A Kiss of Shadow (Court of Starlight and Darkness #2)(7)

Just the idea of her in danger made my gut twist and my skin chill. I’d never felt like this for anyone, and I despised it.

As if she’d heard me speaking of her, I caught sight of her walking up the path toward the castle. Her red curls blew in the wind, and it was impossible not to imagine how soft they might be.

I tried to look away, but it was impossible. Whenever she was in my vicinity, I was entirely distracted by her. It was dangerous.

A knock sounded at the door.

Vusario.

Only he knocked with that specific rhythm.

“Enter.”

He stepped inside. “I am sorry to disturb you, my lord. But I thought you might want to know that Sia has been to see the Truth Teller.”

“What?” Surprise lanced me.

“I do not know what she asked, but the Truth Teller did appear to her.”

I didn’t care about her questions. She knew all the truths I knew. I cared about the fact that she’d left the safety of the kingdom.

I whirled back toward the window and looked out, searching for her.

She was gone.

Already inside the castle?

I heard Vusario depart but didn’t turn to acknowledge it.

Damn it.

Sia was going to drive me insane.

I turned and left the library, stalking toward our quarters. The two bedrooms were next to each other, and I cursed myself every hour of the day for putting her so close to me.

It took me a few minutes to reach her bedchamber. The library was on the far side of the castle, in the opposite direction of the stairs that led to the second floor. When I arrived at her door, it was shut.

I knocked, my knuckles rapping a little too hard on the wood.

The door swung open, and suddenly she was right there, standing far too close. Her scent wrapped around me, flowers and honey. I breathed in deeply, unable to help myself. The weakness made me angrier. With her. With myself.

“You went to the Truth Teller,” I said, unable to look away from the brilliant green of her eyes. The freckles on her nose looked like a constellation of stars, and the sight was riveting.

I hated the way my soul seemed to wake up when I was around her. I felt so alive it was almost painful. So frustrated and tight. How the hell was a man supposed to live like this?

“I needed a little truth.” She glared up at me, not stepping back. I was nearly looming over her, but she wouldn’t give ground.

The result was that we stood almost chest to chest, so close we nearly touched. The tension between us was electric.

All I could think of was her lips. How they had felt against mine.

Finally, I found some words. “It’s too dangerous to leave the castle grounds.”

“I won’t be kept prisoner any longer.”

“It’s for your own good.” The words rumbled out of me, driven by anger and desire. They were a heady combination, and it was impossible to take my eyes away from her lips.

If she’d shown any fear, I’d have stepped back.

Instead, her gaze heated and fell to my own lips. She drew in an unsteady breath, and the sight made something tighten inside me.

“Sia.” The word was low. Harsh.

This was why I’d avoided her since the competition had finished yesterday. I couldn’t resist her, and I had to.

Her brow furrowed and she stepped back, whirling to stride into the middle of the room.

The space between us broke the spell, and I drew in a ragged breath. I blew it out on a silent exhale, trying to gather the tattered shreds of my self-control.

She scared the shit out of me.

There’d never been anyone like her, and I’d never had such a compelling reason to keep to myself.

It was the eve of the dark witch’s arrival, and I needed my wits about me if I were to defeat her deathly magic.

“I haven’t seen you since the competition,” she said. “Thought you were ignoring me.”

I had been. “It’s a union in name only.”

“That works for me.” She turned to me, and I could see the truth reflected on her face. I squashed the mild disappointment that rose within me. “But I still need to know what’s going on. I’ve only been in your realm a few days, and now I’m a ruler of it. There should be an introductory class, or something.”

“Introductory class?” I stared at her, stupefied.

“Yeah. Get someone to explain the hows and whats to me of being a queen.”

“I—” Fates. Maybe she had a point. “I can get Vusario to do that.”

“No. I don’t like him.”

Neither did I, but her vehemence surprised me. Worried me. “Did he do something to you?”

“No. He just creeps me out.”

“All right. Someone else, then. But in the meantime, we need to discuss the wedding.”

“What, like colors and flowers? I wouldn’t think you’d care.”

“I don’t. But we must go to the High Court Palace for the ceremony.”

“Really?” Excitement flared on her face.

I hadn’t taken her for one to be impressed by posh ceremony, but I didn’t actually know her. “Yes. It’s how it’s done.”

“I wouldn’t think you’d care about things like that.”

“I don’t. But we’re going because Vusario has foreseen that the witch with the deathly magic will be there.”