Page 105 of To Save a Kingdom

He stepped into her, pressing his body against hers. “I do, actually.”

She froze, uncertain if it was in reaction to his words or his proximity. Their bodies fit together perfectly, it wasn’t fair.

“Tsara was digging through some old genealogies and discovered Roland had a human ancestor somewhere in his ancient past.”

Several steps away, Zadé barked a laugh, spewing the mouthful of water she’d been drinking from her canteen over the wall. “I still can’t believe it. The irony is delicious.”

Keeping his focus intent on Aliya, Elessan nodded. “Roland is so obsessed with maintaining the so-called purity of the sun elf royal line, I can’t imagine how his eyes bulged when Tsara, or I suppose it was the shapeshifter, confronted him with the proof.”

Aliya blinked, hardly daring to breathe. She’d have killed to be a fly in that room for the sheer entertainment value alone. “The shifter was a master blackmailer.” Her tone was more acerbic than she’d intended.

Not rising to the bait, Elessan dipped his chin. “She was.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “And for letting myself get caught up in her trap, I will happily spend the rest of my life apologizing to you.”

Aliya’s imagination flooded her mind with images of exactly how she could make him pass entire nights making it up to her with his fingers and tongue…

She shook her head, turning away. Now was not the time to let her thoughts wander that direction.

“And why are you sharing this with me?” Roland had already been blackmailed with it once. It was unlikely she’d be as successful.

“Because other than Tsara, no one else knew.”

“Except you.” And now her and Zadé.

Shaking his head, he turned her to face him again. “The only reason we know is because the shifter impersonating her told us before she died. Other than Tsara and Roland, no one knows.”

“Hmm.” Aliya frowned as she studied his face for any sign he was lying.

“Of course, Tsara had the bonus of the army being loyal to her. You won’t have that, but it is possible the threat of his mixed ancestry becoming public knowledge might be enough for you to force him into renewing the trade agreement you and Tsara negotiated and then leaving.”

“Perhaps.” She hated to admit it, but El may have a point. Shifting her focus to Zadé, she asked, “What do you think?”

Zadé shrugged. “It’s better’n anything I could come up with. And Roland really wouldn’t want anyone ta find out. Yeh’d have ta convince him it’ll be easier ta keep yeh silent than ta kill yeh. But with us at yer side…”

Aliya nodded. “Well, the worst that could happen is he tries to murder me on the spot.”

Elessan flicked his attention to Zadé, who flashed her fangs in a wide grin. “We won’t give him the chance,” he promised.

Aliya studied his face. He meant it. She could, would, forgive him. After making him grovel, of course.

Stepping back, she exhaled. Maybe they could work this out, after all. “Okay. Thank you.”

He gave her a watery smile that almost reached his eyes.

She glanced between him and Zadé. “Let’s do this.”

Aliya walked into the Council Hall to find Roland leaning over several papers on the table in deep discussion with his advisors. “Your Majesty.” For some reason, Roland had claimed this room as his base of operations while he stayed at the castle.

That should have annoyed her, but at least it made him easy to locate.

The sun elf king paused mid-sentence as he glared at her. “Miss Larimar.”

She bristled at his blatant refusal to address her by her title, but managed to keep the reaction from her face. Burying her fisted hands in her skirts, she approached. Scanning the table, she met each elf’s eyes before finally focusing back on Roland.

Raising her voice so it was clear she was addressing everyone except him, she said, “Give us the room.”

Roland waved a dismissive gesture. “In a moment. We were in the middle of an important conversation.”

Aliya scanned the parchments as she considered her response. They were maps of the area surrounding Lions Grove, likely taken from Malkov’s own library. If she didn’t meet Roland with equal force, they’d forever be on uneven ground. Mages forbid what would happen to her if she married the man.