“Of course.”
She glances at my men again, then crosses the threshold, her skirts whispering against the floor. She might be afraid, but she’s brave, her green eyes piercing as they hold mine. In her chambers, I said I would defend her against her brother, and the promise seemed like an affront. I can already tell that this is a woman who’s always had to defendherself, with no one at her back, no one to fight at her side. The air between us is charged, and for a searing moment, I want to step close and offer reassurances.
We are to be allies. You don’t have to be afraid.
But I’ve only just met her, and she has no reason to trust me. Perhaps that would feel like an empty promise.
So I keep my distance. “Ask anything you like, Princess.”
“Could we be alone again?” she says softly. “If you please, Ky?”
Every pair of eyes snaps to me. Behind her, I swear Callum is smirking now. Sev might be, too.
If they make me blush again, I’m going to kill them.
“Leave us,” I say, and my tone is sharper than I intend. But they obey, moving into the hallway, letting the door fall closed.
Once they’re gone, she finally moves closer, and some of the tension slips out of her frame. Maybe the otherswerefrightening her. “Did you bring a hairpin?” I tease. “Or are my eyes safe this time?”
She smiles and lifts her hands, revealing her palms. “Completely harmless.”
That makes me smile. “I rather doubtthat.”
“You’renot, though.” She reaches out to trace a finger along the buckle of my bracer. Even through layers of leather and steel, I’d swear I can feel her touch, and it sends a pulse of warmth right through my body. I suddenly feel the need to adjust the lacing of my trousers.
This is terrible. I need to get it together.
“Shall I disarm every time we meet?” I say.
Her eyes flick back to mine, and I expect her to smile, to tease back—but instead, she sobers. I wish I could figure out her expression, but I don’t think it’s fear. Something has changed in the short time since we spoke before. Is it her brother? What has happened? My eyes narrow.
“Yes,” she says after a moment, and there’s a note of finality in her voice. “Disarm. Then we can face each other as equals.”
“As you say.” But when my hand lands on a strap of leather, I hesitate.
In her room, this didn’t feel reckless.
I’m not sure why, but this time, it does.
She lifts her chin, and she finally smiles, though it’s small. “Are you afraid ofmenow?”
No, not really. I certainly can’t see her overpowering me, even without weapons—but my instincts are pricking at every nerve ending I have.
My eyes flick past her, toward the doorway. No one else is here, and my men are surely just on the other side of the door.
“I’m not afraid,” I say. “I’m curious.” I slip the first strap free, and as before, she watches the movement. I feel the weight of her eyes on my fingers. She’s closer than she was before, when we sat in her chambers, and I can hear each whisper of her breath. The sunlight has warmed the space better than before, too, and I can even catch her scent, something warm and inviting, like cinnamon or vanilla.
The bracer comes free from my forearm, and I toss it onto the chair, but she hasn’t said anything.
My eyes flick up. “Princess?” I pause, remembering the pulse in my heart when she called meKyin front of the others. “Jory?”
That earns a full smile, and the pink on her cheeks deepens. “You spoke passionately about your people,” she says. “And I believe you want to help them.”
I start on the second bracer. “I do.”
“And you seem earnest in your desire to begin our...ourmarriagefrom a place of honesty and truth.”
“I am.” These buckles slip free, and I toss this one onto the chair as well. A shadow flickers over the room, and I cast a glance up at the window, but there’s nothing there.
