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Sara looked up at her with red eyes. “I’ve never been outside of the palace.”
Sickness filled Zarrah, for Silas didn’t just treat his wives like prisoners; he treated his children that way as well. Born and raised in captivity, and now liberty was in Sara’s grasp, but it felt like punishment. “To be a warrior, one must be willing to venture beyond the walls and face one’s fears. And though no one has given you a weapon, you are still a warrior, Sara.”
Sara frowned, but then nodded, wiping away her tears.
“Shall we carry on?” Zarrah asked. “Your mother will wonder where you have gone off to.”
“Sara!”
Zarrah straightened at the distant call, not a female voice, but male.
“It’s my brother!” The little princess tugged on Zarrah’s arm so that she walked faster. “Let’s find him!”
Her heart skittered in her chest at the sound of boots against the pathway, her skin prickling with anticipation. She saw him before he saw her, and not for the first time, Zarrah felt her chest tighten into breathlessness at the sight of him. Sun reflected off his honey-blond locks, which were pulled behind his head as he’d always worn it during the nights in Nerastis. It revealed the square lines of his jaw and the high planes of his cheekbones, utterly beautiful and yet so profoundly masculine that her toes curled. Her body didn’t care that he was her enemy or that he was the son of the man who’d murdered her mother. It didn’t even care that she didn’t wholly trust him—it only cared for the unchecked lust coursing through her veins. She wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that she knewexactlywhat it felt like to have his tongue in her mouth, his hands on her breasts, and his cock buried deep inside of her.
What she did know was that her body wanted all those things again.
Keris lifted his face and their eyes met, and what looked almost like panic filled his expression. “Lady Zarrah.” He inclined his head, eyes fixing on the ground before her.
“Your Highness.”
His throat moved as he swallowed, looking everywhere but at her. “Do you wish to go riding, Sara?”
The girl went still. “Truly? Auntie Coralyn will allow it?”
“I don’t intend to ask. Here, I’ve smuggled out all the things you’ll need.”
He stepped to his sister’s side, fastening a black cloak over her dress, and as he did, the spicy scent of his cologne filled the air. His sleeve brushed Zarrah’s bare arm as he straightened, sending a shiver running over her skin. She knew she should move, but the chance it might happen again kept her rooted in place. “Is there word from the Empress?”
Keris stiffened, and a flutter of unease filled Zarrah’s chest. Had something happened? Had her aunt given the Maridrinians reason to believe she wouldn’t negotiate? But he only said, “The Harendellians won’t even have reached Nerastis yet, much less—”
“What have you been doing these past days?” Sara interrupted. “Auntie Coralyn says that you are a two-copper courtesan as you sleep all day.”
Instead of laughing, Keris frowned, still avoiding Zarrah’s gaze. “I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve been occupied.” He dropped to his knees and pulled off her delicate slippers.
“With what?”
Zarrah could have kissed the girl, for that was precisely what she wished to ask but couldn’t. Not with the guards within earshot.
“Unpacking my books.” He pulled tiny boots on her feet, jaw tight as he fastened the laces.
“But it’s been days since I’ve seen you.” The princess crossed her arms. “And we’ve servants for such things so that you might spend your time with me.”
“I’ve more important things to do than to keep you company!” he snapped.
Zarrah started in surprise, the harsh response unexpected and out of character.
The child stared at him with wide eyes full of hurt, and guilt immediately flooded Keris’s blue gaze. “That was a wretched thing for me to say, and I’m sorry for it.” Rising to his feet, he picked her up, kissing her cheek. “If it were my choice, I’d climb down from the tower and spend all my hours with you. But there would be consequences to doing so, so prudence demands I spend my time elsewhere.”
With visible effort, he lifted his head to meet Zarrah’s gaze. “When we receive your aunt’s response, you will be the first to know. Good day to you, my lady.” With Sara in his arms, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Something had changed. His tension. His temper. His inability to look her in the eye…
There was something he didn’t want to tell her, andthatwas why he was avoiding her.
Zarrah started to stride after them, not entirely certain what she intended to do, only that she could not be complacent, but her feet caught in Sara’s slippers, sending her stumbling. Catching herself against the wall of the tower, she held on to a gap between the stones while she righted her sandal on her foot.
Then she froze, Keris’s words repeating in her ears.I’d climb down from the tower…
