CHAPTER NINETEEN #2
“Only so I could use his shower,” I told her. “The Sovereigns had made it clear that I wasn’t to keep them waiting, and the lines for the bathhouses were pretty long.”
“And that was all you did? Shower?”
“Yup.”
She shot me an impatient look. “Did we not cover that you can’t fool the Master of Deceit? What is it about this concept that you don’t grasp?”
“Everything.”
She snickered. “I thought you weren’t going to fuck him again. Don’t deny that you did—it will be pointless.”
As we were nearly at our destination and I didn’t want the others to overhear, I quickly admitted in a fast mumble, “Okay, between you and me, yes he and I had sex again. But only because he indicated that he wouldn’t repeat the whole pretending it didn’t happen.”
“And will it happen again?”
“I don’t know. Here’s what I do know: there’s nothing for you to get excited about, because I’m not going to get any kind of exclusive arrangement from a man who is emotionally bonded to the soul of another woman.”
She groaned. “I hate when you hit me with facts that ruin my dreams and ideas.”
Finally, we reached the spot our friends had claimed on one of the long benches. Both Quillen and Soule scooched over to give us space to sit.
Quillen frowned at her. “Why are you pulling that face?”
“She wants me to be realistic about something,” Khalida grumbled. “It spoils my fun.”
“Realistic about what?” asked Nakoa, spreading honey on a slice of bread. “Something to do with the Sovereigns?”
Loading my pewter with lamb and vegetables, I said, “They only wanted to know more about my power; they weren’t expecting it to surface.” As I ate, I gave them a rundown of the conversation. I also mentioned the crack that I’d spotted in the platform.
“There’s another fine fissure in the foundation of the fortress as well,” Quillen told us. “I saw it yesterday. I mentioned it to Talon—he didn’t react other than to grunt and walk away. He’s not the most forthcoming of people.”
Nakoa looked at Khalida. “On the subject of him, did you ask Anara why she headed to the private barracks with Talon?”
I exhaled heavily. “I showered, that’s all.” I slid my gaze to Soule. “Have you ever used a shower?”
His eyes lit with interest. “No, I haven’t. What are they like?”
“Life changers,” I told him, cutting into the last of my meat. “Talon has his own bathtub, too. The showerhead—”
“You’re doing that thing where you change the subject,” Nakoa cut in, “which means there’s more to know.”
“I think there is more to know,” Quillen stated, eyeing me. “There’s a weird vibe between you and Talon. Sometimes, he looks at you like he wants to tear your heart from your chest and bury it. Other times, he looks at you like a dehydrated man would stare at a glass of water.”
Even as the latter sentence made my belly flutter, I felt my nose wrinkle. “Why do you think he would bury only my heart?”
Quillen pointed an accusatory finger at me. “You’re doing it again. Or trying to. It won’t work.”
I stabbed my fork into my lamb. “Khalida used to have a crush on Keyes.”
Khalida spluttered and stared into her tankard.
Quillen narrowed his eyes at me. “We’re not talking about her, we’re staying on topic. You’re going to—” He turned to her. “Is she messing with me or what?”
Soule chuckled beside me and raised his drink. “I salute you.”
Chewing my food, I only smiled.
Nakoa leaned forward. “Tell us whatever it is that you’re hiding, Anara.”
“Tell us which woman in this hall Soule can fuck without you getting mad,” I countered, forking a turnip. “I want names. Actual names.”
She flicked a hand. “No one’s interested in hearing that.”
“I’m interested,” Soule interjected, his lips kicking up.
Nakoa glared at me. “You’re such a little shit.”
Quite proud of myself, I shrugged and stuffed the last of my meal into my mouth.
Quillen caught my eye. “You sure there’s nothing going on between you and the Cardinal?”
“Positive,” I said before washing down my food with the dregs of my mead.
“Genuinely?” he asked.
“Yes.” I set down my empty tankard. “Why?”
“Because he’s heading this way, and he’s looking right at you.”
I froze. “What?”
A large male—and very familiar, not to mention sexually skilled—hand appeared on the table beside mine as Talon hovered over me from behind.
He looped an arm around my upper abdomen, effortlessly hefted me off the bench, and then started shepherding me out of the hall with a palm splayed on my lower back.
I spluttered, disoriented. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t respond. He simply kept urging me toward the exit. Uh, apparently he was going to escort me to the stables himself tonight.
“I’m not ready to hit the sack—or hay bales, as it were—yet,” I complained.
He ignored that, too. Just ushered me out of the food hall and then led me to … the private barracks.
Oh.
I didn’t whatsoever protest as he guided me up to his room. What woman in her right mind would?
The moment we were inside with the door closed, we were on each other. Kissing, touching, stripping. He unceremoniously bent me over the bed before I even managed to remove all my clothes. Then he was railing me from behind, his hands keeping a firm hold on my hips.
Afterwards, while I was still shaking from my orgasm, he settled me on his bed and dragged off the rest of my clothes. Settling beside me, he placed a hand on my belly.
“So you want me to stay the night?” I asked, panting.
A low grunt of assent was his response.
Not about to miss the chance to sleep in a comfy bed for a change, I let myself relax.
In no time at all, I fell into a deep sleep.
I saw a young boy. A dark-haired boy no older than six.
He was running, panting, clearly afraid.
Running through a cavern, I realized. He kept glancing over his shoulder as he sprinted on his little legs, the roar of an animal coming from somewhere in the background.
The images dissolved so abruptly I snapped awake.
Double-blinking, I brought the world around me into focus.
Talon lay flat on his back, his brows drawn together, his breaths coming fast. A nightmare, I thought.
He was having a nightmare … which made me think of my own.
Made me think of the frightened dark-haired boy racing through a cavern, a boy with night-sky eyes that held gleams of gold.
Shit, had I somehow seen a snippet of whatever he was dreaming?
Probably not, since I couldn’t see how I would have managed it. Gods, I was too tired to even properly ponder on it.
I snuck closer to him, placed a hand on his chest, and nuzzled his shoulder.
I traced little circles over his skin with my fingertip, watching as his tight expression gradually eased away and his breathing finally settled.
All the while, I told myself that he wasn’t the little boy in my dream; that I hadn’t somehow shared his nightmare.
Because the thought of him being so afraid and alone like that while pursued by some beast? It was too horrific to contemplate.