Chapter 35 #2
“I know a skilled mercenary who can handle brutes like Warwick. I just have to ensure it’s done quietly, so the soldiers don’t revolt.
” His gaze darkened, his brows drawing together.
A muscle feathered in his jaw, and I knew he was thinking of how his own men had betrayed him.
How many more were working with Warwick?
Would Varius have a civil war on his hands?
“And what about… Chesser Road?” I asked quietly.
“I’ll have guards watching the area in case Warwick’s contact shows up. But, hopefully, with him dead, the plan will not move forward. If his contact suspects Warwick was caught, it will throw a wrench in their plans. ”
“That’s a lot of assumptions,” I muttered.
Varius spread his hands. “There is not much else I can do, unless you can provide me with answers as to why your kingdom is working with the fae.”
I grimaced. “I still don’t know the answer to that.”
A tense silence fell between us. Varius watched me, but there was no accusation in his gaze. Instead there was something softer. Something that made my stomach churn.
“Are you going to take my blood now?” I asked, trying to ignore my racing heart. “I’d really like to get some sleep.”
Varius made a gruff sound before stepping toward a small desk in the corner. From one of the drawers, he withdrew an empty vial, then approached me. The anger brimming in his gaze told me it would not be a good time to tell another joke.
So, I remained silent, drawing up the sleeve of my cloak once again.
Varius held my gaze, his eyes never leaving mine as he drew closer to me. My pulse thrummed at his nearness. I was keenly aware of the wings still spread behind him, partially blocking the light from the sconces.
“Do your wings expand only when you’re angry?” The words left my lips before I could stop them.
Varius’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
I shrugged. Once I’d started, I couldn’t stop. “I was just curious if it was only anger that drew them out, or… other emotions.”
Stones, what the hell was I doing? The adrenaline from our argument and my lack of sleep must have addled my brain.
To my surprise, half of Varius’s mouth quirked upward. “If you want to know what my body can do while in the throes of passion, wife, all you have to do is ask.”
My face flushed, but I forced myself to hold his stare, refusing to back down.
He stared right back, his eyes glinting with a hungry heat that stirred something low in my belly.
“Did you know that some fae can smell arousal?” Varius asked, his voice low and sultry. The sound made my insides coil tightly.
I forced myself to adopt a calm and apathetic expression. I lifted an eyebrow. “Really? Well, then you must have smelled positively filthy at the revel.”
His eyes flared wide for a brief moment, and then he barked out a surprised laugh.
It was such a loud and boisterous sound that it caught me off guard.
I couldn’t help but grin right back at him.
There was something endearing about the way his eyes crinkled at the edges.
The look of delight on his face made him seem youthful and full of life.
So unlike the brooding king I’d grown accustomed to .
“You are full of surprises, dannahla .” He grasped my arm, then drew a small dagger from his belt.
“You won’t use your claws?”
He snorted. “Would you use a butter knife for sharp, precise cuts?”
“Are you comparing your fearsome claws to the dull ends of butter knives?”
He chuckled again. “No. But my claws are for ripping large chunks of flesh, like wild game.”
“And enemies.”
His face sobered. “Yes. That, too. Unless you want your arm to be cut to ribbons, I would recommend this.” He waved the dagger before bringing it to my wrist—the same spot where Tislora had extracted blood from me before the wedding.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I nodded. The blade pressed into my flesh. A pinprick of pain, and then the blood began flowing. Varius immediately brought the vial to catch each drop of blood. When it was full, he ripped off a piece of fabric from the bottom of his tunic and held it to the wound.
“Unfortunately, I lack Tislora’s skills in healing,” Varius said with a grimace. “So you’ll have to have this bandaged.”
I tilted my head at him and smirked. “It’s only a small cut. How fragile do you think I am? I just have to apply pressure until the bleeding stops, and it’ll be fine. It probably won’t even scar.”
Varius frowned and gazed down at my forearm, as if this information perplexed him.
I couldn’t help myself. “Perhaps my body will surprise you with what it can do, too.”
His eyes snapped to mine, and they seemed to burn right through me, scorching my blood. Heat pooled between my legs, and I knew he could sense it.
But I didn’t care .
“You make bold statements, wife.” His voice took on that low and husky sound again. I could have sworn he was doing it on purpose, as if he knew exactly what it did to me.
“Does it bother you?”
“Not at all. In fact, it does quite the opposite.” He leaned closer.
My mind was spinning. What would the opposite of bothered be? Excited? Amused?
Aroused?
All thoughts fled my mind when his gaze dipped to my mouth.
My breath hitched, and a deep sound rumbled from his throat, a cross between a growl and a groan.
He lifted a hand, his forefinger hooking under my chin.
The claw of his thumb tugged at my bottom lip, prying my mouth open.
I held perfectly still as that claw traveled downward, dragging gently down my chin.
I suppressed a shiver as my awareness homed in on that singular sensation of the sharpened tip pressing against my flesh.
But I was not afraid.
“Aren’t you worried I’ll cut you?” His voice was a murmur, his breath tickling my face.
“No,” I whispered.
“Why not?”
“You wouldn’t be a very competent king if you couldn’t control your claws.”
He huffed a soft laugh at that. “So, my beastly form does not frighten you?”
“No. It never has.”
He hummed, the sound vibrating through his chest and warming my body. He withdrew a step, putting distance between us. I couldn’t help the crushing disappointment that swept over me at the absence of his heat.
“Perhaps it should.” He corked the vial and turned away from me.
I deflated, my shoulders sagging. Still, my pulse continued to race, and I knew my face was flushed again.
“I’ll see that Tislora gets this for her elixir.” Before he reached the door, he turned to look at me, his face a mask I couldn’t read. “I can’t promise she won’t discern your fae bloodline. It’s possible that, when she inspects the blood, she’ll know.”
“She’s taken my blood before. And, if what you say is true and you don’t keep secrets from each other, then she would have told you by now.”
His lips thinned. “I should not have said that earlier. Tislora and I are… friends. We work together. But you are my wife, and my loyalty is to you. There was a time when I did not keep secrets from her. But that time has passed.”
A knot formed in my throat, and I wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
“I’ll give you some privacy to dress before bed,” Varius said. “I won’t be long. But I’ll make sure a soldier I trust is guarding the door.”
My response was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t form a reply before he opened the door and disappeared from view, leaving me alone in his chambers.