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“You are…”
“What?”
Silence.
“Don’t be shy.”
The chest of her lacy robes lifted with a deep breath. “You are strange.”
“Well, I for sure thought you would say something far more insulting than that, but speaking of your veil,” I said, lifting a hand. She stiffened as I reached for her. Her pulse skittered now. “Your chains are tangled.”
“Oh,” Penellaphe whispered, clearing her throat. She lifted her hand.
“I got it.” My hand brushed hers as I slid my fingers under the chains. Her soft inhale and the sudden thickness of fresh, sweet scent brought a tight smile to my lips as I leaned in. “I did wonder something.”
“And what would that be?”
The breathiness of her words touched my throat and heated my blood. “I was thinking about when the Teermans addressed the people.” I gently began untangling the chains, discovering that they were as heavy as I had imagined. “Many in the crowd weren’t happy, and not just because of the attack.”
She said nothing as I worked the length of chain, but her hands had unclasped and fallen to her sides.
“How did you know some in the crowd may grow violent?” I asked, though I wouldn’t call Lev’s actions all that violent.
“I…I didn’t know for sure,” she answered. Her fingers twitched. “I just saw the way they were moving closer and their expressions.”
“You have very good eyesight, then.” I continued tugging the chains apart, even though a small child could’ve completed the task by now, but I was taking my time.
“I suppose.”
“I was surprised.” I kept an eye on her as I slowly worked the chains free, catching every tiny reaction. Her breathing had picked up, along with her pulse. Her fingers had stilled. “You caught sight of what many of the guards didn’t.”
“But you noticed.”
“It is my job to notice, Princess.”
“And because I am the Chosen, I suppose it is not my duty to take note of such things?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you—?” Her breath snagged as I reached the end of the chains, and the backs of my fingers brushed her shoulder. “What are you saying?”
My attention shot back to her face. Those lips parted as I turned a single chain so it faced up. I could feel that the material of her gown was thinner than expected. Her reaction surprised me, yet didn’t. I hadn’t forgotten how incredibly responsive she was to touch, but the graze of my hand wasn’t much of a caress. Then again, other than Tawny and perhaps Vikter, who touched her? With kindness? Any contact would likely feel extreme to her, sensual or not. She would be easy to seduce and coax into all manner of things forbidden to her.
“I was saying that your observational skills were a surprise,” I answered her question. “And that has nothing to do with who you are. There were a lot of people out there. A lot of faces, and a lot of bodies moving.”
“I know.” Her right hand lifted a few inches, then she jerked it back to her side. “I just happened to look at them at the right moment.”
Had she been about to touch me? I thought so. Instead of feeling a surge of satisfaction, all I felt was want. Hot, heavy want.
“What do you think will happen to that man?” she asked.
Drawing my hand from the chains before I tore the damn veil from her head and did something reckless but also very pleasurable, I looked down at Penellaphe. Her head was tipped back, and she had—
Shock rolled through me.
Penellaphe had moved closer. Maybe an inch or so separated us, but that wasn’t what surprised me. It was the fact that I hadn’t been aware of it.
A huge part of me wished I hadn’t noticed it now, either. With as close as we stood, it would be all too easy to lower my mouth to hers. I wanted to know how she would react. Would she protest? Or relent?
But it was too risky for various reasons. One of them even more so than the knowledge that anyone could walk by the chamber and peer inside, or that I may even frighten and overwhelm her. I wanted to know what her lips tasted like without whiskey on mine too badly.
“Hawke?”
I blinked. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”
“I asked what you thought would happen to that man.”
That question should’ve cooled my blood. “He’ll probably be questioned and then sentenced.” I stepped back, my shoulders tensing at the thought of Lev. Word from Jansen was that the Descenter still lived. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “There will be no trial, but I imagine you already know that.”
“Yes.” Her fingers went to a row of small beads down the center of her bodice. “But sometimes they…”
I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. “Sometimes they what?”
