“Eat.” He smirked, and it only made Biyu’s blood boil even more.
She pulled the drawstring of the bag and peeked inside to find a handful of dried nuts and slivers of dried plums and peaches. She popped an almond in her mouth and chewed before snacking on the rest.
“You didn’t have to throw it,” she said, licking off the sugar one of the walnuts. Some of the nuts were honeyed and others had a coating of powdered sugar. Strange. That wasn’t usually what people traveled with, especially since bugs could get to them, and Nikator didn’t have a sweet tooth. Which made her wonder …
“When did you get these?” she asked.
“Yesterday.” He continued brushing the horse and then checked the saddle, bridle, and the reins.
“At the market?”
He nodded, not meeting her gaze.
“Huh. Why?”
“Why what?” Nikator raised his head to meet her skeptical expression. He lifted a dark red eyebrow, annoyance flitting overhis handsome face as he readjusted the horse’s reins once again. “Is it so strange to pick up supplies when I’m traveling?”
“But you don’t like these kinds of snacks.”
“They’re nuts and dried fruits. Who doesn’t like that?”
“They’re sweet.”
He threw the saddle blanket down, eyes practically rolling to the back of his head. “What the hell are you trying to ask?”
“Did you buy these for me?”
He stared at her for a beat longer than necessary, the silence between them stretching thinner. Finally, he schooled his face to indifference—at least it appeared that way, with how shuttered his expression became. “I like nuts. Sweet, honeyed, sugared—however the hell they’re seasoned, I’ll eat them, princess.”
“But you picked out walnuts, almonds, peaches and plums specifically,” she pointed out. “They’re my favorites.”
A muscle on his jaw feathered. “Lucky guess.”
“Averylucky guess,” she mused, popping another almond in her mouth. His scowl only made her grin wider; he cared for her, even though he wouldn’t admit it to her anymore. Her smile soon faded, however, when the realization struck her—there was no reason to be happy, especially when he was escorting her to her own execution. Who cared if there was a splinter of care in his heart for her? None of it mattered if it meant he was going to kill her.
“Does the emperor know how to break the marriage spell?” Her words were almost lost to the sound of rustling tree leaves and rushing water.
Nikator glanced at her sharply. “Yes.”
A sudden spike of anxiety made her heart skip a terrified beat. If the emperor knew a way to break the bond, then … there would be no need to keep her alive. They would surely execute her as soon as possible. Maybe he would string up her corpsein front of the palace as a reminder to those who would try to betray him.
“You’re … taking me to my execution.” Saying the words out loud made them sound even more jarringly wrong. There was no way her Nikator could be doing that to her. He cared for her. Had whispered sweet things in her ear at night. Had held her when she had nightmares.
He had also put a knife to her throat. Twice.
He had also placed a tracking spell on her.
He had also become her bodyguard to watch her every move.
Nikator was more than capable of killing her—she had always known that.
It didn’t make the bitter taste in her mouth easier to swallow. She stared at the opening of the bag with the various nuts and dried fruits on display. She picked at the dried peaches and ate them quickly, hating the way her eyes stung. She was stupid for becoming excited at the prospect of him remembering her favorite foods or having a reaction to her naked body. What did it matter if he would be the one throwing her at death’s doors?
“He’s going to kill me,” Biyu whispered, searching his face for a reaction. She didn’t know what she expected—maybe that he would show some guilt over it, or that he would change his mind—but Nikator’s cool expression didn’t change. “Nikator, he’s going to kill me!”
He sighed. “You don’t know that.”
Her mouth dropped open and she gaped at him for a few moments. “Are you serious? Drakkon Muyang will kill me! He’s brutally killed everyone who’s stood in his way and who’s ever betrayed him. Why would he spare me? He’ll probably make an example out of me! He already killed Yat-sen.” Her throat tightened at the thought and she squeezed her stinging eyes shut.
