CARDIGAN, acotar ¹

chapter fourteen

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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CARSON JOLTED AWAKE — her breath heavy, light sweat bedding at her temple, and overcome with an intense feeling that someone was watching her. turning her head slowly, she found lucien staring at her, while sitting cross-legged at the end of her bed. she jolted back, the back of her head crashing into the headboard.

the faerie let out a booming laugh as he held a hand flat against his chest. the human girl merely glared at his stupid face.

"do you watch everyone sleep?" she snarled.

lucien shrugged, bored. "just the ones i find intriguing."

carson gave him a long look.

it had been a two weeks since those faeries had attacked her. during which, cecelia and tamlin had been distant and rarely seen — only seen on the fourth night as they limped back from killing the bogge. it had ended up biting tamlin's hand, but celia had taken an injury at her leg from jumping in front of tamlin before the bogge could do more. carson had never seen so much blood — nor tamlin more frustrated and worried as he carried cecelia back, injured hand and all, and accepted their help in the infirmary.

lucien had been at celia's side for the past few days, but it seemed that it had come to a stop today, seeing as he fiddled with the hem of her blanket.

"what are you doing here, lucien?" carson asked with a yawn before cozying back into the warmth of the covers, with her cheek flat against the cold, silk pillow. she closed her eyes, only to open them again when she felt the mattress shift.

lucien sat with his back flat against the headboard, expression drawn in tight. "i have to go sort out some hotheads near the northern border — official emissary business." like a child asking to play, he tugged at the blanket she hugged up to her chest. carson snatched it back, while lucien drawled, "you're coming with me."

"like hel she is," dahlia suddenly said, appearing in the doorway. she balanced a tray of hot tea and food in her hands, making lucien glare at her.

"will you stop working already?" he hissed at her, jerking up from carson's bed to cross the room in a few strides. snatching the tray off the heavily-confused, pregnant faerie, he placed it on the foot of carson's bed, before pointing to an armchair. "tamlin told you to rest," he said, beyond outraged.

dahlia looked more than amused. "i'm fine, lucien."

"well i won't be if you suddenly birth that thing in front of me," lucien shot back, gagging at the thought of it, even though dahlia wasn't due for another few months. carson slapped his arm when he took his spot back on her bed, as if it was completely normal. he merely flicked her in return.

"if andras was here, he would carve out your other eye for calling his daughter that thing." dahlia's silver eyes narrowed beneath her butterfly mask.

lucien just shrugged, closing his eyes.

but carson, who'd taken a sip from her peppermint tea, nearly spewed it across the sheets when the realization hit her. next to her, lucien's eyes flew open, as if he'd just figured that out, too. she was still treading lightly on the topic, especially now that dahlia had mentioned andras, but she couldn't help but push: "a daughter?"