Azul felt the tension.Her fingers stilled.
"You're thinking about him," she said.
"I don't want to lose you."
She was quiet for a moment.Then, very softly, she laughed.
"You won't lose me to him," she said."I'll kill him myself, if that's what it takes to pacify you."
Somadina's breath caught.He looked up at her, searching her face for the lie; he failed to find it.
"You would?"he whispered.
"I would."Her smile was tender."So rest easy; I chose you."
Something in his chest loosened.Something he'd been holding on to so tightly.
He turned his head and pressed his lips to her thigh; it sent heat flooding through him.She did not pull away.So he kissed her again, taking his time to savour her skin.
Her fingers tightened slightly in his hair.
"Sleep," she murmured."You're exhausted."
He wanted to argue, but his eyes were heavy, and her touch was so gentle, and the warmth of her lap was the safest place he had ever known.
Within moments, he was asleep.
Azul looked down at him—at the prince who had tried to kill her.
So easy.
The thought drifted through her mind.It would be easy to kill him now.A hairpin to his jugular, and he would never wake.
She smiled.
But not yet.
The Dowager's chambers were dim when Azul entered, the curtains drawn against a sun the old woman no longer wished to see.
"You."The word was flat."What do you want?"
Azul smiled."A walk, Dowager.The day is fine, and you've been confined too long.I thought you might enjoy some air."
The Dowager's eyes narrowed."I am under house arrest.I cannot leave these chambers."
Azul tilted her head."I am simply a concerned granddaughter, taking her grieving grandmother for a stroll.Who would object?"
The Dowager hesitated; her suspicion was great, but the urge to leave her confines was greater.
"Very well," she said finally."But if this is a trap—"
"If it is a trap, Dowager, you are already in it."Azul's smile widened."Shall we?"
They walked along the palace walls, the city spreading below them, alive and waiting.The noise from below strangely loud for dusk.The Dowager leaned heavily on Azul's arm, her steps unsteady after days of confinement, but her eyes were sharp, taking in everything.
"You're a strange creature," the Dowager said after a long silence."I would think you would be more wary of me; gods know I would."
"The gods work in mysterious ways."
