Chapter 47
Kathreen told my brother that his infertility is the reason she’s cheating. He’d never admit it, but she’s tearing him apart, and I just might kill her for it. Not to mention I caught her stealing rens while she filled in for tax court.
My hands are shaking as I open The King of Kings, ignoring his gaze.
Tonight has been too much for me to process, and it’s so late I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.
Until I remember there’s a solid fucking man with a giant-ass sword strapped to his back in my room.
I don’t want him to leave though. What is wrong with me?
Who am I kidding? I know what’s wrong with me. It’s that diary. I’ve been crushing on Dagen this entire time. I want to pull him into a hug with one hand and help Lo claw Kathreen’s eyes out with the other hand.
He smiles, and I hope my desires are as messed up for him as they are for Liha who can only read some of my desires, but thinking back over my conversations with him, I get the sinking impression he can read every damning desire I have.
“What is your obsession with that book?” he asks.
I lift my eyes to him over the frayed binding and shrug.
“What? So, you can ask brutal honesty of me, but I can’t ask a simple question of you?”
I glare. “You can dig into my memories and my desires. I’d say that’s more than fair.”
He raises a finger. “The ones you are actively thinking come into my mind whether I want them to or not. I have refrained from digging into your past ones.”
I raise an accusatory eyebrow.
His hazel eyes come alive when he smiles like that. “Well, mostly refrained. There was the night I almost ran you through with my sword, but that infringement on your memories happened to save your life. And then the night I brought you biscuits, but that also helped save your life.”
“By all means. Thanks for showing such restraint.”
He sits in my wingback chair looking too satisfied with himself. “You’re welcome.”
I begrudgingly return to my book, trying to ignore everything about him.
“I’ve heard theories about the King’s riddle,” he says, eyeing my nearest stack of books with devout interest. “My sister mentioned it once.”
“Did she solve it?”
He shakes his head. “Not that I know of. Do you have any theories yet?”
“No, but I’ve noticed a lot of strange prophecies . . .”
“Like what?”
I yawn. Realms, I’m tired. “Some passages mention a bone disease, which I’ve seen amongst the people, but it mentions men turning into monsters, which sounds like utter nonsense.”
“They are real,” he says, the room dropping in temperature.
“What?”
“The monsters. I’ve seen their carnage outside the city walls. They are real.”
My hand freezes over a cryptic passage about technology and gems. “How?”
“I don’t know.” He glances at my face again and says, “I’m keeping you awake, aren’t I?”
“I’m fine.”
His gaze lands on my dagger on my leg and he smirks. “Get some sleep.”
“I can’t sleep with you in here.”
He evaporates into black mist. “Why not? You’ve done it before.”
“That was before I knew you could materialize into a full-fledged man.”
He chuckles, “Very well. I’ll leave.”
He vanishes into the dark swirling air I”ve become so familiar with and moves toward the balcony before taking flight, leaving my room.
When I fall asleep knowing he’s gone, the nightmares find me.