AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No.” Imara sniffed, avoiding his gaze. “I wanted to study the floor over here. It looked fascinating.”
Despite everything, the corner of his mouth tugged up. His legs folded, and he sat in front of her, turning the crown over in his hands. “There’s a corner in the throne room that I’ve always found highly fascinating,” he said. “If floors are of particular interest to you, I’ll have to point it out.”
She exhaled heavily and shifted on the floor. Her grimace as she eased her leg out made him cringe. Once she had one shoulder propped against the wall, she finally looked at him. “How was dinner?”
“An absolute joy,” he drawled. “Your cousin Grandeur is wonderful.”
She curled a tendril of loose hair behind her ear, her shoulders low. “When Clare told me he’d come . . .” She sighed. “He wasn’t always as he is now. Losing his mother . . . it changed him.”
For a moment, Desfan felt pity for Grandeur. Fates knew losing his mother had changedhim. But if even half of what Serene believed Grandeur had done to his people was true, that pity didn’t stretch far.
“He’s more like his father, now,” Imara said. “Sometimes I wonder if he might become worse than him.” There was a short silence, then she exhaled. “What are you doing here, Desfan?”
He lifted his crown. “You’ve been begging to see this, and Yahri finally convinced me to wear it tonight, so it seemed like the fates had spoken.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to cheer me up.”
“I’m not. I’m hoping you’ll be very jealous. It’s a beautiful crown, after all.”
Her eyes trailed over the intricate details etched into the gold, and the many sparkling jewels. “It’s lovely.”
“It looks even better when I wear it.” He winked and set it in place, ignoring the spike in his headache.
Seeing her lips twitch made any pain worth it. “You’re hopeless,” she told him.
“All my tutors claimed the same.” He grinned and lifted his shoulders, trying for an impressive pose, even though he was still sitting on the floor. “Well? What do you think?”
She studied him for a short moment, and he couldn’t quite read the emotions in her eyes. She almost looked . . . sad. “You look like a perfect serjan,” she finally said.
It was an echo of something she’d said once before, when they’d hidden in the kitchen pantry.You will make an incredible serjan.
She’d sounded sad then, too. He still didn’t fully understand why. He tried to recall what else they’d spoken of that night. Sacrifices made for the good of a kingdom. Putting his people first, as her father did. He hadn’t minded the comparison to her father that night, but now . . . it left him oddly unsettled.
Desfan plucked the crown from his head and set it aside. “You don’t need to walk alone, you know. Not yet, I mean. Give your body time to heal.”
“What if I don’t heal?” As soon as the words were out she looked away, her throat flexing as she swallowed.
He reached out and touched her chin, slowly turning her back to face him. “Youwillwalk again,” he told her. “Until that day comes, you can walk with me.”
She stared at him, and he realized she wasn’t breathing.
Fates, nowhewasn’t breathing. Her skin was soft and warm beneath his fingertips, and he couldn’t help but smooth the pad of his thumb against her cheek.
She sucked in a breath, then tensed.
He dropped his hand before she could pull away. Knowing she was going to, though . . . that was a punch to his gut.
“I need to return to Zennor,” she said, her voice firmer than before. “And if I have to stay in that fates-blasted bed for one more day . . .” Her voice cracked.
His spine straightened. “It’s settled, then.”
Confusion crossed her face. “What’s settled?”
He tapped his chin and frowned, exaggerating the expression as he stared at a spot above her head. “I’ll have to make some arrangements, of course, and see if I can afford another person on my staff. What with my treasury being depleted, it could be—”
Her palm clapped over his mouth, stopping his words and forcing him to meet her gaze. She leaned in, her eyes intent. “What are you blabbering about?”
He grasped her wrist and tugged her hand away, though his lips tingled from feeling her touch, innocent as it was. “I’m hiring you,” he said.
