He halted so abruptly she nearly stumbled.
Slowly, he turned, his shadow falling over her as he closed the distance in two strides. Icy anger radiated from him, prickling her skin. “Oh, so you’re going to open up to me now? Suddenly you are feeling forthright, Ella?” His voice was low and dangerous, and when he leaned in impossibly close, her lips parted before she could stop them, traitorous and wanting. It seemed he might kiss her, but he drew back, cold and distant.
“I guess opening up and letting me in was only in the physical sense,” he said, and hurt flickered across his face before the mask of indifference slid back into place.
Fuck. What if this isn’t just a fight? What if I pushed him past the point of return?
“Jake—” Her voice cracked, stuttering against the thought of it. “It’s not like that. I haven’t figured out how to tell you what I need to tell you. I haven’t had a chance to breathe since I met you. I want to open up, I want to tell you everything, but I wasn’t sure I was ready. I’m?—”
He cut her off, his tone final. “Then let me know when you are. Until then, I have no interest in being lied to.”
Her temper snapped. “I haven’t lied to you.”
“You’ve left me in the dark,” he shot back without hesitation, the words striking harder than any shout.
She faltered, realizing he wasn’t wrong, the truth hanging heavy between them. He turned with a scoff, his cloak brushing leaves aside as he strode back toward the horse.
“Let’s get you to your castle, Princess,” he called over his shoulder, not bothering to face her.
At last the path bent, and the horse came into view where they’d tied it among the ferns. The animal lifted its head at their approach, ears twitching in the thick heat. Jakobav didn’t reachfor her hand this time, nor even look at her. He stood waiting, his expression unreadable, until she hauled herself into the saddle alone. Only when she was seated did he mount, the leather groaning as he settled behind her, his arm brushing hers as he gathered the reins in a brisk motion.
She looked straight ahead, but the words fell out, quiet and urgent. “Just give me some time. Time to figure everything out.” She almost left it there, almost swallowing the rest, but the thought of losing what they’d built forced her to say it with unguarded truth. “Let me deal with the return to my kingdom, and the fallout of my mother’s death. Then I’ll tell you everything.”
She knew it was a low blow to invoke her grief to soften his fury, but he’d changed so much since the night she first met him, and she couldn’t let everything unravel here.
Jakobav exhaled, the sound half sigh and half surrender, and wrapped one arm protectively around her waist. His other hand gripped the reins as he steered the horse toward her homecoming, the quietude now less punishment and more like a promise held in check.
The jungle closed in on either side, the canopy muting the light. Heat radiated up from under the leaves, and the kingdom that was already hers, whether she was ready for it or not, breathed steady beneath her feet.
Octavia’s words clung like burrs:Tall. Foreign. Two paths. One crown.
The horse carried them forward, hooves thudding in rhythm with her heart, and each step twisted tighter in her chest. Either terror or relief, both seemed to war inside her. Behind them, Octavia’s soft laughter returned like a bell struck in an empty room, an eerie lullaby following them into the trees.
By the time the jungle thinned and the salt wind found them again, Ella’s pulse still hadn’t steadied. The closer they drew tothe castle gates, the heavier the crown of Orchid seemed to settle on her shoulders, though she hadn’t yet touched it.
40
COURT OF RUMORS
The gates of Orchid Castle opened with a sound like old stone sighing, and she sat straighter in her saddle as the view unfolded before her. The castle stood at the northern edge of Aradessa, Orchid’s capital city, its high terraces carved along the rise of a cliff that overlooked both the bustling streets below and, in the distance, the glimmering outline of the southern sea.
Garlands of blossoms arched above the entrance, scarlet hibiscus and gold-petaled fronds, flowers so large they looked conjured from a painter’s brush. Their perfume drifted on the salt-tinged breeze rolling up from the coast, mingling with the warm air until the entire courtyard felt lush enough to drown in color and scent.
A crowd gathered in a bright blur of color. Ella searched every face she could see, her pulse climbing as each familiar stranger lifted their eyes toward her. Her throat tightened.
Then the crowd parted.
Nira pushed through at a run, skirts gathered in her hands, her hair glossy and dark and elegant as ever, not a strand out of place despite the heat. Relief punched the breath from Ella’s chest. She barely had time to dismount before her oldest friendcollided with her, arms wrapped tight around her shoulders. Ella laughed into her hair, sudden and shaky, tears stinging in her eyes.
“You’re late,” Nira whispered, fierce and trembling.
Ella pulled back enough to see her face, brushing at her damp lashes with the heel of her hand. “And you’re exactly the same. Gods, Nira, I missed you.”
Nira wiped her cheeks, then glanced past Ella’s shoulder. Her smile turned sly. She leaned in, voice dropping as she gestured with a subtle tilt of her chin toward the massive brooding prince still seated on the horse.
“Tell me he came with the horse,” she murmured, trying and failing to hide her grin. “And where can I get one?”
“Nira,” Ella hissed, scandalized and delighted in equal measure, “behave.”
