She jerked in surprise and whirled around. “I was thinking about curtains.” She grinned and moved toward him.
“Curtains are funny?”
“In comparison to all my other thoughts, yes, curtains can be amusing. But you, sir, are the best thing that’s happened to me all day, all week and, now that I think about it, all season.”
Two steps and she was wrapped in his arms. Joy raced through his veins. He breathed in her lavender scent. “That’s the best welcome I’ve had all day.” All year, if he was being honest.
“Do I want to know why you’re here?” she asked.
“No.”
She sighed. “Should I know why you’re here?”
“Yes. But not now.” He leaned over and his lips met hers. The world and all his problems disappeared. Nothing else mattered but the woman in his arms.
* * *
Spooned around Yelena on the narrow bed, Valek slept peacefully. Until she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. It was late afternoon, and the air in the room was icy.
Valek moved to get up. “I’ll make a fire?—”
“No!” She grabbed his arm, stopping him.
He peered at her in concern. Yelena looked almost frightened.
“You’ll need to reapply your makeup,” she said, brushing a black strand of hair away from his face.
He took her hand in his. “Nice try, but youaregoing to tell me why you don’t want a fire.”
“Only if you tell me why you’re here.” She countered.
“Agreed.”
She told Valek about Ferde’s escape, Cahil’s involvement, and the appearance of the Fire Warper. And by the way her voice hitched and trembled slightly, he knew exactly who she was afraid of. No fire in the room meant that the Fire Warper couldn’t reach her. He also learned that she had saved Stono’s life by collecting his soul and returning it to his healed body.
Then she recounted her conversation with Irys in the Council Hall. Valek knew most of the information, but it was still important to hear her side of the story and get her impressions.
“According to Cahil, the Daviians are in league with the Commander of Ixia,” Yelena said.
“It’s ridiculous to think the Commander is working with these Daviians.” Valek considered her comments. “So, the Wannabe King has chosen to ignore the truth about his birth. You’ve got to admit his ability to dupe the entire council is impressive.”
“Not the entire council. Irys doesn’t believe Cahil and I’m sure there are others.” She waved her hand in a shooing motion. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not my concern. I’ve been told to be a good little student and mind my own business.”
Valek snorted. “Likeyouwould listen to them.”
“I agreed.”
He laughed long and hard. “You. Not. Get involved.” Valek paused to catch his breath. “You’ve been in the midst of trouble ever since you became the Commander’s food taster, love. You would never walk away.” It’d been ages since he had a good laugh. He wiped tears from his cheeks.
“This is different,” she argued. “Then I didn’t have a choice.”
“Oh? And you have a choice now?”
“Yes. I’ll let the council deal with these Daviians, and I’ll stay out of trouble.”
“But you know they can’t counter them.”
“They don’t want my help.”
