My movements slowed as I tucked the boots into the bottom of the trail, and my eyes met his.
His brows furrowed in understanding. “What else?” he asked cautiously.
I sighed through my nose, frowning at the edge of the gray sea, where I gathered my bearings and stepped in. “You put a knife to my throat as you arrested me.”
“Iarrested you?”
“And then locked the door to my cell.”
His eyes narrowed at the water, hands coming to rest on his hips. “Anything else?”
“You barged into my rooms and cornered me, then swept my leg out from under me and made me fall.”
A small smile hinted at the side of his mouth. “That was me. And only because you tried to kick me.”
The cold rushed over the arch of my foot, but it was the assault of saltwater that caused me to gasp. It’d been too long since I’d last practiced holding onto my human body. I’d need to set aside more time in my glass box. The waves rolled past my knees, and I leaned against a boulder in the sand, trying to scrape up memories of my interactions with him since coming to Calder.
Stealing a glance at the castle, Kye inclined his head for me to trail him further down the beach, already wading in that direction.
Pushing off the stone, I followed, feet and legs cold, the sun warm in my hair.
“Then when I had a limp, you asked if I’d like you to kiss my ankle.”
His smile faltered, though I almost thought amusement flickered in his eyes. “Did you let me?”
The shoreline curved in and out of the cliffs above. Rocks created alcoves, a new view every ten feet.
“No. You took an arrow in the arm trying to get me to leave the training yard.”
A subconscious hand rubbing at the forearm in question, he nodded to himself. “Me.”
“In the cargo hold of the ship, when I refused the soup you brought me, you asked if I wanted a taste of you instead.”
“A taste of me?” he asked, eyes darting over the waves.
“You said the soup was terrible and then offered me your neck.”
Cocked to the side, he shook his head.
“And when you took me up the ladder, you made me go first and said the view had improved.” Hand over the back of his neck, he let out a short burst of laughter, a touch of rose suddenly painting his cheeks. I’d been furious at the time, but I couldn’t help but smile now.
“Forced me to the ground on our engagement night and told me you’d get rid of me.”
His smile faded, and he exhaled slowly through his nose. “That was me.”
I halted, angling myself to face him as the waves struck me sideways, stealing my balance. Fingertips in the water, I coaxed them away. Sensing my need for his full attention, Kye stopped too, waiting.
“Our wedding night,” I said. It was a question—one that I knew the answer to. But I asked anyway, needing to hear that what had happened had been his choice. The threats, the kiss, the chair—all of it.
The seriousness in his gaze returned, Kye’s eyes darkened. They hovered over mine for a moment, then dropped to my mouth as he stepped toward me. My lungs, my heart. Everything came to a soft, soundless halt as he closed the distance between us. My mouth parted as I watched him reach me and halt.
“What do you want my answer to be?” he asked softly. I stared up at him, knowing he was giving me a way out.
But I didn’t want one. Five months ago, I would have.
But not now.
“The truth.”
