The White Sheep's Disguise ✓

Chapter 58

Waking the next morning, I rise from the cot onto my elbows. The blanket twists around my legs and the pants from Gustus's chambers attempt to hold me in a similar vise. I shove the blanket away, prying my legs free from its tight grip, and adjust my unruly pants. Realization hits me once I'm standing in an empty room.

Chaska isn't here.

She wouldn't have gone back to the celebration after Gustus left. It's possible she returned to the prince's chambers and asked for a room to spend the night in-hopefully alone-rather than making the long journey back by carriage. Either that or-

I turn, finding a single scrap of parchment folded in the center of my desk, crushed underneath the inkwell and practically begging for my attention. Everything else is stacked neatly into the corner, smoothed out and organized by most recent entries. Instead of hauling around endless stacks of papers, I must learn to find myself a journal. Or ask Gustus for one. The prince has many he would hand over without a second thought.

I don't have to worry about whether Chaska made a bold decision while I slept. Written in her swooping, connected handwriting, she explains that Gustus took her back to the village, and granted further peace by mentioning Theo will find Rylan and take him back as well. Both of my connections to Gudgeon Docks are back home, safe and sound. Breathing a sigh of relief, I gather a clean set of clothes.

The day will not start without me.

Apparently, it already has. Even after remaining active and alive at such late hours, the palace is bustling with late-morning activity. Distant guests pack up their clothes into leather satchels and suitcases, some with their own servants brought from home to cater to their needs. A line of royal carriages waits in the courtyard, swooping around a large fountain and bordering the gardens. The drivers kick at the wooden tires while they wait for their royal counterparts to hurry along with departure. No one wishes to travel into the night, especially not in this kingdom.

I smile at a whistling man with a wide-brimmed hat and duck underneath it, but he is too busy perfecting a jaunty tune to notice. Hints of celebration litter the halls after laughing guests streamed them through the hallways. Servants are in the process of gathering ribbons and streamers, cleaning up glass from broken candle lamps, and scraping the stain off the walls from a torch that granted light late into the night.

Passing the normally quiet dining hall, I slow my steps to raise my brows at the many unfamiliar faces filling the chairs. I assume them to be the remaining guests from the celebration, those that hope to receive a private audience with the Raven Queen before departing. Either that or they're expending all their palace rights before leaving, forcing the servants in a rush to tend to their already-full stomachs. A blistering heat rises from the kitchens and I scurry past hoping to avoid a fire.

Climbing staircase after staircase hurts my knees, but eventually, I arrive at Cloak's silent hallway. Again, his doors are unguarded. I except to ask Lyndel for a warning about whether he brought a woman back to his room the night before, possibly a princess, but he isn't here. Cloak hates knocking, especially early in the morning, and if he spent all night celebrating, then I strongly doubt he wishes for me to pound on his door.

I take the handle and push open quietly, peeking my head in as much as I can without seeing too much. The bed is already made...did he sleep here last night? Something moves in the room and fear seizes my stomach, but I push the door open the rest of the way. Relief unspools itself from my chest as I spot him standing at the back of his sofa, folding clothes into a large satchel.

He's packing.

Cloak studies me over his shoulder. His eyes immediately drift to the necklace against my shirt, grinning softly at the fact that I'm not too afraid to flaunt the gift he gave me. One of the many things I have to thank him for; if there is enough time to go down the list and remember everything over these past few months.