Chapter 36 Isi #2
The shift in weight gave me my chance. I snapped my knee upward, aiming for his cock. He caught the movement with his thigh, laughing under his breath.
“I should’ve known you’d keep fighting,” he said. “It’s one of the things I adore about you most.”
“Release me.”
“I will.” His voice softened again, though it lost none of its certainty.
“But you’ll think about this. About me. And when you do,” he leaned close enough that his lips brushed the edge of my ear.
“you’ll realize the most dangerous thing in this court isn’t my secrets, Princess, it’s what you want from me. ”
“What are you going to do with me now that you know?”
“What I did with Addie.”
My gasp betrayed me.
“I. Did. Not. Kill. Her.” His gaze bored into mine. “I mean it. One of my patrols came across a group attacking her carriage. They rescued her and brought her here. She told me who she was, unlike some princesses I know much too well.”
“You don’t know me at all.”
His lips curved up. “I believe I do.”
“What happened after that?”
“I offered to return her to her home or help her to complete her journey. She asked to stay here instead.”
I wanted to shout that my sister wouldn’t do that. She knew her duty. She may not like it, but she would never betray our father.
Except…
That was more me than Addie. My sister had a rebellious streak. And she hadn’t wanted to marry a king she’d never met.
“From the moment you arrived.” His grin widened and his gaze went smokey, as if he was remembering a fond memory and not my inadvertent attack.
“I knew who you were. Since you didn’t nicely introduce yourself like your sister had, I decided to watch you.
See what you would do if I let you infiltrate my court. Our families are not exactly friends.”
Enemies, in fact.
“I’m not your enemy, Princess. I’m your inevitability.”
I lifted my chin. “I came here to discover who killed my sister. Nothing else.”
The smirk slipped from his face. His eyes sharpened, going unreadable.
“Is she truly dead?” he asked quietly.
I nodded once.
The ceiling blurred above me. Hot tears slipped past my lashes, trailing down my temples, into my hair. I didn’t move to wipe them away.
For a moment, he continued to loom above me, his shadow cutting across the room. Then he eased back and sat on the bed with his head against the wooden frame. He caught my wrist and waist, tugging me up until he’d settled me in his lap.
I stiffened. His body was all hard lines and heat, his warm scent wrapping me snug. But his arms closed around me, and the strength in them wasn’t a trap.
It felt much better than it should.
I didn’t realize I was trembling, that tears were trickling down my cheeks, until he whispered my name against my temple. His warm exhalations sent a shiver across my skin.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe. Let it out.”
I sobbed while he held me, his hand smoothing up and down my back.
I wanted to tell him I didn’t need this. That I could stand on my own two feet. But my cheek found his chest anyway, and for a moment I simply breathed him in.
This man was starlight caught in blood.
His heartbeat was a steady drum while mine was anything but. It was ridiculous how safe I felt in the arms of the man I was supposed to fear.
But maybe I didn’t have to. If I trusted his word that he hadn’t killed my sister.
Finally, my sobs slowed, and I wiped my tears away, sniffing.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “She…I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“I can.” My voice came out brittle. “Because I see it every time I close my eyes. The way the music in my father’s ballroom stopped when the doors burst open.
The enormous bird with a wingspan wider than the chandeliers, swooping in with a sack clutched in its talons.
The horrifying sound the bag made when it hit the marble floor. ”
My stomach churned. “And then…her. My amazing sister. Blood in her hair. Her body torn and dead. So dead.” My voice broke. “I didn’t even realize I was screaming until the bird had left. It vanished in a flare of magic so strong it scorched the air. Magic isn’t supposed to exist where I come from.”
Except it did—until we snuffed it out.
His hand shifted, and the journal bumped against my ribs. He drew it from between us and held it up, his brows knitting. “Ah, you found it.”
I shrugged. “I broke into your desk and stole it, but let’s go with found.”
“You’ve read it?”
“Not yet.”
“Yet you could?”
“Are you saying that you, the glorious king of Syllavar Court couldn’t read it? I can’t believe you’d ever admit to something like that.”
His lips curled up sweetly. “There are lots of things I can’t do.”
“Like what?” I watched his face, wondering what he’d reveal.
“Find a way to your heart.”
“I keep that locked securely behind my ribcage.”
“I noticed. I don’t want your submission, Minx. I want your surrender.”
Something I’d give to no man.
I pulled in a breath and the raw ache of my sister’s death scraped up my throat.
“Addie was more than a sister to me. I raised her after our mother died. She taught me how to lie to the guards, how to bluff in dice games, and how to slip out of the castle without anyone knowing.” My voice broke, and I pressed my lips together until they steadied.
“She showed me how to be brave. And then I saw her body dropped in the middle of our ballroom like…like she was nothing.”
His arms tightened around me.
“All the evidence points here, to your court,” I said. “Yours is the only court who wields magic. One of your bonded subjects killed Addie and dumped her like she was nothing but refuse.”
He went still, like a predator catching scent of something unexpected. For a long moment, he said nothing. “Tell me what you saw again.”
I told him about it all. The bird, the cloth bag, the pendant, the blood. So much blood.
When I finished, he sat back, studying me. “And you believe we’re responsible?”
“I believe you have more enemies than you admit,” I said. “And I believe someone in your court wanted to send a message to mine.”
He reached up and brushed a tear from my cheek with the backs of his fingers, a gesture so unexpectedly gentle I almost forgot to breathe. “We’ll find out who did.”
“Addie and Fenmark were sent on a mission,” I said, my voice still raw from crying. “What kind of mission? Where?”
His expression shuttered, a door slamming closed. His hand stilled on my face. “That’s…complicated.”
“How?” I pulled back enough to look up at him. “You told me you didn’t kill her. That you want to find who did. But you won’t tell me why she left your court?”
His jaw worked for a moment, tension radiating through the muscles of his shoulders. “There are things I can’t—”
“Can’t or won’t?” Heat flared in my chest, anger burning through the last of my tears. “She’s dead, Trew. Whatever mission you sent them on got her killed.”
“You think I don’t know that?” The words stabbed through me. His hand dropped from my face, and he looked away, pain flickering across his features. “You think I won’t see her face every time I close my eyes? That I won’t wonder if I made the wrong choice?”
The honesty in his voice stopped my next accusation cold.
“Then tell me,” I whispered. “Help me understand.”
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion. “There are forces moving against both our courts. Things that go deeper than border disputes or old grudges. Addie wanted to help. She volunteered.”
“Volunteered for what?”
“To gather intelligence. To help us understand what we’re truly facing.” His gaze met mine again, and I saw the weight he carried there. “I should’ve said no. Should not have let her stay here.”
“But you did.”
“Yes.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “And now she’s dead, and Fenmark is missing, and you’re here asking questions I can’t answer without putting more people at risk.”
I wanted to push, to demand more answers, but something in his expression told me I’d reached the limits of what he would, or could, share tonight.
“We’ll find out who did this,” he said finally, his voice steady and full of quiet determination. “Together. I give you my word.”
The promise hung in the air between us, and despite the lies and the secrets and the way my world had tilted tonight, I believed him.
“I should go,” I said, suddenly aware of how long I’d been here. How I was still curled in his lap, stroking his bare skin, his arms around me like he had every right to hold me.
“Yes.”
Neither of us moved.
Finally, he shifted us to the edge of the bed and gently lifted me from his lap, setting me on my feet, rising to stand beside me. I craved his warmth once more.
His body had been crafted by a master, all golden skin and battle-earned muscle.
The scars that should mar his perfection only made him appear lethal.
And a touch vulnerable. My gaze dropped before I could stop it, taking in the powerful lines of his body, the way he seemed utterly unbothered by his nudity.
Heat flooded my cheeks as I forced my eyes back to his face, only to find him watching me with dark amusement.
“Ogling me again, Minx?” he asked, that familiar smirk tugging at his mouth.
I lifted my chin, refusing to be embarrassed. “Aren’t you embarrassed to stand here naked?”
“Not one bit.” He reached for a robe draped over a nearby chair, pulling it on with efficient movements that somehow made the whole gesture seem intimate. The fabric settled over his shoulders and chest, hiding all that distracting skin, but the memory of it burned behind my eyes.
“Come,” he said, offering me his hand. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
I hesitated for only a moment before linking our fingers.
The tomb-quiet castle walls echoed around us as we made our way to my chambers, our footsteps muffled by thick runners. He moved with the easy confidence of someone who owned every shadow and every stone, but his thumb traced gentle circles across my knuckles as we walked.
When we reached my door, I turned to face him, reluctant to let this moment end. I didn’t want to go back to pretending we were nothing more than suspicious allies.
“Thank you,” I said. “For not throwing me into your dungeon.”
“I do have one. I’d be glad to give you a tour.”
I shuddered and studied his face, taking in the adorable sparkle in his eyes.
“Perhaps another time.” My words sounded stiff, but this was all I could think of to say. He flustered me in a way no one else ever had. “Thanks for listening.”
He stepped in so close, I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “Isi.” My name came soft on his lips. “Whatever happens next, whatever we discover, you’re not alone in this anymore.”
His words made my heart flutter.
“Sleep well, little minx.” He leaned down to kiss my forehead, the touch feather-light, barely there. But it sent warmth cascading through me. “And next time you decide to break into my private chambers…”
He pulled back enough to meet my eyes, that familiar wicked glint returning to his gaze. “Knock. I promise I’ll answer.” His chin nudged toward my door. “Inside. Lock it. Don’t let anyone in but me.”
I lifted a brow but said nothing, doing as he said and stepping inside.
But I watched as he turned and strode away, disappearing down the corridor.
I stood in place for too long, my fingers pressed to the spot where his lips had touched my forehead, waiting until the sound of his footsteps faded into silence.
Only then did I shut the door and lock it with trembling hands.
I laid Addie’s journal on the bed, running my fingers over the worn leather cover.
Tomorrow, I’d start trying to decode her words. Tomorrow, I’d demand more answers.
Tonight, I’d try not to think about the way Trew had held me while I cried. The way his voice had gone soft when he called me Minx. Or the way his promise had sounded like something I could build a future on.
Even if that future terrified me more than any truth I might uncover about my sister.