Chapter Forty-One – Mira #2
I didn’t know if he kissed me or I kissed him, but suddenly his hands were in my hair and my lips were on his, and our bodies were fusing together with the same desperation that I had felt back in the Ravalian arena, when he had been the only thing holding me together.
Aric kissed me like he wanted my lips to be the last thing he tasted, like he wanted to brand himself into my soul.
My head fell back against the sandstone wall, and suddenly it was only Aric’s strong arms that were keeping me upright, our bodies pressed so close together that it was difficult to believe we had spent months apart.
And I knew that if I let him, he would make love to me like I was something precious and delicate he couldn’t bear to see shatter. He would whisper endearments and promises of eternity in my ear, and everything that had happened would be forgotten. I would be home again.
A ship returned to its safe harbour.
‘We belong together,’ Aric murmured against my lips, his arms holding me close. ‘Let me show you how it could be.’ His voice turned rough as he kissed my neck. ‘How it always should have been.’
As good as he felt, as tempted as I was to say yes, the knowledge of what he was really asking gave me pause.
Tell me you’re mine, Mira . Cassius’s voice resurfaced in my mind, smooth and dark and accompanied by the sensation of his lips brushing my ear. Because I’m yours. In all ways .
This time, Aric noticed my glance in the direction of Cassius’s chambers. He stepped away from me so abruptly that the absence of his touch was like a physical ache. ‘I see,’ he said, and his voice was stiff. ‘You’d prefer to be with him , then? Is that what this is really about?’
‘It’s not that simple,’ I said quickly, filled with sudden fear. I didn’t want to lose Aric again. Not when we had just come back to each other. ‘I just need time – to sort out my feelings.’
‘ Feelings? ’ Aric’s expression was incredulous. ‘I knew you had a – a dalliance , but you can’t be foolish enough to believe he’s really interested in you. He’s a monster. A manipulator.’
‘He was there for me after I came to Kalure,’ I shot back. ‘After you abandoned me.’
‘And I’m sure he didn’t expect anything in return.’ Aric’s smile was twisted. ‘Can’t you see that this is exactly what he wants? Anything you believed was real was a lie , Mira – carefully crafted to lure you in. To show just enough vulnerability to make you let down your guard.’
I folded my arms, as if I could shield myself from his words. ‘Are you talking about Cassius or Scarlett?’
‘Does it matter?’ Aric retorted. ‘They’re both liars.’
For a moment, we only stared at each other, our breathing heavy and slightly uneven.
A distant part of me acknowledged that we weren’t being exactly quiet , and we were standing dangerously close to the guards stationed outside my chambers – and Cassius’s.
The thought of him listening to this and smiling, the possibility that Aric was right, and I had fallen for yet another one of his manipulations . . .
Maybe Aric saw the anguish on my face, because his turned to stone. ‘Do you love him?’
Was he seriously asking me that? Now, after I had just said I needed time to figure out my feelings?
‘I should have put it together earlier.’ Aric ran a hand through his hair. ‘When I saw the way you looked at him.’
‘I didn’t say that I loved him!’
‘You didn’t deny it, either. What about me, Mira?’ His voice was carefully measured. ‘Do you love me?’
‘That’s not fair. Not after everything that’s happened. Not when you’ve only just come back into my life–’
‘Answer the question, Mira.’
I took a deep breath. ‘I don’t know. I did love you – I was going to tell you so, that day at the docks.’
Aric’s eyes closed, and I saw how deeply that knowledge cut him. I watched him take it in, like a wounded man being dealt yet another blow.
I reached for him instinctively, taking his face in my hands. ‘I care about you. I . . . I want you.’
A mocking smile twisted Aric’s lips as he opened his eyes. He fixed me with a searching stare. ‘Do you even know what you want, Mira?’
He didn’t wait for an answer.
I stared after him as he walked away, wondering how everything had gone so wrong in a matter of minutes.
‘Your Majesty.’ The warrior outside my chambers bowed deeply and opened the door for me. If he had overheard my argument with Aric, his expressionless face gave no sign of it. ‘The food you requested has been brought up from the kitchens. It should still be hot.’
‘But I didn’t order any . . .’ My voice trailed off as I had my first glimpse of my transformed chambers–
And the young woman sitting at the head of my dining table.
Exactly what I need right now , I thought bitterly. To spend time with the person responsible for all of this.
I had a handful of seconds to decide on my next move – to allow this farce to continue, or to inform the warrior of her presence and have her forcibly removed.
Scarlett cocked her head as she watched me, apparently curious as to what I would decide.
I closed the door behind me and crossed through my suite.
Candles burned along the mahogany table, which was filled with silver platters and crystal decanters of wine.
Scarlett had even dressed for dinner, in an elegant silver gown that had most likely been provided by the priestesses.
I took a seat at the other end of the table, far from Scarlett and her poisonous touch.
‘I’m not really in the mood for whatever this is.’
‘I know. You weren’t exactly subtle – I heard every heated word you and Aric exchanged. I’m sure my brother did too.’
My eyes darted to the far wall of my chambers and then away. Since Scarlett clearly wasn’t leaving – not unless I threw her out – I decided to hear what she had to say. Maybe it would distract me from the mess I’d made of my relationships.
‘You didn’t have to go to so much trouble,’ I said warily, unsure how to react to the ostentatious display in front of me. I supposed it had been naive of me to expect someone as powerful as Scarlett to respect my boundaries. Or to tolerate being ignored.
Scarlett merely smiled. ‘Consider it a token of my gratitude.’ She plucked the lid from a silver tray, the mouth-watering smell of cooked meat wafting across the table.
I made no move to do the same.
‘Nothing is poisoned, I assure you.’ Scarlett tipped some wine from its decanter, a dark red that reminded me of blood.
‘I know about your powers,’ I said after a pause, ‘but I’m not sure that you know about mine – or the full extent of them. For instance, right now I’m attuned to the beat of your heart. It would be a simple matter to slow it – or stop it entirely.’
Scarlett didn’t so much as blink. ‘We could make such trouble for each other, you and I,’ she said with an amused curl of her lips.
‘But as we’ve already established, I don’t want you dead.
So long as you feel the same, there’s no point bothering with threats.
I’d rather talk about your plan to defeat Roran. ’
‘I’ve seen you watching the warriors from the battlements. Surely you’ve already deduced most of it.’
‘Do you know what Roran’s biggest advantage is?’ she asked idly, setting down her fork.
‘His overwhelming numbers?’ I said, my voice dry. ‘His magically enhanced Warriors and his fleet of ships?’
‘Not quite.’ Scarlett leant back in her chair, utterly at ease. ‘His Artisans . They give him the ability to know exactly what we’re planning – and how best to circumvent those plans.’
My heart sank at the reminder. I had done my best not to think of the Artisans – mostly because there was no way of dealing with them.
‘I’m assuming that you brought this up for a reason?’
Scarlett pushed a note halfway across the table. In the firelight, the scars criss-crossing her arms were particularly horrifying. Some of my anger dissipated at the sight, though I was careful to keep any trace of pity off my face, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate it.
I reached for the note. My throat tightened as I recognised the heavy, blocky script.
‘Roran replied to my letter,’ Scarlett drawled. ‘With his usual sweet charm.’
Aurelius is a bastard child like you, and just as expendable. Tell Mira that if she wants Kalure, she will have to come to Taiga and match her army against mine. I did promise her a spectacular homecoming.
‘What does he mean, a “spectacular homecoming”?’ Scarlett asked.
My voice was tight. ‘He promised to mount my head on a spike. To display it on the gates of the Kalurian palace.’
‘Ah.’ To my surprise, a tinge of amusement coloured the word. ‘Well, this is good news in one respect.’
‘How is any of this good news?’
‘His Artisans must have warned him that meeting us in the Wilds was a bad idea. Which meant your forces stood a chance of winning.’
‘But not in Taiga, it seems.’ I threw the note to the side of the table.
Scarlett hummed in thought. ‘Artisans can’t See futures until decisions have been made. I could have warned you it was useless to set up all those traps in the Wilds. Roran would have expected them all.’
I slumped back in my chair. ‘I suppose he knows I have no intention of killing Aurelius, too.’
A shrug. ‘It was worth a try. I was hopeful that Roran wouldn’t be willing to gamble with his son’s life.
Seeing the future isn’t an exact science – especially when there are so many people and eventualities to consider.
There’s a reason Roran relied so heavily on Severin for information. He was . . .’
I stared at the narrow column of Scarlett’s throat, watching her swallow past something that looked dangerously like genuine emotion.