“Considering he’s probably balls deep in Cece right now, I’d rather not.”
Jace chokes on his own spit, clapping a fist against his chest.
“Gods, witch. Yourmouth!” I shrug and wait for him to recover. “Still sore about that, I see?”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” I lie smoothly.
“Honestly, you’re never satisfied.”
“How so?”
Jace sighs and faces me head-on. “You don’t want him, but you don’t want him with anyone else.”
“If I wanted him, I would take him.” I take a step toward him.
“Yet you won’t cut him loose.” He takes a step toward me.
“He’s not my dog.” Another step.
“And yet you are his master.”
He stops an inch away, gazing down at me. All I can think about is his mouth and how it was so close to mine last night, with no one around to see.
“You seem so preoccupied by my relationship with Zadyn.” He shrugs, indifferent. “What about you and Sorscha?” I test.
“What about her?” His voice tenses slightly, but he doesn’t back down.
“Why haven’t you proposed?”
An unvoiced answer passes between us, but he simply says, “It’s not my decision. It’s the king’s.”
He starts for the corridor, his pace quick enough that I have to jog to catch up.
“Not hers? Not yours? Neither of you have a say?” I press.
“Not really.”
“Jace. Do youwantto marry her?” A flash of envy at the prospect rips through me. It’s possible for him to have feelings for us both. He’s known her longer. Not to mention, he’s been courting her for months.
“I want what the king wants.”
“That’s a bullshit answer,” I quip. He stops and turns to me. “Do you love her?” I can’t stop the question from flying off my tongue. He scratches the back of his neck and looks away. Everywhere but my eyes.
“Ilikeher. I was her guard for years, but I never knew her on a personal level. When the king first posed the idea, I was hesitant and honestly a little surprised that he thought me a worthy match. But I couldn’t refuse him. So I had to prepare for the fact that I might marry her. I got used to the idea of us; I even began to picture a life with her.”
“A life as king consort,” I add.
“That has never been my goal. I’m a fighter—I like beingcaptain,” he says openly. “But after spending so much time with her and committing to the idea of a marriage in my head, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care for her at all.”
I nod, partially relieved and partially disappointed. It would have been easier if he had said he loved her and squashed my hopes and dreams on the spot. If I thought that maybe I was just an itch he wanted to scratch before settling down into royalty, I could walk away. But that tiny sliver of hope threatens to seize my body and make me do stupid, selfish things.
What is wrong with me? What is my plan here? Steal him from Sorscha? From my sister’s doppelgänger? From my friend who thinks I’m her “dear cousin”?
I’m a fraud. And a terrible friend for even thinking these things.
It's only when Jace tilts my chin up, forcing me to look at him, that I realize my face has furrowed.
“What’s happening in that head of yours, witch?”
