Page 73 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Zarya paced across her room. Her conscience floated lighter, though now she worried about what the king wanted from Rabin. Hopefully, he just needed a chance to talk things out privately. They were close, and their relationship had taken a blow.

The door opened, and Rabin entered before closing it behind him.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Is everything all right?”

Something about the look on his face had her guard up.

“Yeah,” he answered. “I’m fine. I really thought he’d be angrier, to be honest.”

“Well, he had no right to be,” she answered. “He should never have given that order in the first place. It was overstepping.”

Rabin huffed out a scoff. “As if being right matters to him.”

She noted the bite in his tone. He’d been the one who’d convinced her to come here, extolling the king’s virtues, but ever since they’d touched down on the roof, he’d been behaving very differently.

“Is there something you’re not sharing?” she asked. “You’re… I’m not sure how to put this, but you told me what a great guy my father is, but now that we’re here, you seem kind of suspicious?”

Rabin shook his head and ran a hand down his face. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I did tell you all that, and none of that has changed…”

“But?” she asked, sensing the hesitation in his words.

“I can’t explain it. Ever since we arrived, I have this sixth sense that something is off.”

She stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

He shook his head again. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m just intent on protecting you and jumping at the slightest sounds.”

“Is it the Bandhan?” she asked. “I know you’re pretending to feel better than you do.”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

When he didn’t answer, she dropped her shoulders, crossing the room to wrap her arms around his waist. Pressing her cheek to his chest, she listened to the steady beat of his heart.

“I’m glad we told him,” she said. “That it’s finally in the open.”

“I am, too,” he said, murmuring into her hair. “I don’t want to hide the way I feel for you from anyone.”

She peered up at him, searching his face for signs of the sickness he refused to name.

He leaned down to kiss her, his hand sliding up the side of her jaw and then to the nape of her neck. He tipped her head as his tongue probed the seam of her lips, and her mouth opened to welcome him while his hands slid up her back.

When he pulled away a second later, he pressed his forehead to hers. “When we return to Ishaan, do you think we could get another night in that honeymoon suite?”

She laughed. “Perhaps Miraan can swing us another favor.”

His expression turned serious. “Zarya, do you think we should return to Ishaan at all? I fear what we might be walking into. The city is a mess, and your sister wants you dead. There will be no safe place for you there.”

Zarya nodded. “I know. But Yasen confirmed that she can barely move. I don’t wish that pain on her, but it is also our chance to make things right. We started this… I started this, and I can’t abandon them.”

He nodded. “I know, and I’m not asking you to, but I wish there were a way to do that without putting you so close to your sister.”

“I don’t see how. This started in Gi’ana, and it will likely finish there, too.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled a heavy sigh. “You should know that Yasen’s last letter said he and the other rebels were considering appealing to Daragaab for support.”

Rabin cocked his head and studied her. “To Vik?”