That fucking name.
It was ridiculous, and she certainly didn’t want it to spread, which is why she’d finally given up her name when he’d been about to introduce her as such to his Hand.
“Stabbing you wasn’t all that difficult,” she quipped dryly, turning away from him. Her fingers curled into the hem of her tunic. She needed to get out of here so she could get out of these clothes and change into her dress.
He hummed in response. “Stabbing is vastly different from killing, wouldn’t you agree?”
She tsked in annoyance. As if she didn’t know the difference between the two.
“Something to say?” he pushed, and then she felt his fingers brush through her hair. It was barely a touch, but it was enough to make her tense. At least she didn’t reach for her dagger this time. That had almost been a disaster inside the castle. Thankfully Cethin had waved off the sentinels, or she would have surely ended up in the castle cells.
Pushing down every urge to do something violent, she took a measured step back from him. He said nothing as he observed the move. Thankfully, he let her set that boundary and didn’t close the distance she put between them. She’d picked up on the fact he was intentionally pushing her to react, but at least he appeared to have some kind of awareness when someone was on an edge.
The king once again clasped his hands behind his back, his head tilting slightly while he continued to watch her. Waiting. Studying.
She hated being on this side of things, but she should have expected the sovereign to be well-trained. Not like she was, and certainly not in the same manner as she had been. He clearly had no issues with physical touch or reading social cues.
And he was still waiting for her response.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she finally said, her toes curling in her boots. Those needed to go too. “What kind of king brings a female he’s known less than a day to his side to rule his kingdom?”
“Plenty of royalty do the same, Kailia,” he said, and the use of her name was a little jarring. His features had darkened with the words, and she was pretty sure she’d struck some kind of sore spot with her last words. She just didn’t understand why.
“Many a prince and princess are betrothed upon birth. Some even before conception. Many never meet until it is time to wed and produce an heir,” he continued. He paused, those silver irises once again sweeping over her. “I suppose the same concerns could be said for them. Would you agree?”
“That doesn’t assuage the concerns,” she countered.
“Fair point,” he said, the new tension in his shoulders easing some. “Either way, that is not an issue in this case. Our…arrangement would make you the queen in title only. You would have no say in rulings or how the kingdom is run.”
“Yet I am to protect the people as my own? Use my magic to keep people safe that are not actually my people?”
His brow arched. “Do you want them to be your people? You are sending mixed signals here, tiny fiend.”
“No,” she snapped. “I do not wish for that. All I wish for is my arrow, followed by the freedom to leave this place.”
He moved then, taking long strides as he brushed past her, which forced her to take two steps to his one in order to keep up. As though he suddenly realized just that, he slowed his pace, leading her along the garden path.
“I answered your question. I think it only fair you answer one of mine,” Cethin said thoughtfully, gesturing to the right to guide her deeper into the gardens. They’d taken so many turns and he’d distracted her enough, she wasn’t entirely sure she could find her way back easily. “That arrow must have more significance than just belonging to you. Simply create more.”
“It is not that simple,” she retorted, immediately stilling as the words left her lips.
Cethin paused a few steps ahead when he realized she was no longer at his side. He turned to face her, a hand coming to his jaw. Rubbing at it, he was clearly trying to hide his smile with his thumb, but she saw it. He was obviously pleased with what he’d learned.
“Tell me more about that, tiny fiend,” he said.
He was entirely focused on her, everything about him intent. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had someone look at her like that. Like she held the answers to something he was desperate to know. All because of her arrows?
She cleared her throat, continuing to walk and striding past him. He followed her this time, no longer guiding and letting her choose her own path. He said nothing for the next several minutes, waiting until she was good and truly lost among thefucking plants and flowers. Waited until she turned to him in annoyance.
Her hands clenching into fists at her sides, she spun on him. “Tell me the way out of here.”
He didn’t bother to hide his smirk this time. “The way out is to agree to my proposal, Kailia.”
“I’m not going to wed you, king.”
“No?”
“No.”
