I swallowed dryly, not in the mood for metaphorical speech. “Let us wait, then, after predators have chased the fools away, to share a proper conversation.”
I’d meant the comment to mask an attempt at escape. Readying to bow before darting away, I paused as he held a hand in my direction.
“What was your name again? Nikolaos is tight-lipped about you.”
“Maren,” I answered, then cringed. “Lady Maren. Inoa. Of Leihani.”
His mouth twitched with amusement, and I could only hope he was so used to people being flustered by standing in his presence that he didn’t consider any other reason I’d be nervous to walk with him. “Strange. The name Maren doesn’t sound Leihaniian to my ears.”
I tilted my head, surprised. “Are you familiar with island names?”
He quirked his mouth. “Not very. I’ve studied the register in the past, but it’s been a year or two.”
A warmth climbed over my ears as we passed palace residents, each of whom paused to stare at us. “My mother named me. She wasn’t born in Leihani.”
“And where is she from?”
Why was everyone in this moon-forsaken palace so concerned with where my mother was from?
It might not have annoyed me had I known the answer. But being peppered with the same question that had evaded me my entire life only reinforced that I had no idea. I wished I did. But I didn’t.
It didn’t help that it also made for a flimsy backstory.
Luckily, I was saved from answering.
A side door in the hallway propped open, and Hadrian stopped to peer through it. He chuckled. “Off kilter today, brother?”
He stepped through, motioning for me to follow. I hesitated, glancing backwards. I really,reallydidn’t wish to see Kye—even if some strange part of me had been relieved to witness him standing and walking.
Which didn’t make sense, as I still fully intended to kill the fool.
“You could say that. What are you up to this morning?” Kye answered.
I turned to go and a hand grasped mine.
He must have darted through the door to grab me. He might have lost consciousness only a few minutes before, but his reflexes remained lightning-fast. Golden eyes pierced me like poison darts, and though his voice was smooth and controlled—almost friendly—his hand over my wrist sending warmth into my pulse. “Why are you here?”
I felt Aren’s curious eyes on me. Hands behind his back, Hadrian glanced at us from over his shoulder, heedless of thenoose wrapped around my hand. “She came with me,” he said, naively turning back around to continue talking to Aren.
“What a pleasant surprise,” Kye yanked me through the door to the training yard, closing it with a snap. “Just who I wanted to see.”
38
“Are you going to introduce us?” Aren asked.
He was handsome, with hair the color of a wheat field, his bun at once messy and flawless. Like Kye, he sported a leather vest, old and worn and battered, a sheen of sweat over his brow like morning dew.
Jaw hard, Kye eyed me with his back to them, his lips barely moving. “Yes.” He plastered a faux smile on his mouth and faced them, never relinquishing my hand. “This isLadyMaren. We met in Leihani.”
There was something accusatory in his voice that I chose to ignore. Yes, he’d told me to stay away from his brother. But I hadn’t actively gone looking for Prince Hadrian. And what was I supposed to do when the heir to the throne tells me to walk with him? Refuse?
Lesson learned. I’d never roam this part of the palace again.
Besides, what did he think I’d do? Kill Hadrian now, before it was time? Openly stab him in front of dozens of witnesses? I’d only signed theMihauna-damned contract for my own freedom; I wasn’t about to murder a man I didn’t even want to murder andbe thrown in a dungeon for the rest of my life, which would likely only last a few days before they took my head.
Obviously, he didn’t trust me tonotperform the action he’d forced me to agree to before it was time. So much so, he apparently believed I was going to just stab Hadrian and get it over with, the bug-brained imbecile.
I still hadn’t untangled whatever feelings I’d grown for him while in Leihani, but whatever they were, I didn’t feel them now. I couldn’t believe I’d ever let myself begin to feel anything at all for him.
