A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire(97)

“No, we haven’t.” I found nothing but concern and curiosity whirling through him. “Penellaphe Balfour.”

“Jasper Contou,” he told me, and I realized I’d never known Kieran’s last name. “Balfour? That is an old Solis name.”

“Alastir said the same.”

“He would know.” Jasper glanced to where the others stood. “So, I was under the impression I’m to officiate a wedding?”

I bit down on my lip, wondering if Casteel still planned to marry me while here. We’d only planned to be in Spessa’s End until the first group from New Haven arrived, which should be today. But with the fire?

“A highly anticipated and yet also extremely unexpected wedding, I might add.” He smiled then, and I felt a trickle of amusement from him.

Perhaps the day before, I would’ve responded with something appropriately vague, spoke in a way that was becoming of the Maiden, but that part of me was gone. “I don’t know if Casteel still plans to marry me while we’re here,” I answered, meeting his pale gaze. “You speak for the wolven?”

He nodded.

“So, I imagine you probably expected him to marry someone else.”

His amusement rose a notch. “Considering that Casteel has never once indicated that he was interested in settling down with anyone, I didn’t expect anything from him.”

There was a catch in my heart. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Casteel when he said that he hadn’t agreed to marry Gianna, but it was…well, it was a relief to know that the wolven who spoke for his people hadn’t expected the marriage. “But did you expect him to marry a wolven? From what I’ve learned, there has been discontent among the wolven, and I’m guessing there was hope that a marriage between Casteel and a wolven would ease those troubles.”

There was a slight hardening of Jasper’s jaw, and I felt a hot spike of anger. “I am of the same mind as Casteel. A marriage between our two peoples would’ve done very little to assuage concerns or to end the need for retribution against the Ascended. Valyn is also intelligent enough to know that,” he said, referring to the King by his first name. “But when you hear enough whispers, you begin to believe whatever those whispers tell you.”

I frowned as I looked at Casteel—at those who stood with him. Was Jasper suggesting that the union   between Casteel and a wolven had been an idea fed to the King? Alastir was an advisor to the Crown, but while he had doubts regarding our relationship’s authenticity, he didn’t appear against it. But what had Casteel said to Alastir last night at dinner? That he knew why he’d brought up the expectation. Perhaps it had been Alastir’s idea in hopes that it would help ease the unrest. I couldn’t exactly fault him for that.

“I imagine I will still be officiating a wedding,” Jasper mused.

I lifted my brows as I refocused on him. “You don’t doubt our intentions?”

“Not after meeting you.”

“I’m not sure if that was a compliment or not,” I admitted, even though nothing I sensed from him indicated that he was being facetious.

His grin grew even wider. “You seem to have no problem speaking your mind for someone raised to be the Maiden.”

“Not always,” I confessed, shivering as a gust of smoke-tinged wind whipped across the roof. “You seem to have no issue speaking with me even though I was the Maiden.”

“And are apparently capable of healing broken bones with just the touch of your hands.”

I looked at him in surprise.

“I heard what you did for Beckett. I told Alastir that little idiot shouldn’t be out here.” There was a fondness to his tone. “Young wolven can be very accident-prone due to their general curiosity about literally everything, which leads to a near-catastrophic level of inattentiveness.”

I grinned. “But he’ll be okay.”

“Because of you.”

Looking back at the sky, I exhaled softly. “I’ve never done that before.”

“I heard that, too. From my daughter and son. They also said you appeared…old.”

Good gods, I’d forgotten about that amidst everything that’d happened after that conversation. “Do I smell like death to you, too?”

He laughed. “You do not smell of death, but you do have a…different scent. One I can’t exactly place, but that feels familiar.” Jasper was quiet for a moment, and I suddenly remembered the wolven in New Haven—the one who had spoken Jasper’s name and said that Jasper would be interested in meeting me. “When Delano said you most likely descend from an empath bloodline and Kieran confirmed such, I didn’t believe them. And now I really don’t.”

My gaze shot to his. “Why not?”

The wolven inclined his head. “Because very few empaths could actually heal with their touch, and I’ve never heard of an empath who glowed like the moonlight. That doesn’t mean none ever did, but the ones I knew sure as hell didn’t.”

Unease stirred. “Are you suggesting that I’m not descended from that bloodline?”

“I don’t know.” Honesty rang in the silver-haired wolven’s words as he studied me. “You are a mystery in many ways, Penellaphe.”

Casteel’s approach silenced any response I might have had. “I truly hope you’re not filling her head with tales about me.”

“Are they tales I should know?” I asked.

“Depends.” Casteel eyed Kieran’s father. “If they involve anything that happened between when I was a babe through my Culling, the answer would be no.”

My brows rose. “Well, now I’m definitely interested.”

Pushing away from the wall, Jasper chuckled. “I haven’t spun any tales.” He paused. “Yet.”

Casteel’s eyes narrowed as he stood beside me. “How about you keep spinning tales to a minimum?”

“But I’m very interested in spun tales,” I remarked.

Jasper grinned again, and this time, with the light of the sun, there was no mistaking the resemblance between him and Kieran. “We have time. I’ll make sure of it.” He winked in my direction before clasping a hand on Casteel’s shoulder and leaving the parapet.

“It’s amusing to me that Alastir knows to keep his mouth shut when it comes to embarrassing stories concerning my most formative years, and yet speaks freely about things that should be given a second thought,” Casteel said, watching Jasper join his son and Alastir. Beckett had arrived, and when he smiled up at Jasper, I couldn’t help but think of the bolt of fear I’d felt from him. “And yet, meanwhile, Jasper is the exact opposite.”

“I’m really interested in your formative years.”

“I’m sure you are.” Casteel angled his body toward mine, and it was the first time since Emil had knocked on the door that we were somewhat alone.

There was so much to say as we stared at one another. So many questions and words left unsaid, but neither of us spoke as he gathered the edges of my cloak, pulling the thin material tighter around me. His hands remained there, balled in the material below mine as his gaze roamed over my face.

“You don’t need to stay up here, Poppy,” he said after a moment.

“I know, but I want to be here when Delano comes back.” I looked down at his hands. “Besides, I doubt I’d be able to sleep.”

“You could try.”

“So could you.”

“Even if I wasn’t the Prince, I would be up here,” he replied.

I lifted my gaze to his. “Even if I wasn’t about to become a Princess, I would be up here.”

Casteel became so still, I wondered if he breathed. I sensed an acute rush of emotions flow through him, so swift and sudden, I couldn’t make out what they were. That could’ve been my shock, though, because I’d never felt anything like that from him before.

Then he moved, lifting a hand. He hesitated as if to see if I would pull away. When I didn’t, he cupped my left cheek. His fingers splayed across the scars. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you refer to yourself as the Princess.”

Had I not?

His gaze searched mine, and a long, tense moment passed. “There is so much we still need to talk about.”

“I know,” I whispered. “But it has to wait. I know that, too.”

“But until then?” He stepped into me, causing my breath to snag. “I am honored that you are standing beside me now.”

I didn’t know what to say, and I realized that sometimes nothing needed to be said.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Thirsty?”

I shook my head as he lifted his gaze to the western sky.

“But you’re cold.”

“Just a little.”

“A little is too much.” He lowered his hand to my shoulder and turned me so I faced the west. I allowed it.

And when he folded his arms around me, pulling my back against his front, I only tensed for a few seconds. I allowed that too and relaxed into his warm embrace, letting my head rest against his chest. Casteel seemed to let out a breath, and for several minutes, we just stood there. Together.

It was in those moments that I thought about what the wolven had said. “Jasper sort of indicated that he doesn’t think I’m descended from the empath bloodline.”