“We don’t know if we can trust him,” I add.
“Why wouldn’t he want his world back?” Selwyn shrugs.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Because people are rarely that straightforward. Jack might choose reward and riches from betraying us over the freedom of his people.”
“Feed him a truth serum.”
“Thoose only work on what he has done, not on what he will do.”
Selwyn fixes me with an odd look. “I’ve come to learn that humans are not as duplicitous as fey.”
I snort so hard I nearly inhale my drink. “Don’t allow Laurie to cloud your judgment. Your consort might be the most guileless creature to ever breathe, but other humans can be just as cruel as us.”
Selwyn’s brown eyes grow all soft as he thinks about Laurie. It’s quite sickening to observe such ridiculous sappiness. I snap my fingers to get him to concentrate.
Selwyn sighs as he pulls himself together. He flashes me a wicked grin. “Well, that’s why you are seducing Jack Caxton and making him fall in love with you.”
Something coils cold in my belly. Like a snake. What kind of terrible whisky have I stolen from Selwyn?
“That part of the plan is no longer proceeding,” I mutter as I take another sip.
Selwyn tilts his head. “Why not?”
I glare at him. “Because it is not necessary!” I no longer want to trick Jack, and I can’t explain why, so my brother is just going to have to take my word for it.
Selwyn smiles. An evil smile. One that gleams in his eyes. “Are you soft for him?”
My drink slams down on the desk, sloshing everywhere. “Absolutely not!”
Selwyn has the sheer and utter audacity to smirk.
“The seduction was your idea, not mine,” I remind him icily. “And it was a terrible one. Jack isn’t some vapid court nobleman who can be manipulated with pretty words and bedroom skills.”
“No?” Selwyn’s voice is deceptively mild. “Then what is he?”
I pause, my mind conjuring an image of Jack’s face when he defended me to Lady Morwenna. The fury in his eyes when he learned what the court thinks of me. The gentle way he holds me when I require his assistance.
“He’s...” I search for the right words. “He’s decent. Honourable. He actually means what he says.”
“How refreshingly novel,” Selwyn observes. “And terrifying for someone like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re not used to people who don’t have hidden agendas. People who might actually care about you without wanting something in return.” Selwyn leans back in his chair, studying me with those perceptive brown eyes. “It means you’re scared.”
“I am not scared of a human,” I snap.
“No, you’re scared of what you feel for him.”
The words hit too close to home. I stand abruptly, but Selwyn continues before I can storm out.
“Dyfri, sit down. We need to discuss this properly.”
Something in his tone makes me comply, though I remain rigid in my chair.
“Tell me,” Selwyn says carefully, “do you trust Jack Caxton?”
“I...” The answer should be simple. No, obviously. Trust is a luxury I’ve never been able to afford. But when I think about Jack, about the way he looked at me when I told him about being half-unseelie, the words that come out are… “Yes.”
