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“I will.” A faint, brief grin appeared. “How did you get so strong, liessa?”
Liessa. Did he call Veses that? I stopped myself from asking. “I don’t know.”
“You have to know.”
Glancing down at my nearly empty glass, I shook my head. “I…I had to be.”
“Why?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. “I don’t know. Anyway.” I swallowed, changing the subject. “So…those entombed gods weren’t the only things in the Red Woods.”
“I figured that,” he replied dryly. “Why didn’t you tell me? I saw the scratches. I would’ve been able to do something before the toxin had a chance to invade your system.”
Did that mean he wouldn’t have gone back to Veses? “I thought you were already angry enough over the gods. Figured I could tell you later about the Hunters.”
He did not look as if he agreed with that decision at all.
“If I had known their nails carried the toxin, I would’ve said something,” I pointed out.
“If you hadn’t been where you weren’t supposed to be, it wouldn’t have been an issue.”
Well, he had a point there. “Just so you know, I tried to hide from them. They were heading toward the palace when they saw me.” My gaze flicked up to him. “Why do you think they were here?”
“That’s a good question. The Hunters rarely have reason to come into the Shadowlands.” He studied me. “And you’re sure that’s the type of Gyrm you saw?”
I nodded as unease trickled through my system. What I’d done in the woods couldn’t have drawn them, could it? They had shown the night in the Dark Elms, after I’d healed the kiyou wolf. But how would they have even known?
I took another drink. “You went to the tombs?”
“I did.”
“Did you figure out how they got out of their chains?”
“Someone would’ve had to very carefully free them.”
My eyes widened. “Who would do that?”
“My guards are good men and women. Loyal to me. More importantly, none would even want to attempt that, knowing that if the gods were able to find their way out, it would be a disaster,” he explained. “Other gods would do it, just to see what would happen. One of them could’ve been attempting to free a certain prisoner and changed their mind, resealing the tomb.” Ash paused. “If this hadn’t happened today, there is a good chance those who had been freed would’ve swarmed whoever opened the tomb next.”
“So you owe me a thank you?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
I didn’t think so.
Feeling the heaviness of his stare upon me, I peeked over at him. Much like Nektas, he seemed at ease, but there was an undercurrent of dangerous tension. I thought of what I’d realized before the Hunters arrived and what he said about the Shadowlands while we were at the lake. “Why is everything so gray here—everything except the Red Woods? It wasn’t always like this, right?”
“No, it wasn’t,” he confirmed. “But the Shadowlands…it’s dying.”
Pressure clamped my chest. “Is it because the deal hasn’t been fulfilled?”
A frown pulled at his lips. “No.”
Surprise flickered through me. Then was this not like the Rot? I didn’t get a chance to ask.
“Why were you in those woods, Sera?” Ash asked. “I warned you about them. The portion that leads to the city is safe to travel, but that is all. You should’ve never been in them alone.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I started and then sighed. “It wasn’t intentional.”
“You walked into the woods. How is that not intentional?”
I couldn’t tell him about the hawk. “It wasn’t like I purposely set out to do it.”
“You didn’t?” Ash challenged. “Because I have a feeling there is very little you do without purpose.”
Irritation sparked. “I have a feeling you know very little about me if you think that is accurate,” I said. “I’ll have you know there is a whole lot I do without purpose.”
“Well,” he drawled, lips twitching. “That’s reassuring.”
“Whatever. I wouldn’t have been out there if—” I stopped myself. “I was bored and tired of being stuck in this place.”
“Stuck? You have all of this.” He extended his hands. “You can go wherever you wish within the palace—”
“Except your office,” I blurted, and there was nothing to blame but the damn whiskey for that. His eyes sharpened to a steel gray as I quickly added, “I don’t know if you’ve spent a lot of time in the library, but it’s not the most exciting place to be.”
“And you think my office is?”
I snorted like a little piglet. “I’m sure it was recently,” I said, lifting the glass, only to realize I’d finished it off.
“What is that supposed to mean?” he demanded as I started to lean toward the nightstand. He took the glass from me, setting it down.
I raised my brows. “Really? I’m sure your office has been very stimulating and charming.”
Ash sat back, a low laugh parting his lips. “Holy shit.”
“What?” I gripped the edge of the sheet where it pooled in my lap.
“You’re jealous.”
Heat climbed up my neck. “I’m sorry, but I did not hear you correctly.”
He laughed again, but the sound ended too quickly as he leaned forward. “You’re actually jealous. That is why you went into those damn woods.”
“What? That is not why I went.”
“Bullshit.”
My eyes widened as anger mixed with embarrassment, and unfortunately, whiskey. “You know what? Okay. Yes. I was jealous. You have been too busy to even speak to me for longer than five seconds over the last couple of days, leaving me alone, like always. To walk the courtyard by myself. Eat di
His eyes widened in surprise. Nothing that was coming out of my mouth needed to be shared. This wasn’t an act. A ploy. It was the truth, and I couldn’t stop myself. “The only time I see anyone is when one of your guards tries to inconspicuously follow me or someone brings me food.”
Ash’s jaw had loosened at some point, and I wasn’t sure what it was in response to, nor was I even sure exactly what I was saying anymore. I was like a volcano erupting. “So, yes. I’m stuck here, yet again, alone while my husband-to-be is busy doing whatever with a Primal, who acted awfully familiar with you. So, sure, I was jealous. Does that make you happy? Amused? Either way, all of that is so beside the point, it’s not even fu
He stared at me. “Why would you think you deserved to be alone?”
Out of everything I said, that was what he focused on? “I don’t know. You tell me. I have no idea. Maybe there’s just something wrong with me. Maybe my personality is a huge turn-off,” I said, starting to push away from the pillows. “I mean, I am troublesome and mouthy—”
“Whoa.” Ash shifted, placing his hand on the other side of my leg. His upper body blocked me from moving unless I wanted to attempt to knock him aside. “Can you stay seated?”
“I don’t want to stay seated. I hate being still. I need to move. I’m used to moving around, to doing something other than absolutely nothing,” I snapped. “And I don’t even want to be talking about this. I’m sure you don’t either since you’re so busy—”
“I’m not busy now.”
“I don’t care.”
His eyes flared. “Then maybe you’d care to know that I don’t enjoy even a single moment in Veses’ presence.”
“Really?” I coughed out a dry laugh that caused my back to ache. “She is beautiful.”
“So? What does that matter when she’s as poisonous as a pit viper? Not only do I not trust her, I do not like her. She is…” A muscle flexed in his jaw once more. “She is of the worst sort.”
“Then why was she here?” Why did you allow her to touch you? Somehow, I managed not to ask that, thank the gods.
“You already know. She heard that I had taken a Consort, and she was curious.”
“Why would she even care?”
“Why do you?”
I snapped my mouth shut.
The eather brightened behind his pupils, and he was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t mean to make you feel…alone here. I didn’t know if you needed space or not, and I told the others to give you time. That’s on me.” He was closer, his scent teasing me. “But I have been avoiding you.”
I felt a sudden, sharp drop in my stomach. “Your confirmation of what I just said isn’t exactly necessary.”
“It’s not because you’re troublesome or mouthy. I actually find those traits to be oddly…alluring,” he said.
“Who in their right mind would find that alluring?”
“That’s another good question,” Ash replied, and I started to frown. “But I’ve been avoiding you because when I’m around you for longer than a few minutes, my interest in you quickly overshadows any common sense. And that is a distraction—a complication—I ca
I felt a strange flip in my chest that I didn’t understand. “Bullshit.”
“Is that what you really think?”
“I don’t know what I think, but I know words mean nothing.” I met his stare, and I didn’t know if it was my duty that fueled my words or something equally terrible. “So, as I said before, when it comes to your interest, you mostly talk, Nyktos. That’s what I—”
Ash moved so fast, one of his hands was on my cheek and his lips were on mine before I could even take my next breath. There was nothing soft and sweet or slow about it as his fingers splayed across my face. His kiss branded me within seconds, and I responded without hesitation, without thought. I gripped the front of his tunic and I kissed him back just as fiercely.
He shuddered and then rose, bracing his weight on his other hand as he came over me. Our bodies didn’t touch, but he kept me right there, propped against the mountain of pillows as my senses spun. His tongue rolled over mine, and a primitive sound rumbled from him as I followed suit.
He lifted his head, breathing heavily. “You know what the hardest part is, liessa? I don’t even know why I’m fighting this need. You would have me, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” I whispered without a hint of shame or guilt. It was the truth, even if there was no deal, no duty to be carried out. And that should’ve terrified me.
“I would have you.” His lips coasted over mine. A tremble coursed through me as the tips of his fingers trailed down the side of my throat and over my shoulder. “You would have me.”
Those fingers followed the vee of the robe, gliding over the swell of my breast. “Yes.”