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“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, and honestly at that, for even though I’d contemplated it, I knew I could not kill him, knew I’d need to turn the blade on myself after if it came to that. “He brought me here, and as much as I wish to leave, I can’t. I can’t because there’s…” I stopped and swallowed, releasing a slow exhale.
“There’s little to return to. It’s all perishing.” She said what I could not, not unkindly but in an even tone that spoke of no mercy and brutal facts. “Your land, your wealth, and those you love.”
Again, I nodded. “I do want to fix this,” I admitted, a little uneasy for doing so. “I do, but I don’t know how, and I am no murderer.” My words held more grit than I’d intended.
“Like Dade is,” Merelda said, brows high.
I drew in a sharp breath, knowing this was going nowhere and that perhaps the little I could do would go nowhere too. “Do not worry.” I smiled faintly. “For I can save no one.” My chest constricted at hearing those words out loud. “And your king is well aware of that.”
Merelda studied me for a moment, then tilted her head. With another sigh, she crossed to a basket of fresh fruit and plucked out a mandarin. “You might not be able to save anyone, but I hear you like fruit.”
Stu
The cook’s words stayed with me as I wove through the halls to the library tucked away in the long, narrow parlor beyond the grand staircase. A fire was crackling in the hearth, stalling my steps outside the open doors, but I sensed no one inside.
Tame him. It was evident that the cook, who I supposed knew this beastly king the stars had tied me to well, believed something was in him that many people—perhaps merely my own—could not see.
Trying to comprehend that when all I could see was blood spray and all I could hear were screams and the scent of smoke and the dead was impossible, yet… something told me I wouldn’t be standing here if that were not true. I would not be roaming shelves that towered from the floor to the ceiling, branch-made ladders leaning against rows to reach the higher shelves, if I thought all was lost.
I’d have gone home to spend what little time we had with what remained of my family and friends.
Edging a thin gray novel from the shelf closest to the fire, I gri
Fine hairs rose at the base of my neck. Gooseflesh pebbled my arms, and my every sense pricked, on high alert. The parlor had two entry points—the first sealed by two giant armchairs, the second the way I’d entered. I could move them, or I could face whomever it was out in the hall.
Or I could sit down and wait for them to appear.
I chose to collect the books and leave the way I’d arrived. As foolish as it might have been, I had faced worse, surely…
The hall was mercifully empty.
Yet when I rounded the stairs, I heard soft footfalls from behind and spun around.
No one was there, but the black tapestry, a white wolf with wings of flame howling at the glowing full satin moon, swayed.
And the scent of earth. Sweat and earth.
Tucking that knowledge away, I took the stairs at my usual swift stride, perhaps walking a tad faster, and nearly tripped on the steps leading up to my rooms when I felt someone behind me.
I turned at the top, my heart beating in my throat, and found no one there as I carefully slunk backward toward an alcove housing a statue. I bumped into it, cursing when it teetered and spi
A hand fell upon my hip, warmth heating my back, and I swallowed a scream. The books raised in both hands, I whirled, ready to strike them over the head.
Then Dade’s voice blew soft against my cheek. “Have I ruffled your feathers, my pretty swan?” He laughed when my breath shook its way past my lips, catching the books before they toppled to the floor. “What in the stars were you pla
Snatching them back, I thwacked him in the chest with one. An attempt to make him back up a step or ten. An attempt that failed.
“Don’t you have i
“I’ve already crossed that off my to-do list,” he stated with such irritating indifference that I wished I had hit him with the poor books. “I wanted to see you.” I blinked when he carefully caught my hand. He placed it over my still pounding heart, his fingers, his entire hand, overlapping mine. “Your heart races.”
So large that hand, as it sat there a moment, and I lost the little control I’d had, finally meeting his blue eyes.
They were a bright turquoise, watching his hand leave mine to travel up my chest to wrap around my throat. “Such a delicate, perfect neck.” His voice was an edged caress. “Why, some would call it swan-like.” He gri
“Dade—”
“I wish to lick you,” he groaned, effectively muting my meek protest. “Here.” His hold on my neck loosened, his touch crawling slowly to my chest. “These,” he rasped, fingers tickling the bare mounds of my breasts before dragging down to my stomach. “Here.” His hand roamed over my hip, sliding over the bone and moving down to my ass. He squeezed it, groaned deep, and set fire to my veins. “Here. And lastly…” His eyes co
Trapped within the imagery of all he’d described, I could do nothing but begin to burn and stare into those intense eyes. He gazed back, waiting, watching, wanting. His desire clouded the air I struggled to inhale, the musky wood growing thicker with every second, and I forced myself to blink.
I found my voice, barely, and found it was embarrassingly breathy, whispering, “You ca
I tried to peer around his shoulder, praying we were alone as I’d thought but not knowing for sure. His lips curved. “Why? It’s true, and I know you’ll enjoy it just as much as me.”
Reaching between us, I removed his hand from me. I had to before I did something else foolish—like rock into it to feed the hunger he’d stoked to life.
The king watched me, brows hovering low over his eyes. Before he could goad me into anything else, I blurted, “Where have you been?”
He sighed as if I’d woken him from a good dream. “Nowhere important.”