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“If I do, will we be equals?”
Rune laughed softly. “No. You are a woman.”
Seething rage filled her, and Faye sat up, glaring at him over her shoulder. She was going to show him how suited her temperament really was.
Rune held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “You misunderstand my words. We are not equals because I am an extension of your will. You are the queen I will serve before all others.”
Faye’s fury cooled, and she settled against the tub below him once more. She glared up at him, her anger lingered. Simmering. If Rune sensed it he paid it no heed and leaned over her, bringing his lips a moment from hers. “I am yours to command,” he rasped.
Faye wanted to kiss him. Wanted to let him take her back to his bed. But more than desire, she wanted acceptance. Love.
What he offered was obedience.
“You don’t even know me,” she whispered at his lips.
“I know you,” he crooned. “You are the minx that upended my orderly life. You are fierce and loyal. Cunning. I was a fool to ignore what the Ra’Voshnik recognized in you from the start. Accept me, and I will spend the rest of my days making it up to you.”
If they could meet each other halfway, make room for the other. It might be enough.
With that hope Faye leaned up and touched her lips to his in a soft kiss.
Chapter fifty-three
Faye’slipswhisperedoverhis, a feather-light caress. Tentative. Hesitant. Rune smoothed the back of his fingers over her cheek and pulled back. He’d caused her reluctance through his misdeeds. Knowing he was responsible was a knife twisting in his chest.
The Ra’Voshnik slowly circled the edges of his mind, sluggish as he was.Ask her forgiveness,it grumbled.
Faye would need actions, not words. Rune gazed down at his queen and said, “Allow me to court you and begin anew.”
She sank deeper into her bath. “If you want to court me, I don’t want to be trapped here.” She upturned her face and said, “I want to go home. I want my freedom back.”
Build her an estate.The Ra’Voshnik purred through his mind, eager to curry Faye’s favor. Urging him to return with her to her home.
Rune held no desire to reside in Anaria, and arguing with her would prove pointless. His queen desired control, needing things done on her terms. Proceeding by her decision. Perhaps he could offer her something she might prefer more than returning to Anaria. She’d grown aroused with the male beneath Kayla’s crop. What other proclivities did his queen possess?
Rune leaned closer to say, “And if I were to request you remain with me until I find your altar?” The minx stilled, gazing up at him.
“If I pleaded…” Rune purred softly as her pulse quickened.
Faye parted her lips as his breath fanned over her ear. She exhaled slowly, and her lids slid closed.
“Begged,” Rune rasped.
Pink tinged her cheeks, and she turned toward him. Her gaze fell to his mouth for a moment before returning to him. “The proud Shadow Prince would beg an Anarian peasant?”
“Would you want me to?”
Faye blinked, the flush crossing her cheeks had nothing to do with the bath she soaked in. Rune wanted to lift the corner of his mouth but refrained. He’d pushed far enough. Faye would mull over his words and cultivate the ideas he planted.
Rune pulled back slightly, running his fingers through her hair. Giving her time to collect herself.
After a while, she said, “I’m due back in my village.”
“I will happily escort you anywhere you wish. Your village. A bookstore in Necromia.”
Faye’s smile lit her gold arced eyes, and an unfamiliar tightness took hold of Rune’s chest. His queen’s happiness oddly filled him with the same emotion.
Finally learning to enjoy life?The Ra’Voshnik snickered.
