Page 58 of Tides of Shadows

“Rumors?” I lifted a brow. “Shall I remind you of our first meeting?”

He pulled a wry face. “I do not plead innocence. But from that day I remember your knife in the wall more clearly than the girl.” He looked into my eyes. His silver irises caught the moonlight, and loose strands of hair fell across his forehead. Again I felt that sharp little sting in my chest that I refused to name.

“Let me be plain,” he said, voice sobering. “I endure one day with most girls. After that, my head hurts. And you? For a young heiress, you do not look to be seeking a husband. One might say you do everything to avoid finding one.”

“I seek no one,” I said with a shrug. “I am unfit to be a nobleman’s wife.”

“Perhaps you only tell yourself so.” He spoke slowly and bent a little nearer. “And what then? Will you be brave and valorous, and alone till the end?”

“Perhaps it will be safer for all. Perhaps then none shall be hurt.” My thoughts drifted back, to how I was hurt, how my heart was broken, how I took someone’s life.

“Or perhaps you have not yet met one who does not fear you,” he said, staring at me longer than he should.

I set the bottle down hard on the stones. “I should go.”

“I’ll walk you back,” he said.

“You never asked me,” I said as we began gathering ourselves.

“Asked about what?”

“Who I’m going to vote for.”

“Do you want me to persuade you with something?” He lifted his head and looked straight at me. Mischievous.

“Do you want me to make promises like others?” He moved closer with each word, slow and purposeful, like a predator circling.

“Maybe you want me to kneel before you?”

When he spoke those words, he stood only inches away. Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. I swallowed hard.

“Because I can do all that and more.” His voice dropped lower, almost a purr. “Just tell me. What do you want.”

He said it while studying every inch of my face: my eyes, my lips, the line of my neck. His eyes were catching the moonlight, like dying stars. My breath caught.

“Is that how you speak to other noble girls?”

“I don’t bow to anyone,” he replied. “It’s always them on the knees.”

I shook my head, meeting his gaze unimpressed.

“You are still a whore.”

Chapter

17

In the days that followed, Aidenar grew ever more burdened. I saw him more often in the company of counselors, his brow drawn, his gaze worn, as if half the realm had been set upon his shoulders. The careless boy who spent smiles like coins gave way to one who began to resemble a true Regent. The Plague would not be forgotten, and the guards labored without rest. The air within the palace thickened with unease.

I waited upon a bench in the gardens, enjoying peace, quiet and the scent of jasmine that drifted on the heat. I was still remembering Aidenar’s words and gaze after the night at Black Lily, dark and promising. He always knew how to provoke me and how to set my blood boiling. I expected him to appear at any moment, yet it was Sofia who came instead.

She walked with a brisk, light step, her dress lifting at each small hop. There was something of a toy doll about her, so delicate one feared to touch her, and yet her gaze was keen as a blade.

“My brother is delayed,” she said in a grave, near-theatrical tone, and sat beside me without asking.

“Did he send you to tell me so?” I asked, smiling a little.

“No. He is quarreling with my mother. They will be at it for a while. I thought I would keep you company.”