The King paused at the edge of the floor, blade dropping to his side and his thick brow creasing as it rose almost into his hairline
There we go.
Adeline very nearly laughed with sheer relief.
It had been a long, tense, quiet morning. She’d been baiting him for well over an hour now, teasing and taunting with far more vigour than she had in their last session.
And although he’d claimed not to mind it, something was off. There’d been no give and take. She’d hit a sore spot, clumsily tripping over the subject of the Sorceress. That was when he’d gone quiet, wasn’t it? She’d upset him, offended him perhaps. Whatever it was, the King had decided not to rise to her needling today. No stammering. No averted glances. No endearing blush around the ears. It was, for some reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on, incredibly frustrating. He hadn’t exactly been easy company before, but Goddess, it had been better than the chill that hung around them now.
She wanted to make it right. She wanted to see those cracks in his courtly mask; those moments he allowed a smile to hint at the edges of his lips, fluttering and uncertain, before he reigned it back in.
Adeline knew it was borderline childish, but his sudden reticence had set her a personal challenge. She hadn’t told him so, but today would be their second and final session together before she went to speak with Master Ellis.
And she was going to win that smile if it killed her.
The King remained frozen where he stood, still frowning, waiting for her elaboration. When she didn’t offer one, his eyes narrowed.
“Did you–are you suggesting I’m elderly?”
She allowed her grin to overtake her for just a moment, then shrugged delicately, raising one shoulder.
“Didn’t mean to offend, Your Majesty.”
And there it was; that little flutter – but no smile.Damnit. He schooled his features once more, and set his swordpoint to the ground, leaning slightly into the hilt.
“Oh, I’m not offended. It wasn’t long before my time that the Merrow were ruled by a Council of Elders, you know.” He gave her a stern look, which probably should not have made her insides go all wobbly. “Ageing isn’t a curse.”
“I quite agree,” she said, gesturing broadly at the King.
Another flicker.Come on, one smile.
“Tell me then Princess, just how old do you think I am?”
Adeline gave a long hum, barely fighting the giddy triumph that tugged at the corners of her lips and made her cheeks ache. She sauntered closer, trailing her blade behind her and making a show of splaying out her fingers on her free hand, counting each one off and mouthing numbers at random. There was just a swords breadth between them when she finally caught his eye and gave in to the pull of her grin.
“I’d put you around six hundred years older than me, give or take a few years.”
The second the words left her mouth, she wanted to swallow them back down. His face.Shit.Why had she thought that would be funny?
Kai’s brows twitched, then pulled together as he stared at her and for one long, nauseating moment she thought she’d been irreparably rude, beyond insensitive. Her stomach flipped, sick with nerves. But then – so subtle she almost missed it beneath the shadow of his dark stubble – his lips pressed together, pursed against a smile.
Oh thank the Goddess.
“A fair assumption,” he said, nodding with mock seriousness.
Adeline’s stomach flipped again, though the sick feeling faded into something warm and fluttery.
“Unfortunately, I can’t claim six centuries worth of wisdom. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll be twenty-five this summer. Or not summer, but –”
He frowned, casting about for some forgotten phrase.
“Mid-Winter,” she supplied.
He nodded. “Mid-Winter, then.”
“Twenty-five,” she mused, then cocked a brow. “Care to prove it? Because I’ve been going easy on you all morning. Even my Grand-Aunt Johanna might have claimed a round by now.”
This little jibe brought her no closer to that evasive smile; quite the opposite, in fact. Something hot and tense chased across the King’s face and - goddess, he was scowling at her.Scowling. That was new. Adeline laughed, delighted.
