Find Your Fire - The Angulus Chronicles #1

Chapter Eighteen

We couldn't find Oahn anymore, he was probably losing some steam somewhere and I didn't blame him. His father was an asshole. But I couldn't let the thought go that the man was made this way- the death of his daughter broke their family apart, but maybe with a little time the severed ties could be mend again. Maybe.

Orin had been stamping back to the castle in front of us, upset by the past events, and she left a trail of gawking people all around her. Moms grabbed their children and men looked quite interested in this force of nature walking through the streets, steaming from head to toe.

Lorem and I walked next to each other in silence, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and no matter how I tried to get him to smile, he just didn't seem to hear it.

When we reached castle grounds, I gave up and greeted him goodbye, heading for my own chamber to make myself ready for the dinner. We were meeting with the old kings real sons tonight and I wasn't sure what to expect. I should've asked for a dress code. Shit.

But when I reached my room, a package of clothing was brought to my chambers when I was away- courtesy of Miuh. I smiled as I took the clothing out of the box- it was beautiful.

A light blue top that only reached my stomach, showing a sliver of skin, was adorned with shimmering, fine glitter. The sleeves were made of some puffy, sheer material and it cuffed around my wrists with silver bracelets. A matching pair of satin pants, made of the same blue color, was also cuffed at my ankles and light brown sandals comforted my tired feet after all the walking today.

I had quickly showered and now braided my front pieces around my head- they formed one big braid that disappeared in a curtain of loose brown curls on the rear side of my head.

A knock on my door- Lorem picking me up.

I opened the door and saw Lorem leaning against the wall, loose off-white pants on his legs and a tight brown shirt over his very very yummy chest.

Even though the haunted look hadn't left his eyes in the short period of time when we all showered, he still looked baffled when I twirled around in the new outfit. He dropped his hands and pushed himself of the wall.

"You look-..."

"Sexy? Beautiful?" I taunted him.

He was silent for a while, looking for the right word. "Like a princess."

My cheeks heated at the compliment. "Well, that's a new one." I stammered.

He showed me a smile that didn't reach his eyes, offering his hand to lead me to the feast. I took it, his warm callused hand completely dissolving mine.

We walked in silence for a minute, leaving dark hallways behind and entering light ones. I wanted to give him some space but couldn't bare another minute of silence so I peered up at him.

"You okay?"

He slowly dropped his gaze to mine. "Just tired. It's been a long day."

The lie felt wrong in my ears. "Lorem, tell me what's wrong. What's bothering you? Is it Sikuah? Or the girl he talked about?" Lorem said nothing. I squeezed his hand harder. "Please, talk to me."

He slowly gazed at me again and squeezed back. "It can wait. It's been a long day and we still have to socialize with royalty- it's not a good idea to talk about this now." His gaze flicked to my lips, just momentarily, but ended on my eyes again. "Tomorrow? We can make it a picnic."

I knew he wasn't in the mood for me to point out that it sounded a lot like a date, so I just gave him my warmest smile and said: "Can't wait."

We reached the right hall in no time- servants running in and out with plates and bottles of wine, working their hardest to make it perfect.