22. TWENTY-TWO #2
My mind races to catalog everything that just happened. My wife is infinitely more dangerous than I imagined. “How did you know about the water?”
“How did you know to stop her?” she asks, the usual bite missing from her words.
“Instinct.” I fight the urge to pull her to my chest. A thousand emotions dance in her eyes, but fear is not one of them, so I hold steady. “The way she said good night was normal, but I sensed the hatred hiding underneath. I’ve had a lot of experience with that kind of double talk.”
Mina closes her eyes and lets out a low sigh. “The room is tidy. The only changes were the ones she admitted to. The dress and the bath, and the dress wouldn’t harm you.”
Smart to assume I was the target. I killed her family. She was quite the actress to convince me of her hatred, slinging horrible allegations about her father in order to save her own life.
My own trauma allowed for a moment of mercy, one that almost got Mina and me killed.
Rage and shame slam into me.
Mina assessed her enemy swiftly and with the accuracy of a veteran. She’s a deadlier threat than the bath, and I’ve given her several openings to act on. The same instincts that saved us from Lady Hunter should be urging me away from Mina, yet desire pulls me a step closer.
“So this is Absima?” I say, testing the word.
Mina nods, but I can tell her mind is on the horror behind us. Her gaze is fixed to the floor, brows crinkled. “Do you ever feel remorse?”
“Not for the ones who deserved it.” I gently tilt her chin back to me, and her focus follows. “It’s normal to be upset over killing, though.”
Mina’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. Mina may be a fighter, but the weight of a life is still new to her. That much is obvious from the gentle shake in her hands.
“I’m not. I don’t regret what I just did. Or what I did to the girl who killed my sister.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “What does that make me?”
A tear escapes, and I wipe it with my thumb. “Stronger.”
She studies me in silence before nodding.
I take a step back, putting distance between us before I do something foolish. I clear my throat. “I’ll take care of this, so go rest. Borrow anything of mine to sleep in.”
She follows me into my bedchamber wordlessly, and I nod to the feather mattress large enough to fit seven.
“We aren’t sharing a bed.” She glances around for other options.
“I already promised not to touch you. There’s no reason we can’t both be comfortable tonight.”
Her eyes travel from the expansive mattress to me and back. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, debating her next move. That pink lip is still a little swollen from our kiss, and despite the horror in the other room, I want to do it again.
A strictly political alliance would be easier if Mina weren’t the single most beautiful, aggravating, brave woman I’ve ever met. Where the pain of my past shrouds me in shadow, Mina shines brightly despite what just transpired. I doubt she realizes her strength only makes her more appealing.
She digs around the wardrobe near the bed, pulling out a long black shirt, and I leave her alone to change. I have a body to deal with. I call for the guard at the end of the hall and send word to Staefan. We need this handled delicately.
I pour myself a nightcap, downing the amber liquid in one gulp before pouring another two fingers. To survive tonight, I might need the whole bottle, but at least the edge dissipates.
The danger that pulses through my blood lessens, but other urges are harder to ignore as Mina walks through the doorway. My shirt hits her mid-thigh. I hungrily eat up the image of her long, smooth tawny-brown legs. The image of them wrapped around me is seared into my memories.
The second glass burns its way down my throat.
I lift the bottle in offering.
“No, thank you,” she says.
“I’ll handle things in there before turning in. Get some rest if you can.”
I lean against the door as she crawls under the thick comforter, placing a single pillow in the center of the bed. “You cross this line, and you’ll help me take Kalisham with one less appendage. Understand?”
I bite back a smile. “Understood.”
Without another word, she rolls on her side, her back to me. Mina is the picture of peace, with deep, even breaths, but I know she isn’t asleep. Like me, she won’t rest so easily after earlier. We’re too aware of each other. Of outside danger.
As much as she wants to deny it, our desire for revenge isn’t the only connection between us. Survival instincts, passion, intelligence.
I won’t pursue her in a romantic sense, but the physical can be enjoyed without getting the heart involved. Mine was cut out years ago, and I suspect she might suffer the same ailment after what happened to her family.
Love isn’t possible for people like us.
Our connection is merely chemical. Fire and air. The simultaneous desire to snuff each other out or feed the passion.
If we don’t address this spark between us, there’s a very real possibility we’ll kill each other before our goals are met. If only I could honor my vow while showing her that our passion for vengeance doesn’t have to be the only desire we satiate.
I close the door and head back to assess the bath. A shadow crosses over the window before it clicks open.
“Anything out of the ordinary?”
Alexi fiddles with one of his knives, worry pinching his brows as he studies the crimson water. An expression he rarely wears. I cross over to where he stands by the window and rub at the crease on his forehead.
He swats my hand away, his usual arrogance returning.
“Two attempts. One at the ceremony we stopped before they even made it through the palace. The other while she was alone earlier. I got to them before she noticed anything.”
“Start the interrogations. I’ll join in the morning.”
He picks a nail with his blade. “About that…”
Dammit. Is anyone capable of following orders tonight? “Dead men don’t talk, Alexi.”
“It wasn’t my fault.” He points his blade at the water to point out that I also let my assassin die. “They used poison capsules.”
A random hire wouldn’t go so far as to die to hide information. Money is their only loyalty. The fact they killed themselves before being questioned is far more troubling.
Perhaps they belong to Zala. I can’t imagine any guests in attendance still have such loyalties in play. I was strategic about who I left on the board, power-wise.
Then again, I was wrong about Lady Hunter.
It would be unwise to rule out the possibility, no matter how small. If the threat came from inside the palace, then the simplest solution is to leave earlier than scheduled. Our honeymoon tour is set to leave in four days, but I could make it work in two.
Staefan arrives to deal with Lady Hunter’s body, accompanied by two soldiers. They use a metal hook to drain the water before wrapping the body in thick fabric, careful not to touch her with bare hands.
Once the soldiers leave, I inform Staefan of the changes I need to our schedule. The extra work will be a headache, but necessary.
He rubs the stubble shadowing his cheeks. “You’re okay?”
I nod.
“Mina?”
“Responsible for that.” I wave at the tub, and his eyebrows shoot up in appreciation. “I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Have the spy responsible for tailing Lady Hunter brought to me first thing. I’m curious how she acquired the means to turn a bath into a coffin without his knowledge.”
“That won’t be necessary.” He crosses his arms, the message clear without more words. My spy is dead.
Four corpses, three assassination attempts, and no one to answer for them. My circle of trust is small, but Mina can be added to it for now. I doubt she’d try to murder me and risk her vengeance.
We’d be dead if Staefan or Alexi willed it. The only suspects left are everyone else in Veloria and one troublesome false king of Kalisham.
I rub the back of my neck, popping it to relieve the tension. This isn’t going to be easy.