31
A candle still burned when I woke, swaying shadows across the room.
My arm lay draped over a smooth torso. My fingers were curled against a hot chest. It rose and fell evenly.
Voran.
His exhales were rough, more slight growls than snores, warming the top of my head. His arm twitched beneath me. His other hand held my hip, his grip firm even in sleep.
Our abandoned robes barely covered our midsections, the material coarse against my leg, which was squashed between both of Voran’s. The blanket lay scrunched under us. Due to the isle’s climate, it was seldom needed anyway, and the heat his body expelled could warm in the coldest of places.
Such as Valadorn—with its autumn-like summers and the nearly ever-present snow.
For moments that became minutes, I didn’t move. I stared over Voran at the window until the first hints of dawn touched the stained glass.
Then I carefully unwedged my leg from his.
That alone was enough to make his hand tighten at my waist. “A bird cannot escape a beast so easily.” Sleep thickened his accent. His words were almost indecipherable. “It’s still dark.”
“Not for much longer,” I whispered. “Which is precisely why I need to leave.”
His huff stirred my hair. “So you can wait an hour before eating the slop they call breakfast?” The arm beneath me shifted, and he pushed my face into his neck with a groan. “Might as well leave your soft skin and hair right where I want them.”
That groan and his amber scent—pungent at his throat—certainly tempted.
Trapped, I nipped him.
He hissed, then ordered, “Again.”
I muffled a laugh against his skin. With a sigh, I inhaled him deep into my lungs. My body relaxed, and my eyes drifted closed.
Right as sleep began to reclaim me, I shot up and pushed hair out of my face.
Voran didn’t stop me from snatching my robes and climbing over him. But he chuckled when I almost tumbled to the floor and caught my hand. His fingers stroked.
Shivering, I pulled my hand free.
Then I quietly left his room and crept down the hall.
The stairwell door gave a slight crunch as it closed. I winced but continued downstairs, fixing my robes along the way. Catching the door behind me on the second floor, I let it sit unlatched to keep it from making any noise.
A clearing throat sent my heart into my own.
“Have you and Meront finally found some sense?”
Darcen.
Heart pounding, I turned to find the Coraldeen prince standing in the dark before the west wing entrance. Steam rose in curls from the teacup he lowered. His green eyes shone like those of a wyvern within the mist of their spawning grounds.
He knew I hadn’t been with Meront, and I couldn’t lie. In an hour or less, he’d discover the truth when our friend awoke.
Rather than answer, I walked a bit closer and asked a question of my own. “Is that why you’re up so early?” With a small smile, I gestured to the cup held at his chest. “I cannot remember the last time I had tea.”
“They hide it in the highest cupboard in the kitchens.” Staring down at his tea, Darcen said, “And I don’t sleep much these days.”
“Celestine?” I asked. “Or the war?”
“Both,” he sighed and sipped. His swallow was loud in the silent fortress. “You think me a monster.”
“I think you could have been slightly less cruel to be kind.”
He sipped more tea, then murmured, “Perhaps.”
Not sure what else to say, and desperate to escape before he could ask me why I’d been upstairs before dawn, I turned for my room.
“Here, many often forget that I’m Unseelie. I can smell him on you,” he said softly. Too softly. “At first, it was faint. But it’s much stronger now.” A pause. “What are you doing with the wolf prince, Ayla?”
I stared down the dark hall as fear cascaded through me.
It iced my limbs and stole the beat of my heart until my ears rang. Closing my eyes, I tried to breathe properly. Tried to think of an excuse. But even if I had one, I remained still and silent for too long. He would believe nothing now.
Nothing except maybe the truth.
Turning back, I took two steps closer. Darcen watched me with a deepening frown.
Blowing out a breath, I let my shoulders sag—as if it were a relief to finally speak about it. “He saved me,” I whispered. “When those prisoners escaped the sea cells, Prince Voran killed one who was trying to kill me, and I’ve been indebted to him ever since.”
His frown became a scowl as he immediately assumed the worst. “Are you pulling at rotting fucking roots, Ayla?” Between his teeth, he scolded, “No debt is ever worth betraying your king—”
“No,” I said, cutting him off. Intentionally, I widened my eyes and allowed my cheeks to heat. “Not that.” I shook my head. “I haven’t done that.”
It was true.
Perhaps he sensed as much, for his features eased. But his fingers tightened around his teacup, the porcelain protesting with a squeak. “What else could he possibly want from you?” A brow perked. “Intel?”
It didn’t feel good to say it, but I had to. “Darcen, I’ve…” I pushed the words free. “I’ve been teaching him how to read.”
He blinked.
Then a brief, mirthless chuckle burst into the hall. “Horseshit.”
“It’s true,” I whispered. “His father started teaching him before he died, but his uncle…” Guilt ensnared me for sharing this. “Well, it’s no secret that Raxon has had the prince hone little more than his physical strength.”
For achingly long moments, Darcen just stared at me. Then, he slowly said, “You’re giving Raxon’s claws reading lessons.” Disbelief lifted his brows. “Right before dawn.”
“To avoid getting caught…” I shrugged. “Yes.”
He drained the last of his tea and gazed down at the teacup. “You’re sweet of soul, Ayla. Too sweet to recognize that he is lying to get something from you.” His eyes rose, as did the corner of his lips. “Prince Voran may be heinous, but he is still a prince. Of course he knows how to read.”
“I’ve witnessed his struggle and his improvement.” I clasped my hands together. Clenched them as his words tried to unearth fears I’d buried. “Look, I understand your reluctance to believe this. I really, honestly do. But it’s the truth.”
Below the railing, dawn began to seep through the glass doors to lighten the prayer hall. Darcen dragged his eyes from it and surveyed me. A muscle ticked in his jaw.
He didn’t believe me.
So I said, “Prince Voran saved my life, Darcen. Not repaying a debt of that magnitude could eventually do me more harm than merely helping him learn how to read. This is Raxon’s nephew we’re talking about.”
Skepticism lingered within his gaze. “He hasn’t plied you for intel on our military movements?”
“I don’t know our military movements. I told him as much before we began to meet.”
“Has he tried to fuck you?”
I didn’t need to feign shock from his crass words. Their unexpected and smooth delivery had me blinking twice. “No,” I hissed. “He has not.”
Those emerald eyes gleamed like jewels. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to.”
Although panic still sluiced through my bloodstream, his assumption that I was too naive to understand when a male wanted such a thing from me bruised.
But perhaps it could be useful.
Taking another step closer, I stared down at my fidgeting hands. Then, as I met his gaze, I made sure to flutter my lashes as I spoke softly—meekly. “If I promise to be careful, will you promise not to tell anyone?”
His raven brows slashed into a harsh line over his bright eyes. “Ayla, you need to end this charade, and if he gives you shit for it, then you come to us.”
Us. Meaning Meront. Maybe Haynes, too.
My panic became flames of fear at the mere thought of them knowing. “I will stop, but more time might keep him from being angered by it.” Playing into the timid creature he thought I was, I gnawed at my lip for a moment. “I just really don’t want to feel unsafe here.”
Again, he stared at me in silence. Then he dragged a hand through his hair. “Fine. I’ll keep quiet about it. As long as you aim to cease meeting with him.”
I didn’t want to thank this prince who’d broken my friend’s heart. But I gave him a tiny smile and forced the words to leave me gently. “Thank you, Darcen.”
He nodded once.
Relieved yet strangely annoyed, I made for my room again.
His low warning followed me down the hall. “He is taking your father’s title of high king, Ayla. How dangerous he is aside, for that reason alone, I sincerely hope you don’t let him take you, too.”