like we needed holes in our heads, but farg it.
I, too, was sequestered at the Palace, and I’d go nuts without something to do.
That was something to do. And I’d never organized a ball, but I figured I’d be good at it.
Time to get on with it.
I turned from the window, headed to the bathroom, my Denti-Clean and my spa-visor.
“And we’ll be delighted to host five lucky winners, with their plus ones, at this event, along with providing feeds on social tapes, so you can tour the exhibition and be a part of the ball, even if you can’t travel to Nocturn.”
I took a short breath, lifting both hands to hold them, one over the other, at my chest, my smile still pinned to my face, and I continued.
“I’ve lived my whole life fascinated by clothes, not only style, but function, construction, the textiles that make them, and history. This particular fascination of mine is something I cannot wait to share with all of you. I also cannot wait to open the door to the Royal Catalogues and share the treasures we store here with the citizens of Night’s Fall with the hope you’ll be just as fascinated as me.”
I dropped my hands, holding them together in front of me, and I tilted my head very slightly.
“Thank you for watching. See you at the Musée.”
I kept smiling, not too much, not too little, at the cam.
“Annnnnd…we’re out,” the cam operator called.
Germaine hurried forward.
“That was a good one. We’ll go with that one. Perfect,” she gushed.
Standing in the sublevel of the Catalogues, in front of Queen Mathilde’s gown, I hoped it was perfect, since that was the eighth take, my feet were hurting, and I wanted nothing but to get out of there, get in the hover-cart, be whisked to the Palace and get into my retreat where I hoped they’d stocked the fridge and snack cabinet as I’d requested.
It was only early afternoon.
I still had every intention of kicking off my shoes, mixing myself a drink and getting the next item on my day’s agenda done and behind me.
For that one, I’d need a drink.
I’d had my tour of the Palace. It had lasted three hours. It was fascinating. And there was so much of it, I was sure I’d need a refresher in a week.
After that, a quick lunch with Aleece, who seemed even more distracted than her father had the night before. And there was a melancholy to her that was not a small amount of alarming.