“Pour some for yourself, wife. Have a drink.”
“Would you like some too?” My tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of my mouth.
He sat beside me, close enough our arms grazed, and brushed my hair back with a smooth hand, fingertips soft under my ear. The warmth of his body steamed over me, and even as my instinct raised its head and whispered to run, I found my back arching, a husky sigh leaving my lungs. “Sure,” he said, his voice like velvet.
I righted two teacups on their saucers, careful not to look at him as I poured. “Sugar?”
“Please.”
Dropping a couple cubes in with a pair of ornate tongs, I slid it toward him, then did the same for my own. A small smile curved his lips, his crescent scar devilishly pale against the blush pink of his mouth. My pulse jumped at that grin’s existence, and I wondered what things my body would be willing to do to see that smile against my naked skin.
Wake up, Maren.
I made to drop the tongs on a napkin, but before my fingers let go, his hand wrapped around mine, keeping the utensil firmly in my grasp. Forearms braced against the edge of the table, he leaned forward, flicking the kettle lid open with his bare fingers. I flinched at the thought of how hot it must be, but if it hurthim, he didn’t let the pain show. His eyes flashed, volcanic as he guided the tongs into the kettle with my hand.
We pulled out the shield weed together. Limp, vibrant green after being boiled, it dripped over the open lid.
“What’s this?” he asked with false curiosity.
I swallowed. Hard.
“I don’t know.”
“No?” Kye released my hand, letting the shield weed splat on the table’s surface as he leaned away and smiled, disappointment leeching into his gaze. “That’s odd. The servants have never added random greens to my morning tea before. You’re a terrible liar, Leihani.” He flicked his fingers in the air. “Drink it.”
I vaulted to my feet, but he grasped my shoulder calmly before I could flee, guiding me back down in my chair, and my eyes finally met his, golden irises warring between sadness and rage.
“My sweet, doting wife,” he whispered. “So caring. Even after a long night, she woke up early to make me tea. I’ll offer my thanks to Aalto before I leave her, and I’ll mourn the loss of her at my side as I head off to war.”
Words bubbled recklessly in my throat as I considered telling him everything. With dawning shock, I realized IwishedI could tell him. But I couldn’t—I couldn’t reveal myself even if I wanted to. Besides the fact that my Naiad body wouldn’t allow me to speak words I’d promised I wouldn’t speak, I knew he wouldn’t trust me. His faith in me had been snuffed out weeks ago, and I’d been too stupid to realize it. He thought I’d come to kill him, and he was right.
I had.
He pushed the teacup toward me. “Drink.”
My breath came and went in terrified waves. What had Selena said about eating shield weed?
If you eat it, you’ll lose your Naiad abilities until it’s fully out of your bloodstream. Fresh and green like this, it might only upset your stomach.
I could deal with an upset stomach. I could deal with worse if it proved I’d meant him no harm. Hand shaking, I lifted the teacup to my lips, but he grasped the rim with his fingertips, shaking his head as he pulled it away.
“I thought perhaps you'd admit everything before you swallowed poison. At least you’re dedicated to your act,” he sighed in disappointment, rising to his feet and unbuttoning his pants. I blinked in vague alarm as they dropped to his ankles, revealing a pair of dark underwear stretched across his hips that ended at his thighs. My cheeks scorched at the size of what lay hidden below the soft fabric, but he reached for the clean pair of pants slung over the hanger on his wall, pulling them on with alacrity.
Uniform pants. Pressed and fitted, creased lines down the side.
He yanked a cotton shirt over his head and reached for his jacket. “I’m not sure when I’ll see you again. The royal family spends a week at Cynthus Castle in lateVirccos, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to go.” Buttoning his jacket up to his throat, he pulled his sleeves over his wrists, then leaned heavily over the back of his own chair, curling his fingers under my chin, aiming my eyes at him.
“I know why you’re here," his smooth voice rumbled quietly around the room. "I know you’re planning my brother’s murder. I know you’re planning mine as well. You might have everyone else charmed with your beauty and your adorably obvious lack of court etiquette. You’d think Thaan would try a little harder to train his spy before sending her into the fray, but not every spy has the skills you have, do they?”
He kneeled slowly, bringing himself closer to me. His eyes flickered to my mouth, hovering just beyond his, catching my breath and forcing my lungs tight, the flames of desire branded into my jaw.
My lips parted, my eyelids suddenly heavy as the center of my body drifted toward him. Arousal flickered in his own gaze. He released my chin and lifted his hand away, eyes squeezing shut as though forcing a thought from his own churning mind.
“Island temptress,” he muttered under his breath with every ounce of defe.
And then he was gone.
55
