I was keenly aware of the cool air pebbling my nipples, of how it felt to be wearing nothing but my underwear in front of him.
And I was keenly aware of the heat that flashed in his gaze, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
“Are all mortals insane like you?” He was the one who took a step back, averting his gaze as if he were fascinated by the floor, but there was no hiding the enormous bulge pressing his trousers. Satisfaction pulsed through me; I’d won one brief victory.
“No. You’re the one who drove me insane, Fieran.” I turned my back on him, going to get a clean set of clothes. I could feel heat as his gaze must have risen from the floor. I could feel him study my back.
I hid my smile of satisfaction as I pulled my fresh clothes on, still ignoring him.
No one would’ve believed that I, a mere mortal, had any power over this god of a man.
But I knew it now, and I would seize any shred of power.
I glanced in the mirror, where I could see his face. “Give me two minutes to fix my hair. You can go. I’ll meet you outside.”
He scoffed. Clearly, he didn’t appreciate my order, and just as I expected, he stayed instead. He wandered around the room, studying it, while I quickly brushed my hair.
My hands felt more clumsy than usual, because I couldn’t help watching him as he frowned at the various crates and other miscellany scattered around the room. Would he discover the bracelet? Or—less damning, but more humiliating—the reserve of food I’d kept stashed in the room?
But my wooden fingers hardly mattered, because my hair was smooth, shiny and soft this morning; the usual clump of knots hadn’t formed at the base of my scalp despite a night’s tossing and turning.
Once I was dressed, Fieran and I headed into the city Other shifters glanced at us as we crossed the foyer—the mist from the waterfall cool on my face as we passed it—and it seemed as if everyone were watching me, curious why I was at Fieran’s side.
I was curious about that too.
“Where’s Maura now?” It was probably a mistake to ask under the circumstances, since I didn’t want him to question further what information Maura had tried to beat out of me.
He looked completely unruffled by the question. We walked under the enormous arched doors, open to the city streets below, which dwarfed even him.
A few shifters were hurrying up the marble stairs, and one of them saw him, then me, and almost tripped in their surprise. I smiled at them.
“You don’t have to worry she’ll hurt you again,” Fieran promised me.
“She hit me after you told her to hit me,” I reminded him. “I’m not scared ofher.”
He frowned. “You’re not scared of me.”
“You’re right.” I examined my fingernails. They were short, but even so, I’d broken one yesterday fighting Maura, or more accurately, scrambling desperately away from Maura. The broken nail, running down the side of my nailbed, throbbed every time I accidentally touched it to something. It was the only injury I still carried from yesterday. Perhaps it had been missed; maybe only mortals could be punished so brutally by hangnails and papercuts.
“I’m only scared you won’t keep your promises. In part, because I don’t know why you brought me here.”
He had gone a few steps ahead of me, and now he turned in exasperation.Even down a few steps, he was taller than me. “I already explained to you that the curse would’ve killed you.”
“Even if that were true, why would you care?” The curse couldn’t be real, since I had been untroubled by the passing of my birthday. Unless I was cursed to draw the attention of maddening men.
He glanced around as if he wanted to make sure we weren’t heard. This time, there was no room to hide in while he pretended to bully me. “Is it that strange to think I would care about your well-being?”
“Yes,” I said dryly.
He frowned at me. “Cara.”
He said my name in a way I hadn’t heard before, irritated and stern and maybe a little fond too, and that must be another lie. My body was apparently rejecting my mind’s fervent warnings, because strange warmth slid down my spine. Gods.
He was hard to despise completely.
Until I remembered Tay and Lidi.
And this place, this man, gods damn them both, distracted me from planning for them as I should.
