Amryn tensed. “She gives me an unsettled feeling. Sometimes she stares at me like she knows me.”
Concern flared in Carver. “Could she know . . .?”
Amryn shook her head. If Lisbeth knew she was an empath, she would have reported her to the knights immediately.
Carver must have reached the same conclusion. But even though his worry faded, unease lingered. “I think it would be best for you to avoid her.”
“That’s certainly my goal.”
They turned a corner, the staircase that would take them up to their suite now in sight.
“Can I ask you a question?” Amryn asked.
“Of course.”
“Why did the emperor choose to adoptthatreligion? The Church of the All-Seeing Divinities didn’t even originate in Craethen.”
A furrow appeared between Carver’s dark brows. “You know the first two kingdoms to join the empire?” When she stared at him, he cracked a smile. “I promise, I’m trying to answer your question.”
“Westmont was the first,” she said. “Then Daersen.”
He nodded. “The emperor approached my grandfather—the king of Westmont at the time—because they were friends, and he needed our armies. But in order to defend Craethen effectively, and to have access to the northern rivers, he needed the cooperation of Daersen. While my grandfather agreed with the emperor’s vision of peace through uniting the kingdoms, the king of Daersen had some demands.”
“He wanted his religion to be the only accepted one in the empire,” Amryn guessed.
“Among other things,” Carver confirmed.
Amryn wasn’t sure why, but it seemed even worse that the church had risen to such terrifying power through political negotiations alone; it hadn’t been a choice of faith, but of convenience. She shook her head. “So the emperor forced a religion on all the other kingdoms, and he wasn’t even a believer?”
“Not in the beginning. But he converted fully.” His voice softened as he said, “Argent once told me that losing his wife made the emperor embrace the religion. He needed something to believe in, and the clerics gave him that.”
Since the emperor’s wife had been killed by an empath, Amryn had to wonder if Lorcan Vayne had turned to the church for comfort, or for revenge. The Church of the All-Seeing Divinities controlled the Order of Knights, after all.
They reached their apartment. Amryn slipped into their room while Carver exchanged quiet words with the two guards stationed at the door. He hadn’t delayed in securing a second guard for their room, it seemed.
Amryn’s scalp hurt from the pins Ahmi had carefully inserted into her hair hours ago. The weight of the elaborate bun was suddenly too much; her head ached, her neck hurt, and the throbbing high in her arm was more prominent than ever. She sat on the low cushioned chair in front of the small vanity in the corner of the room. She didn’t think it had been a part of Carver’s room originally. Someone—the emperor’s steward, probably—had placed it here for her use.
“I asked the guard to send for Ahmi,” Carver said as he locked the apartment door.
“Thank you.” She couldn’t wait for her maid, though. Not with her head throbbing as it was. With her good hand, she reached into the mass of twisted curls and searched for a pin in a particularly irritating spot. It took a little tugging, but she managed to pluck it out one-handed. She tossed the pin on the surface of the vanity. When her eyes flicked up, her breath stilled.
Carver stood directly behind her, his form reflected in the mirror, his expression surprisingly serious. “Allow me,” he murmured. His emotions were hard to read, but there was an unexpected wave of anticipation. Perhaps that was what had her lowering her hand in silent invitation.
At the first brush of his fingertips against her hair, tingling broke out over her scalp. The sensation skated down her neck and arms, pleasure cascading across her entire body.
With gentle hands, Carver eased a pin free. A slow glide, then the tiniest bit of tension released. It made her heart miss a beat.
She felt the warmth of his body brush against her back as he leaned forward, reaching past her. The pin made the softest tap as he set it on the vanity. His slow, even breathing was the loudest sound in the room. It made her shallower, thinner breaths all the more noticeable. But she couldn’t help it. Just as she couldn’t keep from staring at him in the mirror.
His expression was intent, his focus complete as his fingers slid back into her bound curls, carefully searching for another pin. There were so many, it didn’t take long to find one. And once again, she felt the exquisite slow pull of the pin. This time, it was followed by the soothing glide of his thumb, as if he were smoothing away any discomfort the pin may have left behind.
There was no pain, now. Amryn couldn’t feel anything beyond the pounding of her pulse and the tangle of their emotions. A thrill shot through her when she realized they both felt pleasure. Longing. Desire.
His blue eyes lifted, catching her gaze in the mirror. “Does that feel better?” he asked softly.
“Yes.” She knew she sounded breathless. She didn’t care.
His stare lingered as he reached past her once again, setting the pin on the vanity. Only when he looked away did she manage to close her eyes.
