“Don’t pretend you were sleeping.” Smartass’s gaze slid over the snow-dusted coat, the lit hearth, the lamps, the table with two cups still on it. His mouth tightened. “There’s still snow on your coat that hasn’t finished melting. You were awake…and entertaining.”
Shit! He was observant. Had I left traces of ash behind? Olen had walked over my footprints, but had he obscured them enough?
Olen let out a tired laugh that scraped out of his throat. He stepped aside just enough to make space, then stopped short of fully yielding the doorway. One foot stayed planted, a subtle block. “I returned from inspections far later than planned. The cold seeps into the bones these days, and it makes me slow. But the whiskey was from earlier. I was just headed to bed.”
Kai’s eyes flicked to the cups again. Then back to Olen’s face. “You live alone.”
“I do.” Olen’s hands flexed at his sides with his fingers curling and uncurling as if he had to remind them to stay still. He shrugged again, his gaze darting from Kai to some point outside. “Surely, if this is official business, it can wait until day.”
Kai stepped inside without waiting to be invited, his hand pushing Olen back. The door thudded shut behind him, the sound echoing through the house and into my chest. He moved with unhurried confidence, steps silent on the wood as his gaze tracked around the room, keen and assessing. He stopped near the hearth, one gloved hand lifting as if to warm it over the flames, his profile hard and unreadable. “Where is the woman?”
Olen turned to face him. His throat bobbed. “What woman?”
The king fixed his gaze on Olen with an intensity that made my skin prickle. Only the popping of the wood and a settling log broke the silence.
Kai took a step forward. “You have surely heard the alarm and the hounds, so do not pretend with me. I will search the house.” His tone made it clear this was not a request. “If I discover that you have been hiding her, you will be punished. If I learn you have harmed her, you will die in agony. This is not a matter for your meddling, under-surveyor.” His attention flicked toward the wall I lay behind as if he could see straight through it to me. My muscles locked, and every nerve screamed.
Olen stepped into Kai’s path. He lifted his hands, palms open, then immediately lowered them as if he’d caught himselfmid-mistake. “There’s no need! Your Majesty, I swear I have helped no one escape. I guessed there was a prisoner loose, but I didn’t know it was a woman. My home isn't a place any in need would choose. It’s small, drafty, and offers little of interest. My mate was already taken from me. I would never dishonor her memory by being with another woman. Besides, your hounds are searching for the prisoner, are they not? I can think of no other reason for their presence.”
Kai’s eyes narrowed. The air in the room seemed to thicken, the warmth from the hearth turning sharp and stifling. “Step aside.”
Olen shifted his weight instead, blocking the hall with his body as a bead of sweat broke free at his temple despite the cold. “I heard the hounds pass earlier. They moved toward Market Square. Whoever you seek is likely headed there. It’s what I would do. I understand that all of us who speak with mortal tongues may be false, but hounds are not.”
My heart hammered so hard I was sure the vibration would give me away. If Kai believed him, maybe—just maybe?—
Kai’s lips pressed tight, and his gaze narrowed. The sight made my blood chill. “You presume to advise me.”
Spine straightening, Olen bowed his head deeper this time. “I presume nothing. I only wish to spare you wasted time.”
“Then stop wasting it, and get out of my way.” He pushed Olen aside and scanned the floor.
I closed my eyes and held my breath. Shit, King Grouch Face was way too observant. From this angle, I couldn’t see our footprints. But sneaker treads were so different from boots. My shoes wouldn't have been as wet when I'd headed into the kitchen, so maybe I hadn’t left any new prints. In my rush to hide, I’d forgotten to check.
Kai circled the couches, then returned, his gaze moving over the floor. He canted his head.
“Fine. Let me show you.” He opened the cabinets, his gaze moving from Kai to the door to the ceiling. “No one in here. No one under the couches. See? This is so far beneath you, my king. I am honored by your presence but dismayed by this dishonor you have placed upon yourself.”
Kai stepped closer—close enough that Olen had to lift his chin to meet his gaze. “You seem eager for me to leave,” Kai said, his voice a soft blade. “In all our previous dealings, I have found you to be far more accommodating and eager for conversation. This manner of yours is… unlike you.”
Blowing out a breath, Olen relaxed his shoulders a fraction and slumped, his stance seeming heavy with fatigue. “I am simply tired and cold, my king.”
Kai stared at him for a long, painful moment, then shoved past him, knocking him into the wall as he headed for the hall. My pulse spiked. Olen’s hands twitched at his sides, his fingers curling as if he might reach for something but was stopping himself.
The heavythudof Kai’s footsteps echoed around me. The nice parlor. The back room. The one with the sagging window shutter. But then there was also the kitchen. How fast would my sneaker prints dry? I’d probably been in here long enough that the earliest footprints would have distorted enough to mask the treads. And it didn’t sound as if Olen had gone into the back room to cover mine. Or the kitchen….
I froze, my fingers curling in on my palms. The strange tugging in my chest intensified.
The kitchen door opened and struck the wall with a brittle thud. “Hannah of Tennessee, come out now.”
CHAPTER 11
Kai
The moment I stepped over the threshold, my jaw locked, and my body coiled tight with restraint. She had escaped, and my instincts told me she was here. That tugging in my chest had given me no peace, nor had the image of her face in my mind. Already, the rage and need to be near Hannah again was tight beneath my ribs.
The baying of the hounds as they neared Market Square dulled in my ears. Most of the guards were searching there, which made sense if Hannah was trying to hide in plain sight. ’Most everyone was headed to Market Square to go into the shelters. I’d ordered my captains to call the people back and calm the mob, but many would stay underground because they were on edge. Their misunderstanding was reasonable.
But that pull within me was far too clear and precise to ignore.
