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In Jude’s opinion, the best time in the castle was the time just before dawn broke. She had been in meetings all night, listening to members of the Living council drawl on about things that could not be less interesting, and wearing dresses that – while beautiful – were not very practical. So when the stars finally started to fade and the horizon was just beginning to glow, Jude lay on her bed staring at the fireplace while it crackled. Cardan was lying with his head on her chest, eyes glued to a book while his tail tapped a soft rhythm against the edge of the bed.
Jude had quickly decided that watching Cardan read was one of her favorite things. It was something she never would have expected before she knew him, but sort of found adorable once she noticed it. When Cardan opened a book it was like he fully softened, a complete one-eighty from the Cardan Jude saw in council meetings or at revels. Maybe it was just the light from the fire, but all the sharp lines of his face lost their edge, and he looked less like a faerie king and more like the nineteen years he was.
Then there were the expressions. They varied depending on the book: sometimes his eyes darted back and forth across the page eagerly as if the world would end if he didn’t find out what would happen that very second, sometimes his face portrayed a range of emotions that morphed and slid into each other as the pages turned, and sometimes – like tonight – he was relaxed and content, happily floating along with the plot on a gentle river of words.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jude saw a chapter header as Cardan turned the page. His eyes stayed on the paper for a moment longer before closing the book and sitting up to set it on the bedside table.
Jude’s lips quirked into a smile. “Did you just finish a chapter, read the first page of the next one and then just stop?” she asked with amusement.
Cardan shot her a grin, laying back down against her. “Chapters always have to end dramatically so you keep reading, but whatever happens usually gets figured out on the next page anyway, so I just read that first little bit so that I can think about things other than the story.”
“Reading seems like a whole other culture that you have to figure out in order to survive it,” Jude said, shaking her head.
Cardan nodded with mock solemnity. “Yes, it’s a very dangerous practice with many rules so you don’t die of word consumption.”
Jude snorted, wacking him on the shoulder. He snickered, pushing his nose into her chest.
They were both quiet for a moment listening to the crackling of the fire and the trickling of the river down below. It was peaceful. At some point Cardan’s eyes had fallen shut, though Jude knew he wasn’t asleep. His breathing wasn’t at sleeping pace. She realized that knowing what the pattern of his breathing said about his level of consciousness was just about the most sappy thing possible. Once she might have hated that she knew that, but now she loved it. She loved that she was probably the only person who knew that. It was hers alone, because he was hers.
Then Cardan’s head jerked up, almost knocking her in the chin. “I can hear your heartbeat!” he whispered.
“You can?” she asked.
He nodded, putting his head back down. He looked up again, grinning. “It just sped up.”
Jude laughed, smiling back at him. She couldn’t help it; there was something about the way he was looking up at her, eyes twinkling with adoration and excitement, a bright smile lighting his face. It was almost impossible to believe that this was the same Cardan who’s eyes used to sparkle with malice whenever he looked at her instead of love. It had only been a year since those days, but it all felt so far away.
Jude’s mind wandered, lost in memories, until the fire gave a particularly loud pop, startling her back into the bedroom. She looked down to see Cardan’s eyes once again closed, although this time his breathing was slow. Sleeping pace. Jude smiled, sinking down lower under the blankets, careful not to wake him. She let her eyes close, weighted with exhaustion, resting her cheek on his hair. Her last thought before she slipped into sleep was that Cardan had stolen her conditioner that day. The strawberry scent sort of suited him.