Chapter 227: The calm before the storm (i)

24 hours to Soren’s Funeral

Ayla sighed as she sank deeper into the bathtub.

The warm water felt wonderful against her skin, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she did not have a headache.

She closed her eyes and rested her head against the edge of the tub.

Goddess, she had missed this feeling.

For the past several days, it seemed as though there was always something wrong with her.

If it was not the headaches, it was the dizziness and if it was not the dizziness, it was the strange dreams that left her feeling very exhausted.

But last night had been different.

There had been no strange dreams or images of Lucius.

Just sleep and when she had woken up that morning, she had felt almost like her old self again.

Ayla smiled faintly.

She had been reluctant to drink the brew Amara had brought but after her mother had forced Amara to drink from it, what harm could there be?

She stretched her legs beneath the water, her thoughts drifted to the previous evening.

After Amara had left, she and her mother had spent hours talking about her date with her father.

Ayla had never seen her mother blush quite like that.

It had been adorable.

Brenna had told her about the garden where Kieran had taken her and the meal they had shared.

She had teased her mother a little, of course. How could she not?

But beneath the teasing, Ayla had been genuinely happy. She could see it in her eyes that her mother was in love with her father and for the first time in a very long while, she seemed fulfilled.

Ayla loved that for her.

After everything Brenna had endured, she deserved happiness.

She deserved to be loved by someone who treated her with kindness and respect and if that person happened to be Kieran, then Ayla could not have been more pleased.

She reached for the small cloth resting beside the tub and dipped it into the water. The warmth had begun to ease the remaining tension in her shoulders.

With Soren’s funeral only a day away, every one in the palace was busy trying to get it in order except her of course, she had been ill so she had been asked to take a much needed rest.

Even thinking about Soren made her mood shift. She still did not know how she felt about his death.

There was grief, certainly but it was complicated.

She had this terrible sense of guilt that she could not seem to shake but at the same time she could not remember being responsible for what happened to him.

Perhaps she needed to stop thinking about it for a while and enjoy her bath, she had earned that much.

She closed her eyes again and reclined in the tub.

Her ears perked up when she heard something... the sound of her door opening.

Had someone just entered her chambers?

Her eyes flew open and she sat up slowly, listening.

She heard faint sound of footsteps.

Someone was definitely inside her chambers.

Her heart began to pound.

Who would enter without knocking?

She looked toward the curtain separating the bathing area from the rest of the room.

It was drawn so whoever had entered could not see her.

Ayla considered calling for Astrid but then she stopped herself. If there was an intruder in her room, shouting would reveal exactly where she was and she was currently sitting in a bathtub which was hardly the ideal position from which to defend herself.

She slowly pushed herself upright and rose to her feet, stepping out of the bathtub as quietly as she could.

She reached for the towel hanging nearby, wrapped it around herself and secured it tightly above her chest.

Her eyes remained fixed on the curtain.

The footsteps had stopped.

Ayla held her breath and waited.

Had the person heard her?

She glanced around the bathing area. There was nothing particularly useful nearby.

There was a small stool, maybe she could use that. Although she sincerely hoped it would not come to that.

She moved closer to the curtain very slowly and pulled it aside.

Ayla froze, her eyes taking in the scene in front of her.

Cassian stood near her bed and he was holding a large bouquet of flowers.

For several seconds, they simply stared at each other.

"Cassian?" Ayla screamed. "What are you doing?"

"I did not know you were in the bath. I thought you would still be in bed." Cassian glanced at the bed which in truth looked like someone was underneath the covers.

Ayla raised an eyebrow at him.

"I thought I could surprise you." Cassian muttered, holding the flowers out.

Ayla looked at them.

They were beautiful. There were white roses, pale pink blossoms, and several delicate flowers she did not recognize. They had been arranged carefully, with a ribbon tied around the stems.

Cassian shifted awkwardly.

"I only wanted to leave these for you." He lifted the bouquet slightly. "I thought you would still be sleeping, so I planned to place them on the table and leave before you woke up."

"Thank you" Ayla held out her hand. "May I?"

"Oh, of course." He stepped forward and handed it to her, their fingers brushing against one another.

His gaze moved from her face down to the towel that was barely covering her skin and Ayla noticed the color rising in his cheeks.

Was Cassian blushing?

The thought was almost too amusing and very adorable.

She brought the flowers closer and inhaled. She loved flowers... she could not remember the last time she had gone to the gardens since she returned and Cassian had brought them to her.

Her eyes watered.

"They are beautiful."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"You like them?"

"Of course I do." Ayla preened.

"I am glad you like them."

Ayla looked down at the flowers again.

There was something especially sweet about receiving flowers when she had not been expecting anything.

"Actually, there is something I wanted to say."