“That’s stupid,” I said. He blinked back a look of surprise, though his cool exterior remained. “Wouldn’t it be safer to be cordial, allow the suspected enemy to feel they are close to you without giving confidential information away, until you came to know their true nature?”
I was fully aware of the tightrope I walked. I’d been contracted to kill him, and Kye had been right when he’d said I was a terrible liar. All Hadrian had to do was ask outright what my intentions were here in Calder, and he’d discover the truth. It would be written all over my face.
He sniggered and swung his reins to the side, his gelding cutting off my own horse. My mare stamped in irritation, champing her bit like she’d have liked to bite his horse’s flank.
“Who are you to Thaan?” Hadrian demanded. “Why is he suddenly so interested, soinvestedin mylife?”
Ah. Here we go.Mihaunagrant me luck.
I opened my mouth, though I didn’t know what to say. WhowasI to Thaan? A tool, more than anything. A means to an end—though I didn’t understand what, other than to someday murder the man before me.
“He's an old…he's my father’s…business partner.”
I forced myself to meet his eyes, clamping my mouth shut so I couldn’t cringe at my own sorry attempt to dissemble.
His eyes narrowed on me. “I’d think your cover story would be better than that. He is your sponsor, your chaperone while here in Calder. Usually that would make him distant relation. Is he an uncle? A cousin of your father’s?”
“N-no,” I stammered.
Hadrian’s smile curled. “Do you even know who he is? What he does?”
I couldn’t say I did, and my blank-faced silence spoke for itself.
“He used to run the finances for the kingdom. He was in charge of the banks. The crown’s purse and coffers. Now, he’s head of the war council, the lead emissary, and royal matchmaker.” Hadrian tilted his head. “What claws does he have in my father’s hide? Do you not see how it looks through my eyes, when Thaan’s little islandernobodyis shoved toward my family like a glass of wine? When my brother tells me in private he doesn’t trust you, but in public he announces his intentions to marry you? When he then tells me to forget my worries and apprehensions, becauseall is well, I must simply drink that glass of wine alongside him? Would you not wonder whether there’s poison in the glass?Who is Thaan to you?”
My pulse beat against my temples. I swallowed. “I don’t know him very well—”
“Oh, please.” Hadrian rolled his eyes, sliding off his saddle to throw the reins over a tree branch. Shuffling next to me, he offered a hand to help me dismount. I glanced around, suddenly uneasy, my feet hitting the forest floor.
Clearing his throat, Hadrian turned, climbing over a fallen log as he breached the side of the trail, veering into the dense wood. “Come on.”
What now?
I inhaled through my nose, trying to catch his scent. But I couldn't detect the heated metal of anger, nor the sour scent of fear. Unlike Kye, Hadrian seemed to temper his emotions so well I couldn't smell anything but the salty sea past the trees.
Birds quieted as we traipsed through the forest. Twigs and leaves snapped beneath Hadrian’s boots. When he upended a large rock under a bush, something small scurried to escape. My eyes darted to the blur—and without warning, something grabbed me.
I should’ve seen it coming. His heart hammered against his lungs as he pressed my back against a tree, a hand over each of my wrists. I shoved at him, but he had me pinned. The scent of mint lifted in the air as he pressed close, and I realized the eyes in front of mine were golden brown.
61
“Aalto, Kye,” Hadrian muttered.
Shock hit me in waves. Air became scarce. A strangled sound escaped from the back of my throat as my eyes roamed over him, hunting for every detail—proof he was safe. Proof he was standing in front of me. Proof I wasn’t simply imagining or dreaming.
Kye. Here. In the woods. Alive. Whole and heavy and strong. Very tan from training outside in the sun. And grinding my moon-forsaken tailbone hard into the tree trunk, driving the backs of my hands into sharp bark as he forced me into submission.
Rage leapt into my throat as I shook against him, demanding to be freed. He didn’t budge, though he raised a brow at my effort.
I bared my teeth. “Let go.”
“In a minute,” he said.
I rocked my hip against the tree, driving my shoulder forward under his weight. He chuckled as he lost his footing, but his grip tightened smoothly around my arms. “Answer us honestly—”
Ripe fury boiled inside me, and I screamed in his face. I attempted to kick him, but my own stupid skirt obstructed my leg. Behind him, Hadrian clenched his jaw, waiting for me to still as Kye’s face grew red, either from the physical struggle of holding me down or his own irritation. Lungs emptied of air, ears ringing and chest heaving, I glared up at him through my lashes.
“Someone is trying to kill me,” Hadrian said evenly. I slowly froze.
