CARDIGAN, acotar ¹

chapter eighteen

₊˚ˑ༄ؘ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

THE MANOR'S STUDY was as enchanting as the rest of the spring court, if not more. tomes lined each wall, while rich rugs scattered throughout the room. hundreds of lanterns and candles were lit, even though the curtains had been pulled back, letting sunlight wash over them. it had been her first time in it, but it would certainly not be her last.

"stop moving," feyre murmured, half-hidden behind a canvas.

that morning, she had all but dragged carson out of bed, demanding that she paint her with the new supplies tamlin had brought for her. and since she hadn't spent as much time as she would have liked with her sister, even though their fate were tied as one, carson agreed. though she had asked for an hour more of sleep before doing so.

carson glared, but stopped shifting. her gaze settled on the books piled up on the table, remembering tamlin mentioning feyre was learning how to read. her chest suddenly felt tighter than she could bear.

"you never told me you couldn't read," carson said, but it was a murmur at best. how much of feyre's life had she missed?

feyre shrugged, still utterly focused on the painting before her. "i never had the time," she replied a bit hoarsely. "you had left, and nesta and elain — well ... " she shrugged. "besides, i never would have been able to. not while we lived in that cottage."

carson's brows drew in. "i should have stayed," she stated. "i never should have run off and bought that town house."

feyre just shrugged.

a soft knock on the door ripped carson's attention from her thoughts, towards tamlin leaning on the doorway, watching feyre with a light smile. carson held back her laugh. the high lord was wearing his heart for all too see, for her sister — a feisty, wild-hearted human — and he didn't seem to care.

"yes, high lord?" feyre mused, mouth tugged up at the side. she still faced her painting, her brush gliding smoothly against the canvas.

"i was wondering if you'd come with me to the gardens. there's something i want to show you," tamlin said, striding into the study. he nodded in acknowledgement to carson. she just threw him a lazy smirk, seeing right through him.

"but i — " feyre began, gesturing to her painting.

"go," carson urged. "i'm starving and if you tell me i can't move for another hour, i'm going to throw a fit." she was lying through her teeth. of course, dahlia had brought her breakfast while she got ready, knowing she would be sitting there for hours, but feyre didn't have to know that.

"you're sure?"

"i am," carson confirmed.

with a final nod, feyre used the back of her hand to brush away her hair and rose from her seat. she had paint smeared across her cheekbone, which just made tamlin smile greater. promising she would be quick, just going to change out of her paint-stained clothes, she stalked out of the room with a blush that hadn't been there seconds ago.