by Jen Colly
Navarre easily joined in, pausing to greet men in gilded tailored suits with a warm hug and personal question or two before moving on to another cluster of people. Amazing. He knew each of these people on a personal level, seemed to take great pleasure in knowing their lives and families were well.
Gentlemen patted his back, and though it was meant as a friendly gesture, Cat couldn’t help but wonder if they were making sure he was truly alive and not some hallucination. Conversations flowed, and every now and then Navarre reached for her hand.
Though uncomfortable at first, Cat slowly warmed to standing at Navarre’s side. She accepted the polite nods that came her way, and tuned out the conversations, keeping her eyes and ears alert to those around Navarre.
A gorgeous woman approached, with a fairly average-looking man at her side, his arm wrapped lovingly around her waist. She looked somehow misplaced, like an exotic goddess from some far-off country wearing the wrong style gown. The pink and cream concoction against her beautifully dark skin made her stand out all the more.
“My lord,” she said, layers of fabric fluttering as she curtsied. “How I’ve missed you.”
“My dear Amelia.” Navarre took her hand, bowed, and touched the back of her hand to his forehead. He must respect this woman to bow to a citizen. Turning then to her husband, Navarre grinned. “Charis, just how much trouble have you let her get into since I’ve been away?”
“Far more than I can get her out of,” Charis admitted. Amelia laughed, the sound floating around them.
“Don’t listen to him. Now, Navarre, I’m sure you haven’t had the chance to catch up, so I’ll spread my own gossip,” Amelia said with a bright smile. “Our Dario has been promoted to the next level in training. Soon he will be one of your Guardians.”
“That’s fantastic. You must be proud,” Navarre said, and then to Cat’s surprise, he turned and looked directly at her. “Cat, do you know Dario?”
She sent Navarre a quick glare, not pleased with being dragged into this conversation. “I do. I’ve seen him practice.”
“And?” Navarre urged.
If he wanted to push her, she’d lay it out. “Dario is a natural. He has a smooth talent I have yet to see in the other applicants. If he can keep his ego in check and learn to take instruction, he’ll be a great Guardian.”
Amelia gaped, no doubt taken aback by Cat’s blunt assessment of her child, but Cat stood firm.
Amelia leaned toward Cat, and whispered, “To tell you the truth, I was hoping the training would knock that ego right out of him. Heaven knows I’ve tried.”
Cat lifted an eyebrow, surprised by the woman’s candor. “If Soren didn’t have him well in hand, he wouldn’t have passed him to the next level.”
A pleased smile settled on Amelia’s face as she turned to Navarre. “My dear Navarre, wherever did you find this delightful woman?”
“In my home,” he answered honestly.
Amelia appeared trapped in a state of shock for all of three full seconds, then quickly shook it off with a laugh. “Oh, the liar! Cat, don’t you dare let him get away with such nonsense.”
Cat shrugged. “It’s true.”
Amelia’s delicate eyebrows lifted, and she shared an amazed glance with her husband. “Oh, my.”
“Now, if you’ll excuse us, Amelia. Charis. We’re starving,” Navarre said, sending the couple a wink as he took hold of Cat’s arm and steered her toward their table.
“Did you have to drag me into the conversation?” Cat asked.
“I did, and she respects you for your honesty,” he said smoothly, then grinned at her. “Look at that. You made a friend.”
“Shut it,” Cat warned, her tone a touch playful.
She eyed the crowd on their way to the head table. Some bowed, others smiled. The narrow, hawklike gaze of a man ahead of them caught her attention. At first she couldn’t get a read on him, but when he turned to the man at his side to resume what seemed like a friendly conversation, his expression didn’t change. She let it go. Some people just had the misfortune of looking sinister.
But as they passed the hawk-eyed man, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Navarre’s arm. Cat pulled her blade off her thigh, poised to strike. The aristocrat, well dressed and without a single hair out of place, seemed horrified to find himself her target. Another richly attired man stood in the background wearing a similarly terrified look, but he was no threat, and quickly forgotten.
Navarre raised his hands to both of them. “Cat, this is Vidor. He was only trying to catch my attention before I sat down. Promise.”
She glanced at Navarre, then studied the shocked aristocrat. Cat tapped her finger on the hilt as if contemplating Navarre’s words, and then just as quickly as the weapon appeared, it disappeared.
Vidor resumed breathing, and promptly looked her over, a sneer trying to make an appearance on his face. “Why is she here? You allow a murderer into our midst.”
“No, Vidor. I welcome my high justice and personal bodyguard at my table.”
“You can’t,” Vidor said, his tone flat, final. “This is not acceptable.”
“When Bareth lived and served as my high justice, you would not have barred him from dining with me,” Navarre said.
“Bareth never hunted down demons and gutted them in the streets.”
Cat laughed, low and dark. “That statement proves you’ve never met a Stalker. They aren’t stupid enough to go for the gut. It’s too messy.” She paused for a second for her words to sink in, then added, “We just take the head.”
Vidor gaped, unable to verbalize his horror.
“Now then,” Navarre said, brushing aside Vidor’s personal agenda. “What is it you actually needed?”
“I apologize, my lord.” The man in the back raised a pointed finger in the air and stepped up, clearing his throat. “It was I who had the question.”
The man looked nervous, and actually waited for Navarre to encourage him. “Go on then, Hallock.”
“I wondered what your intentions were concerning the collapsed tunnel on ten.”
Navarre looked between the two men. “A collapse has not been brought to my attention.”
“It collapsed as you slept, my lord,” Vidor supplied.
“Yes, and I have since woken.” Navarre cast Cat a quick glance.
Did he not know what had happened? Probably not, and he’d been goaded into admitting his lack of knowledge. Navarre’s concern for his people overshadowed all, and she could see that look gathering on his face.
“The collapse was minor,” Cat interjected, taking all three men by surprise.
“Minor.” Vidor laughed, his gusto causing Hallock to join in. “Amusing. The woman thinks a collapse in our city is minor, that a blockage in one of our streets is not crippling to us, that men being injured is something to dismiss without a second thought.”
“Only the men initially securing the supports to the upper level were injured, if you can call the scrapes and bruises common to men who work for a living an injury.” She’d had it with this man. Cat smiled, and it was fake as hell, but she smiled. “And I didn’t say it wasn’t a mess down there, but no one lives, works, or even walks in that area. It blocked nothing. And if you were truly so concerned with the collapse, then you would have been at my side digging out the corridor. You were not.”
“There, you see? The collapse has been handled.” Navarre took her hand from the hilt of her knife and steered her from the gaping men. Leaning close, he said quietly, “You labored alongside my people to clear a tunnel? Not only do you belong here, Cat, but I’m proud to have you at my side.”
Cat truly considered this possibility for the first time. She didn’t fit in, and that was obvious, but the people of his aristocratic class weren’t what she’d expected. Other than their expensive and sometimes ridiculous clothing, they were like everyone else. Some people accepted her and others did not. She’d met a man who completely ad
ored his wife, and a mother pleased to boast about her child’s accomplishments. Even jerks like Vidor could be found in any walk of life.
Navarre escorted her to the head table and two servants rushed to set plates before the center seats. Steam rose from the food, bringing the smell of roasted meat to her nose, making her mouth water. Navarre pulled out a chair for her, waited patiently for her to sit.
Cat stepped back and crossed her arms, eyes focused on the ebb and flow of the crowd. “I’m not eating. I’m on guard.”
“You will not hover behind me, and this plate is yours. You may be my bodyguard, but you are also my guest.” He bowed slightly, his hand held out, offering her the chair. “Please sit.”
She didn’t actually need to stand. The room had only one entrance, which she could see, and being at the head table, only the wall was at their backs. And as no one else sat at the lord’s table, there was no one within close proximity to keep an eye on.
Cat dropped into the chair, and Navarre eased into the seat beside her. People took their cue from their lord and settled into their seats, but even as they did, their curious glances kept returning to the head table. Their scrutiny didn’t stop her from eating the feast before her.
At her side, Navarre ate, though he’d gone quiet. They exchanged some small talk, but the few words spoken never led to an actual conversation. He’d been fine, but something about being at this table had deflated his high spirits.
She was about to ask him why he’d gone quiet, when something caught the light, reflected oddly, and she glanced up. “Is she a friend?”
Navarre didn’t answer. Instead he watched the elegant woman approach. Her strapless royal blue gown had a heart-shaped corset that hugged her slender body. The fabric flared into a rippling skirt at her waist, dotted with tiny golden beads. Long gold earrings caught the light with each step she took, and thick gold bracelets cuffed her wrists. Her necklace made a tight circle at the base of her neck, the long gold pieces fanning out over her collarbone, covering nearly every inch of her exposed neckline. Gold hair combs perched at choice spots swept back her glossy black hair.
The regal woman paused directly before Navarre and bowed low, a freakishly graceful combination of kneeling and a curtsey. And there she stayed.
“Please rise, Nadine,” Navarre said, his voice smooth.
Nadine’s flawless fingers splayed over her necklace, and as she stood, she whispered, “We’d feared the worst.”
“As you can see, I am well,” Navarre said with a tight smile. “Back in the land of the living, and happy to be among my people.”
Cat took another bite of the finely sliced pork swimming in some fancy sauce as she took in their exchange. This woman made Navarre uncomfortable. It was all over his face, and in his tone. And the way he shifted his body? He was done with her and they hadn’t made it past pleasantries and into a personal conversation.
“I was worried. For you,” Nadine said, her voice suddenly emotional and on the edge of tears. “I thought I might never see you again.”
Nadine approached the edge of the table, her hand outstretched toward Navarre. Cat shot to her feet, stabbed her fork into the table between them. Tines embedded into the wood, the silver handle shimmied. Nadine jerked her hand back, eyes wide as she gaped at Cat.
Navarre didn’t look any less stunned, and her actions had drawn the attention of several others in the dining hall, but none of that mattered. Cat wasn’t buying this woman’s act.
Fork currently occupied, Cat pointed her steak knife in Nadine’s direction. “Hands off.”
“But I…” Nadine clutched her neck, then ignored Cat completely and turned her full focus on Navarre. “She can’t be serious. Navarre, how dare she tell me what I can and cannot do?”
“She is my personal bodyguard, Nadine.”
“She has no right!” Nadine took a tentative step forward, glancing at Cat briefly. “I am one of the aristocracy. Your aristocracy.”
“Yes, Nadine, but I’ve been absent for seven years, and in all matters concerning my personal safety, I bow to Cat.”
Nadine gasped, her jaw coming slightly unhinged before she collected herself. “I could never harm you. My only intention was to sit with you as we’ve done in the past.”
Navarre seemed to consider this for a moment. “I prefer not to have company tonight. Another time perhaps.”
“Very well.” The highborn female spun around, her skirts whooshing as she strode away, chin high. The golden jewels and beads shimmered in the light as she moved.
Cat felt extremely smug at the moment. Not only had Navarre publicly vocalized his respect for her opinions and methods, and announced he would abide by her decisions, but he’d taken her clear distrust of this woman into consideration. Nadine had an interest in Navarre that went far beyond a concern for his well-being.
“It’ll never work out between you and her,” Cat said, leaning back in her chair. She propped her knee onto the table and picked apart a piece of bread.
Navarre turned, shifted his entire body to face her. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“She has a gold fetish.” She cocked a half smile, her eyes pointedly fixing on his pectorals, and lifted her eyebrows mischievously. “You’re definitely into silver.”
A hungry grin split his lips and he leaned closer. “You had your eye on more than the silver.”
She lifted one shoulder in an indifferent shrug, but he was dead on. No reason to deny her attraction to him.
Navarre leaned closer and whispered, “Do you know what they are? What they mean?”
“You like jewelry.”
He sat tall and pressed his shoulders back, a scowl creasing his brow. “Do I look as if I crave ornamentation?”
He did not. Navarre was plain and elegant, refined. Handsome. Still, she couldn’t resist teasing him. “So you’re into piercings. No big deal.”
“The rings are tantamount to a crown, symbols of my royal lineage. When you saw them, the dim light would have made it impossible to read the small script etched into the rings. The left lays claim to my royal bloodline. It reads Casteel. The right says Lord. Plainly stated, the combined rings declare me the ruling lord of Balinese. The royal tradition is common knowledge, but very few have ever seen the rings.”
“Still, I’m right.” Cat acted casual, tried to ignore that his words, and the intimacy of what had passed between them, affected her. “You have a thing for silver.”
His voice dropped, deep and tempting. “What element have you a penchant for?”
Cat suppressed a smile. The sexy way he worded his thoughts appealed to her on some level she didn’t recognize. She held his gaze, and said, “Steel.”
“Ah, I should have known. You favor your weapons to jewelry.” Navarre dislodged the fork from the table and passed it back to Cat. “This, I believe, is yours.”
“It worked great. Maybe I’ll start carrying a fork,” she said, spinning the utensil.
“And relinquish your knives?”
“You’re right.” She set the fork on the table. “Why stab when I can stab and slice?”
Navarre let out a soft laugh; then his thoughts shifted quickly. He lowered his voice and whispered, “Why show hostility toward Nadine?”
“You don’t like her. Why should I?”
Navarre studied her face for a moment, then asked, “What makes you say that?”
“Do you really think I can’t see the type of man you are? You like your people, take a genuine interest in them. You’re warm and conversational.” Cat paused, looked away from him to scan the crowd, then turned back to him and said quietly, “When she walked up here, you shut down. You look at her differently.”
The muscle along his jaw twitched. “How did I look at her?”
“You look at that woman like she’s a snake ready to strike.” Cat crossed her arms and waited for his response, practically daring him to prove her wrong.
&nbs
p; Chapter 14
“Nadine tried to strike once, when I was young. Long before I became lord. She got me drunk and tried to bite me. If she’d left a mating mark, I would have been trapped,” Navarre admitted. “After I denied her, she put quite the effort into making amends and rebuilding our friendship. Nadine hungers for power, and nothing else in life will bring her happiness. To this day she’s made it clear that until I’m mated, she will not turn her interest toward another.”
“That woman sounds like a bigger problem than demons.” Cat found Nadine across the room, quickly assessing the regal woman. “I can take her out for you.”
Navarre sent her a scolding glare.
Cat threw her hands up. “What? It would be an easy job.”
“You are not to ‘take her out.’” Navarre knew she was teasing, but drawing a line seemed the safe thing to do with this woman.
“Fine, but if she comes back to bite you, remember I offered.” With a half smile, Cat made a show of chomping her teeth together for emphasis.
Desire sparked at the sight of her small fangs mimicking a bite. No one fed from the lord. It wasn’t done. Which naturally made the act something he longed to experience. To have that with Cat would be the stuff of dreams.
Sipping her wine, she scanned the room for threats. The way she moved and spoke announced loudly that she was in complete control of the situation. He’d found no reason to believe otherwise. Cat was a powerhouse in a deceivingly petite package.
Tonight he’d discovered something new about her. When comfortable in her surroundings, she teased. This playful side of her was enjoyable. Cat was everything he wanted, and needed. Navarre didn’t know how to say what he felt, so he just said what made sense in the moment. “I like having you here. With me.”
Her eyes met his, wide and surprised. “Why? Because I can threaten the nobility when you can’t?”
Navarre laughed, nodding slightly. “While I admit that was entertaining, I am also enjoying your company. And your honesty.”
“My honesty is an acquired taste. Most have a hard time hearing it, and not just the words, but coming from the mouth of a female.” Cat lifted her goblet to him and sent him a quick wink. “If you like it, then you’re one of the rare few.”