Chapter 25 #2
He wasn’t saying anything I hadn’t considered myself. “You were made to lead them.” I paused. “You just don’t believe we can free you from Themis?”
His shrug couldn’t mask his hesitation, the bitter taste of his anxiety that flooded my mouth. “I’ve tried a lot of things, Chaos. I think we have to plan for the worst.” His smirk softened to a smile. “When we’re free of this curse, when Kavios is free of my father, what do you want to do?”
I sucked in a breath, knowing I’d need to verbalize everything I’d considered over the past weeks. “I … I’m not sure I’d be a good ruler, but I think I’d be better than Rodric. Ciril also had me considering the representation methods that the Farmers Guild used…”
The picture of my life beyond unseating Rodric was so uncertain, the colors and shapes hadn’t formed into a concrete landscape—into something I could imagine for myself. So much was still unknown.
Hart chuckled. “I knew you liked that.”
I let him take my hand, let the connection between us flare to life with the contact. “I’ve watched this city cage you, Chaos. I can’t bear to see you step into this role if it’s not truly what you want.”
“I want what’s best for the kingdom.” The words stuck in my throat, but I knew them to be true.
“Spoken like a queen.”
I whispered my next words. His faith emboldened me. “I wasn’t raised for this. It should be you.”
He shook his head. “You can do anything you put your mind to. We both know that. And I’m not going anywhere as long as I can help it. As long as we break the curse, you’ll have a path to take the throne. I just want to be honest about our chances of freeing me from Themis’s influence.”
I sat with that, and finally listened to the words he was and wasn’t saying. “What happens to a Champion who … loses? If we break the curse and I take the throne, what becomes of you?”
He shrugged again, and it spoke volumes. “I don’t know. There is so little information on Champions. Delphine didn’t exactly leave room to find out what would happen to her opponent.”
My ungloved hand cupped his cheek, and my thumb swiped across the light layer of stubble that grew there. “I trust in our ability to navigate this. We will free you from Themis. You don’t have to believe it now, but believe we are stronger together.”
We didn’t have all the answers, but I was confident we would find them—together. That was good enough for me. I hoped it was enough for him, too.
My gut said it would be. He didn’t want to hope, but the set of his jaw said he was determined not to give up.
I trusted my instinct and leaned into Hart’s space until my lips brushed his. I may not know what the future held, but the messy picture in my mind was most detailed when it included him.
He stilled beneath my touch. I breathed his air and waited. This had to be a decision we both made.
Believe in us, too, Hart, I silently begged.
The moment hung between us, possibilities unfurling.
Then his hand clasped my neck, and he captured my lips in a bruising kiss.
Heat and tongues and lips and skin. We reached for each other with desperation.
My lips skimmed the sharp line of his jaw, and I delighted in the deep groan I pulled from him.
“Chaos,” he growled low as he caught my lips again with his own. “Not that I’m complaining, but is this wise?”
I huffed out a laugh. “That sounds like a complaint.”
I pushed him back on the couch. As I crawled over him, the curtain of my golden hair fell around our faces, leaving only me and him in this private space. I nipped behind his ear and kissed down the column of his neck. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”
He groaned again. “I’m not stopping you.” His fingers dug into my hips so hard he seemed to hold on for dear life. “I just want to ensure we’ve considered … everything. What about our magic?”
He swallowed another wordless sound as my hands traced the muscles of his chest.
Lust. He’d wanted to save it. “We have to keep going. We have so few trials left.”
“Is this another trial for you?” His words gave me pause. He was always so confident, so sure. The hesitation in his question reminded me that I’d been far less clear of my intentions than he had.
“No. I mean, it very well could complete another trial if we continue, but we’re better together, Hart. You know that.”
“Do you?”
I kissed him to prove my point. “I do.” I spread my legs wider so my hips dropped to rest against his. The smoky taste of his lust urged me forward. “And I’m putting my trust in our ability to figure the rest out.”
He sighed, and as I ground against his hips again, something shifted. Before I could consider it, he moved like a lightning strike and flipped me onto my back, bracing above me on the couch. “I never thought I’d hear those words. That you’d trust in us again.”
His teeth slid against my neck. His mouth opened like he considered biting me—marking me.
Then a door slammed somewhere below. The dull roar of the tavern noticeably silenced.
“Everyone, hands where we can see them! We’re here for the jeweler. If you cooperate, this will be over quickly.”
We both froze. We didn’t have a moment to think before a second voice yelled, “Raid!”
Chairs scraped the floor, and glasses shattered as chaos erupted in the tavern below.