CHAPTER FORTY ISI
CHAPTER FORTY
ISI
Kerralyn yawned, then quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry. It’s just… It’s late. We’ve been on the run for days, and we’ve covered so much tonight.”
She was right. The torches had burned low, and exhaustion made my arms and legs feel heavy. My mind kept racing, turning over every piece of information we’d uncovered, but the rest of me was being left behind.
“We’re leaving in the morning to find the place your mother may have owned,” Lexie said. “Which is,” she glanced toward the window, “not far away.”
“Not until I get at least a little bit of rest,” Derren said, stifling his own yawn. He nudged Dare with his foot. “Come on, bud. Time to sleep. We need clear heads for tomorrow.”
Kerralyn closed her journal, tucking it carefully under her arm as she slid off the bed. “We can reconvene in the morning. Compare notes with what Trew finds in his maps.”
“My council chamber before dawn,” Trew said. “We’ll have breakfast while you tell me anything else you discovered.”
Derren stood, helping Lexie to her feet. Dare uncurled from his spot by the bed, shaking himself awake. Levar hopped off the bed and waddled after them as they moved toward the door.
“Try to get some sleep,” Lexie said, but her eyes danced with mischief. “Both of you.”
“Out,” I said, fighting a smile.
They filed through the door with their companions.
Kerralyn paused at the threshold, glancing back. “Thank you for trusting us with all of this.”
“Always,” I said.
The door clicked shut behind them, leaving Trew and me alone in the suddenly quiet room.
Pherin remained on the headboard, watching us with knowing eyes. Gavelle still occupied the windowsill, his occasional chirps the only sound besides the crackle of the dying fire.
I became acutely aware of Trew’s warmth at my back, the steady rhythm of his breathing, the weight of his hand along my side.
“I have too many questions and not enough answers,” I said quietly.
I turned in his arms, shifting until I could see his face. The firelight cast shadows across his features, making the strong lines of his jaw more pronounced. His golden eyes studied me with an intensity that made my breath catch.
He lifted his hand to cup my face, holding me gently. “We’ll find the answers, because you don’t know how to quit.”
“Neither do you.”
His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “We’re well-matched then.”
We sat like that for a long moment, the weight of everything we’d learned settling around us.
Trew’s jaw clenched, and I felt the shift in him. The guilt he carried, plus the responsibility and the fear that he’d fail to protect the people who depended on him.
“You’re not alone in this,” I said, covering his hand with mine. “I’m here with you.”
Heat and need flickered in his eyes, a hunger that had nothing to do with the abandoned food on the tray.
The fire had burned low. Outside, the castle had gone quiet.
He looked at me for a long moment, and I watched decide to set it all down, if only for now.
“I’m surprised you came to your own room tonight,” he said, his voice dropping to a lower register. “Instead of mine.”
The sudden shift in conversation made my pulse quicken. I found a challenge in his eyes, a playful edge that meant he was putting our burdens aside to focus on now.
“I assumed you’d want time to process what you discussed with your council,” I said.
“Time.” He said the word like it was foreign. “Away from you?”
“You might need to think. Plan. Brood dramatically while staring into the fire.”
His eyes darkened with emotions that made flames lick low in my belly. “The only thing I want to do with a fire is watch the light dance across your skin while I make you forget every worry in that clever mind of yours.”
Words deserted me.
“Oh,” I finally managed to say.
“Oh,” he agreed, tracing his fingertip across my lower lip. “So I’ll ask again, Minx. Why are we in your room instead of mine?”
I recovered enough to smile, letting my fingers trail up his chest. “Maybe I wanted to make you work for it.”
A growl rumbled in his chest. “I helped you escape a dungeon, flew you across the wasteland on dragonback, and fought my way through your father’s guards to find you. I’d say I’ve been working for it since the moment we met.”
“Fair point.”
“So?” His hand slid from my face to my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. “Where should you sleep tonight, Princess?”
My title, spoken in that rough voice, sent shivers down my spine. “I suppose your bed is more comfortable.”
“It is.”
“And your rooms have that lovely balcony.”
“They do.”
“And you did go through all that trouble of warding them.”
“I did.” His grip on my hair tightened enough to make my scalp tingle. “Any other observations you’d like to make? Or are you going to stop being stubborn and admit you belong in my rooms?”
Desire flooded through me at the possessive edge in his voice. “I’m not being stubborn.”
“No?” He leaned closer, his lips brushing my ear. “Then what are you being?”
“Difficult.”
His laugh came out low and dark and full of promise. “You are.”
Before I could respond, he moved. One moment I was sitting on his lap, and the next he’d surged to his feet with me in his arms. He tossed me over his shoulder, his hand landing firmly on my ass.
“Trew!”
“You had your chance to cooperate,” he said, already striding toward the door. “Now we do this my way.”
Pherin launched from the headboard with a chirp. Gavelle joined her, both companions swooping through the door as Trew yanked it open.
“Someone might see us,” I said, laughter bubbling up in my chest.
His hand flexed against my backside. “Let them see.”
He moved through the corridor, his long strides eating up the distance. I caught glimpses of torch-lit stone, of tapestries and doorways, but mostly the flex of his back muscles beneath his tunic.
A servant rounded a corner and froze at the sight of us. Trew didn’t slow.
“Evening,” he said pleasantly, as if carrying me through the palace like a sack of grain was perfectly normal.
The servant stammered and pressed against the wall to let us pass.
“You’re impossible,” I said, but I was smiling.
“I am.” He kicked open the door to his chambers. “It’s past time you remembered that.”
Pherin and Gavelle flew in ahead of us, heading straight for the balcony where their perches waited. I caught a glimpse of the fire burning in the hearth, the comfortable furniture, and papers strewn across his desk before Trew carried me to the bedroom.
He tossed me onto the bed with enough force that I bounced. I scrambled to sit up, but he was already there, caging me with his body. His hands braced on either side of my head, his knees bracketing my hips.
“This is where you belong from now on,” he said, his voice rough with need. “In my bed. In my rooms. Do you understand?”
I looked up at him, taking in the heat blazing in his eyes and the fierce possessiveness written across every line of his face. My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Say it.”
“I belong here.” The words felt like a vow. “In your bed. With you.”
“Good.” He lowered himself until his body pressed against mine, until I could feel every hard plane of muscle and every breath he took. “Because I’m not letting you go. Not now. Not ever.”
Then his mouth found mine, and I stopped thinking altogether.
His kiss was hungry, demanding, full of all the fear and need and desperate hope we’d both been carrying. I met him with my own heat, latching onto his tunic, pulling him closer.
He tasted like the wine we’d shared earlier, like heat and want.
His hand slid into my hair, angling my head so he could deepen the kiss. I arched into him, needing more contact, more pressure, more everything.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard and his eyes had darkened. “You like having me at your mercy. And you like knowing you’re the only one who gets to see me like this.”
He was absolutely right. There was something intoxicating about having this powerful man completely dependent on my touch and care.
“Maybe I do.”
“Good.” His voice dropped to a rumble. “Because I’m yours, Isi. Completely. I’m going to show you just how thoroughly you own me.”
“I do own you.”
His snort rang out. “Damn right you do. Do you still think you should’ve gone to your own room?”
“No. This is exactly where I should be.”
He kissed me again, softer this time. Sweet. “Now stop arguing with me and let me prove it.”
I smiled against his lips. “Make me.”
His growl promised a very thorough effort.
And as his mouth moved to my neck and his hands began their slow exploration, I let myself forget everything else. The mysteries we needed to solve. The dangers waiting beyond these walls. And the weight of responsibility that never quite lifted from either of our shoulders.
For now, there was only this. Us.
And the truth written in every touch, kiss, and whispered promise.