I glare at him, but I can feel my resolve wavering. “You wouldn't dare.”
“Try me, my black souled diamond. My ghostly damsel of distress.”
There’s that cocky smile.
I groan, realizing he's not going to let this go. “Fine. My iron pills are in that upper drawer. I need to take them for my anemia. And grab the box of Magic Morsels too. A snack can only help.”
Kai nods, his playful demeanor fading into something more serious. He retrieves the pills and a glass of water, watching as I swallow them down.
“So,” I say, breaking the silence. “You were right about my father. He was murdered.”
Kai sighs heavily, sinking to sit on the bed beside me, handing me the box of snack cakes I smuggled in from the Common World. “I hoped I was wrong,” he admits. “I didn't want to be right, not about this.”
“Are we sure?” I have to ask. My brain is swimming in too much syrup to think it through.
I struggle to open the individually packaged Spice Spell Rolls. The rolled sponge cakes with pumpkin spice filling and a drizzle of white chocolate glaze are only available during the fall. Though I bet if I talked to Red, she could convince her grandma, the producer of Magic Morsels, owner and frontwoman of Grandma’s House, to get me boxes off season it’d be possible.
Even Martha Stewart would give her left arm and her best rose bushes to run a home goods and food company like Red’s Gigi.
He takes the rolls from me and rips the package open before handing it back. “You really should be eating spinach or red meat for your anemia. This is only going to make you feel worse.”
I blink. “Did you research my condition?”
Pushing a spice roll into my mouth, I try to embrace the comfort that is anything pumpkin. Thankfully, when the servants light the candles, they light my personal ones as well so the autumnal scents swirl around us like a hug I desperately need.
“Maybe,” he shrugs in an unexpected moment of modesty.
“Yeah, but this is for my feels,” I say waving the second cake in the package. “Also I can do this now.” I blink hard and a slight green film covers my vision, and I know my eyes are now green.
He frowns.
I do it again and my view changes to a sepia hue. I'm a brown-eyed girl now. Magic Morsels all have small, little magics you acquire for a short while when you eat them.
“Stop that,” he says. “I like your eyes the way they are. And the cover up was sloppy. Likely no one believed anyone would bother to investigate the death of a human in Midnight, even if it was the most prolific one. Jack showed me the notes.”
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Someone in Midnight drank all of his blood. And they managed to cover it up. It has to be someone powerful, someone with influence.”
“My father.” His jaw flexes visibly as darkness passes over his face. Again, I'm getting a glimpse of the side he doesn’t let the world see. “It has to be him.”
I close my eyes, the weight of this revelation settling over me. When I open them, the world is blue.
“But you aren’t alone, Cinder,” he says. “I’ll help you find out what happened. You can trust me.”
“Trust.” The wry laugh sucks the energy from me again and I sink further back into the bed. “You know trust is earned right? And I don’t think there is enough time in this lifetime for that to build between us.” The exhaustion and weakness make my tongue loose.
“We can make a good team,” he insists. Kai takes my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles.
I meet his gaze. For a moment, I almost believe him. I almost let myself hope that he means it.
But then I snort, pulling my hand away. “I doubt it,” I say, my voice hard. “You're the playboy prince, remember? You don't do commitment or trust.” I bite into the second spice roll though the sugar is making my teeth tingle.
Kai's jaw tightens, but he doesn't argue. He stands up, running a hand through his hair. “Get some rest,” he says, his voice clipped. “We'll talk more tomorrow.”
He turns to go, but pauses at the door and looks at me over his shoulder. “You're wrong about me, Cinder,” he says softly. “I'm not who you think I am.”
Something about the way he says it makes me think he doesn’t even know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
And with that he's gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts, a red hue, and the growing realization that when it comes to Prince Kaison Charming, I might not know anything at all.
