Page 62 of His Realm

Isabella chuckled.

“So you’re saying, men and women don’t care that she’s deadly?”

“I believe it to be part of her allure. Men are stupid, as you know, and think to tame her. The women, I imagine, sense the danger, but do not dwell on it, only the excitement of a partner like her.”

“I should have never worried about her, then?”

“That would have been a waste of time,” Zev grumbled. “But you like to worry, and do so over things that are both unchangeable and beyond your ability to control. Always.”

Isabella glanced away, and then her gaze returned to me.

“I know why Carice would never be sent away,” I told her. “And it has nothing to do with honoring Cassius.”

Our eyes held, and after a moment she drew a shaky breath. “Well now, my darling Jason, you are full of surprises.”

“And secrets,” I assured her, then clasped her hand in both of mine. “That I will take to my grave.”

She nodded.

“Originally, then, it was supposed to be me and Keres making the trip to Ophir?”

“It was, yes.”

I understood then. “You went to the king when you heard the commotion, and he confessed why I was running from his quarters.”

“He did.”

“And you told him you would not allow him to take me from Varic.”

Deep sigh from her. “I told him he would need to take you from my arms.”

I sucked in a breath. “He would never do that.”

“I lost Leda, then Cassius, then my dear Nerilla. I will have no one else I love ripped from me before I will it so.”

And when she said it, she’d been looking down, but when her eyes slowly lifted to me, I saw that at the center, instead of the blue they normally were, they glowed like embers.

I felt her power then, a gentle push against me, and that quickly, my heart was in my throat, like being on a roller coaster, that weightless, momentary lift before the breathless drop.

“My queen,” Zev murmured. “What a terrifying creature you are.”

She smiled at him, he was her wolf after all, and the power receded, like smoke being sucked out of a room. “I’m a druid, boy.”

“Yes,” he agreed, leaning forward as she reached for him and touched him, his hair, his chin, then his cheek, which she patted fondly. And I understood them completely in that moment. She loved him for who he was, yes, but also because she could see Leda in his eyes, in his face.

“So,” I said, taking a breath, “why is my new friend Cirillo here?”

Everyone was suddenly looking at him, and he appeared a bit uncomfortable.

“I know,” Zev replied, his normal smirk returning. “The king knew he needed a suitable replacement for Jason, someone to warm Varic’s heart and bed and remind him of days gone by.”

“Well, yes,” the queen granted. “You have to remember, Messina may believe I’m his soulmate, but if I were, he would need no other.”

“Cirillo and Varic were promised in marriage, were they not?” Zev asked the queen.

“They were, yes.”

My breath caught. “Varic is supposed to⁠—”