Page 19

“You want reasons, Tauriel?” Mal whispered, his voice promising safety while quietly threatening ruin. He reached up, his long fingers gently wrapping around my wrist. He didn’t force my hand down; he just held it, his thumb brushing the inner skin where my crescent markings pulsed with a sudden heat. “You want logic from a realm that wants to devour you? That’s your mortal brain overthinking the dark.”

“Stop deflecting,” I breathed, though the edge died in my throat as his chest pressed against my blade.

“I’m not deflecting. I’m playing,” he murmured, his hazel eyes locking onto mine. “Cat and mouse. Though you aren’t sure which one you are yet, are you?”

He stepped back, his hand releasing my wrist as he slipped into the shadows between two massive pine roots. “Track me, Collateral. If you win, I’ll tell you whatever secret you think I’m keeping.”

Collateral. The word rubbed against my raw nerves, sharp and jagged, but before I could throw it back at him, he vanished into the brush.

An wave of irritation spiked hot in my chest, burning away the residual fear of tomorrow’s trial. I didn’t think; I reacted. I plunged into the dark after him, my boots tearing through the ferns, my eyes fixed on the fleeting glimpses of his silhouette moving through the trees. It was a dangerous chase through a landscape that felt entirely wild compared to Earth.

Every time I thought I’d pinned him, he shifted, his quiet laughter echoing from a different corner of the wood, drawing me deeper into the trees.

Was I tracking him, or was he luring me somewhere? And why was I stupid enough to fall for it? Surely I’d deserve whatever came next at this rate.

I lunged around a massive granite boulder, daggers raised, expecting him to keep running.

Instead, I slammed directly into his broad chest.

Chest, not a dagger. Breathe.

Mal caught me around the waist, his massive hands locking me against his frame before my weight could throw us both to the dirt. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, my front pinned flat against the muscle of his torso. For a second, the entire forest went perfectly still. Silver moonlight cut through the canopy, illuminating the sharp line of his jaw and the dark intensity of his hazel gaze.

“Caught you, Collateral” Mal whispered, his breath warm against my lips.

“I ran into you,” I retorted, my heart hammering so loud I was certain he could feel it through his vest. “And why do you keep calling me that? Collateral. What is that supposed to mean?”

Mal’s gaze darkened, a flicker of something cold and calculating crossing his eyes before a slow, dangerous smirk touched his lips.

“Consider it a reminder of what you are to this court,” he murmured smoothly.

“Or a warning,” I shot back.

“Maybe both.”

He didn’t let go. His fingers tightened on my waist, his touch sending a sudden, intoxicating rush straight through my nerves. He looked down at my mouth, his head tilting—slow and certain.

Then, he kissed me.

It wasn’t a gentle, courtly greeting. It was a dark, intense claim that stripped away the royal facade I’d spent weeks suffocating under. His lips were warm, tasting of winter rain and the sweet wine of the lower tiers, pressing into mine with a ferocity that made my knees give way. I didn’t pull back. I didn’t strike him. My fingers buried into the tough leather of his vest, leaning into the weight of his body as the slow burn of chemistry we’d been dancing around finally caught spark.

CRACK.

The sharp, sudden snap of a dry branch echoed through the woods a hundred yards to the west.

The moment broke instantly. Mal pulled back, his hazel eyes widening with a sudden realization as his head whipped toward the sound.

“Go,” Mal whispered, his voice dropping into an urgent, flat tone. “Get back to your room, Tauriel. Now.”

Before I could answer, he moved—disappearing into the dark brush with frightening speed, leaving no trace, no echo, nothing but empty space.

I stood there for a full minute, my lips burning, my mind working through every second of the exchange as I turned back toward the fortress walls. He was a second lieutenant from Amnethys. He was a stranger.

He didn’t feel like a stranger, though. There was something about him—something that drew me in even though I shouldn’t. What was I thinking...

I scaled the granite masonry, my fingers cold, my breathing ragged as I swung my leg back over the balcony rail and stepped into the quiet of my chambers.

The floorboards creaked behind me.