“Your chamber.”
Gods.The halls were empty. We were surrounded by Varian soldiers and sailors but even so, this was rash. Foolhardy. I widened my gaze, gave my head the barest shake. “It would be wise to speak in the open—”
“In your chamber.” He curled his hand at his side. “Now.”
My blood sped. I drew my shaky hands across the velvet of my skirt and held tight. “As you wish.” I knew it was imprudent. And yet I was unable to deny him. To deny myself. “I’ll walk ahead with my guards. You walk behind with yours.”
He agreed with a single nod, and we strode through the endless, drafty halls like a company of trooping soldiers. Finally I was deposited inside my chamber, where I paced at the foot of the bed before Theodore appeared on the threshold.
The look upon his face turned me molten. He spoke to his guards without ever taking his eyes from me. “No one enters until morning.” Then he closed the door and locked it.
The fire spilled more heat into the chamber than I needed. A flush had warmed my cheeks, and I took the fur stole from myshoulders. Theodore did the same, throwing his coat across the chair.
“I never touched her,” he said, taking the crown from his head and setting it atop the mantel.
“I know.” I pulled loose the top lacing of my bodice, easing its weight from around my chest. “I just… it’s awful to hear.”
Theodore removed his deep-green coat and threw it atop the fur. “I know.”
Like a storm approaching, he eased in close, and I could just smell the barest hint of wine on his exhale. We stood like that, nearly touching, quiet, our breaths slowly ticking up speed, until he raised a single hand to the side of my neck. He leaned in like he would kiss me.
“Wait.” I put a hand to the center of his chest and pressed. “Have you pieced it together like I have? What Halla and Nivala want?”
His brows dove. “What?”
Suddenly the distraction of him was not enough to keep my anxiety caged. “This.” I turned the hand I’d placed on his chest face up, so he could see my scars. “They want a child with your blood in its veins. They want your child to feed Eusia, just like I have. Nivala was meant to give her a Gods-blooded child to feed from, but instead she had a mortal child with Nemea.”
Theodore reared back, face slackening.
“I should have figured it out sooner.” As I spoke, Theodore reached up and took my scarred hand in his, holding tight, like he could steady us both with the gesture. “Eusia must have commanded both Nemea and Nivala to do the same thing: have a child with Gods’ blood that she could feed from. Nemea succeeded, but Nivala didn’t. Nemea tricked her and she broke her bargain with Eusia. Now Eusia will not grant her another ‘miracle’ until herdebt is paid. I don’t know if Nivala is forcing Halla to give Eusia what she didn’t, or perhaps Halla is doing it willingly—regardless, Halla is a threat to you.”
I’d grown frantic. Theodore cradled my face in his hands. “Imogen. Breathe. Halla’s only strength is her mother.” His steady gaze held mine. “She’s a pawn. Her attempts at seduction were tears and threats of her mother’s strength. She is no danger to me. There will be no child. No one will have my blood.”
I held tight to his wrists. “Eusia is determined, Theo—child or no—”
“Immy, I’msafe.”
“I can feel her hunger for you. By the water, there would be times that I couldn’t tell if it was my want for you or hers…”
He tipped my face up, forcing my eyes to his. “And up here in the mountains… Can you feel her up here?”
I stilled. It was as if time slowed at my realization. That thumping in my stomach was gone. That constant hum of instinct was quiet. “No,” I whispered. “I can’t.”
Relief and a decadent, languid heat began to stretch through my body. We were safe and alone and warm, and I had the stark awareness that this moment might very well be the last we had like it. It filled me with a ferocious mix of panic and joy. I reached up to kiss Theo, to throw my arms around his neck.
He stopped me by the shoulders, his lips hovering above mine. “Slowly.” His breaths were rough, the soft command sounding like it was meant for him as well. “Remember?”
I made a pained sound when he brushed his lips across mine, only to tuck his finger into my bodice and coax the lace free of its next loop.
My fingers worked on the first clasp of his shirt. “We don’t have time.”
He took my wrists in his warm hands and set a kiss to each one.“We do. We have guards in the hall. A locked door. No one needs either of us tonight.” He kissed the far corner of my mouth. “I’ve had to endure the sight of you—” He set another soft kiss to the end of my nose. “For days and days, I’ve had to watch the wind tangle your hair and the sea flush your cheeks and feel envy that it’s not me making you look so mussed and surreal.” He moved his lips toward the pulse in my neck, and I tipped my head, letting out a heavy breath when his teeth scraped across my skin. “I want to take your gown from your body and learn every inch of you in the light.”
My hands rested on his hard chest, where I could feel the thud of his heart. “You’ve seen me already,” I said through a smile. “We’ve already…”
My voice trailed off as he started undoing the gold clasp at the front of my bodice. He shook his head. “No. I’ve consumed you like a man dying of starvation.” His voice was so rough I could feel its vibration. He tugged and tugged at my laces, until he was able to peel away the boning and the heavy velvet sleeves. “I’ve only been able to gulp you like a drowning man would air, but I want—”
He lowered his mouth near mine as he reached around me for the clasp and ties of my skirt.
