His lips curved up. “I believe I do.”
“What happened after that?”
“I offered to return her to her home or help her to complete her journey. She asked to stay here instead.”
I wanted to shout that my sister wouldn’t do that. She knew her duty. She may not like it, but she would never betray our father.
Except…
That was more me than Addie. My sister had a rebellious streak. And she hadn’t wanted to marry a king she’d never met.
“From the moment you arrived.” His grin widened and his gaze went smokey, as if he was remembering a fond memory and not my inadvertent attack. “I knew who you were. Since you didn’t nicely introduce yourself like your sister had, I decided to watch you. See what you would do if I let you infiltrate my court. Our families are not exactly friends.”
Enemies, in fact.
“I’m not your enemy, Princess. I’m your inevitability.”
I lifted my chin. “I came here to discover who killed my sister. Nothing else.”
The smirk slipped from his face. His eyes sharpened, going unreadable.
“Is she truly dead?” he asked quietly.
I nodded once.
The ceiling blurred above me. Hot tears slipped past my lashes, trailing down my temples, into my hair. I didn’t move to wipe them away.
For a moment, he continued to loom above me, his shadow cutting across the room. Then he eased back and sat on the bed with his head against the wooden frame. He caught my wrist and waist, tugging me up until he’d settled me in his lap.
I stiffened. His body was all hard lines and heat, his warm scent wrapping me snug. But his arms closed around me, and the strength in them wasn’t a trap.
It felt much better than it should.
I didn’t realize I was trembling, that tears were trickling downmy cheeks, until he whispered my name against my temple. His warm exhalations sent a shiver across my skin.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe. Let it out.”
I sobbed while he held me, his hand smoothing up and down my back.
I wanted to tell him I didn’t need this. That I could stand on my own two feet. But my cheek found his chest anyway, and for a moment I simply breathed him in.
This man was starlight caught in blood.
His heartbeat was a steady drum while mine was anything but. It was ridiculous how safe I felt in the arms of the man I was supposed to fear.
But maybe I didn’t have to. If I trusted his word that he hadn’t killed my sister.
Finally, my sobs slowed, and I wiped my tears away, sniffing.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “She…I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“I can.” My voice came out brittle. “Because I see it every time I close my eyes. The way the music in my father’s ballroom stopped when the doors burst open. The enormous bird with a wingspan wider than the chandeliers, swooping in with a sack clutched in its talons. The horrifying sound the bag made when it hit the marble floor.”
My stomach churned. “And then…her. My amazing sister. Blood in her hair. Her body torn and dead. So dead.” My voice broke. “I didn’t even realize I was screaming until the bird had left. It vanished in a flare of magic so strong it scorched the air. Magic isn’t supposed to exist where I come from.”
Except it did—until we snuffed it out.
His hand shifted, and the journal bumped against my ribs. He drew it from between us and held it up, his brows knitting. “Ah, you found it.”
