The Court that Bleeds Gold: A Dark Fantasy Romance (The Gold Weaver Book 1) by Zara Storm

Author:Zara Storm [Storm, Zara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The bluecups don’t work. There’s a moment in my workshop when my gold liquidizes, the solution I’ve made edging back towards the lead it used to be, but then the reaction collapses under my tense watch, the gold solidifying once more, only this time with some ugly streaks of black through it. I throw my tongs down onto the table with a clatter.

“No good?” asks Destan, reading a book on a chaise in the corner. He’s visibly smug because Halima’s told him I wore the dress last night. The first thing he did when he came in this morning was ask if it had the “desired effect” while waggling his eyebrows at me. I’ve been ignoring him since.

“There’s something missing,” I say, but don’t go into more detail. I know Destan well enough now to guess that while he’d be nice about it, he’d also be thoroughly bored by the whole thing.

“I can’t believe that after everything you put me through in the forest, those damn flowers don’t even work,” he tuts, then seems to have a thought. “Still, I suppose it at least gave you and Rus time to bond.”

“We didn’t bond,” I say.

“What about last night, then?”

I can’t stop the blush that floods my cheeks. Those brief moments of being pinned up against that wall by Ruskin, his hands on me—fingers in me—feel like they happened a world away. Looking back on the memory, I can scarcely believe it’s real, here in the cold light of day.

“What do you know about last night?” I demand.

“Oh, only that Ruskin came back all worked up and frustrated about something. I hadn’t pegged you for a tease.”

I wonder if I could knock the book out of his hands if I threw my tongs from here.

“It wasn’t like that!” I say, appalled. “He…wasn’t himself last night, that’s all.” The truth is, I wasn’t myself last night. Or at least, not a version I recognize. Perhaps Faerie is changing me.

Destan gives a delicate snort. “You sound like Halima. Anyway, I’m not here to judge. If anything, it would be good for him. Ruskin used to be fun, you know, before…”

“Before Queen Evanthe was attacked?”

He shoots a look at me. “He told you about that?” He sits up straighter, examining me with a new look in his eyes. I don’t like it. It gives me the feeling he’s planning something.

“He never talks about that,” Destan adds.

I shrug. “Like I said. Not himself.”

“Indeed.” Destan sounds unconvinced.

“So, what was he like, before?”

Destan pauses for a minute, seeming to consider whether or not to answer, before he reaches a decision.

“We grew up together. High Fae bloodlines and all that. He never cared what anyone thought about him. I guess that’s how you survive as half Unseelie in a Seelie Court. It meant we’d get into the most outrageous fun. Women, wine, you name it. There was this one time, with a pair of nymphs⁠—”

I hold a hand up. “I don’t need to know about that.”

“Right, of course,” says Destan, looking abashed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.