“If he comes near you, I’ll kill him,” I said quite pleasantly.
“Unless I get to him before you do.”
We both laughed. My little Isi could be quite feral, and I loved it.
But the fates, I adored everything about her, from the way her gaze dared me, the way her laugh was a threat and a lure, to the subtle power in her every movement. And the very worst was that she didn’t even need to try to undo me.
“Anyone who touches you with anything but kindness tonight will feel my wrath,” I said.
“Then it sounds like I’m the most dangerous one here tonight.”
To me and my heart, yes.
Grayson caught my eye and started toward me. Please. No business tonight. I wanted to give all my attention to Isi.
“Would you like to walk outside?” I asked quickly, holding out my arm.
With a nod, she placed her hand over it, the warmth of her fingers sending a bolt straight through my chest.
We left the bustling ballroom, stepping out onto the balcony and taking the stairs to the bottom, leaving Grayson behind.
I guided Isi into the courtyard. The cool air carried the perfume of night-blooming flowers. As we took a path weaving through raised flower beds and bushes shaped to look like creatures, the light from the torches on the outer castle walls faded, and the music from the ballroom turned into a soft hum.
Above us, the stars shone bright and sharp, and a silver moon hung low, spilling a river of light across the stone path. It was just the two of us, and nothing else mattered.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Somewhere quieter.” I guided her along a narrow path where no one else wandered. The clatter of heels and gossiping voices fell away to nothing.
Her gaze remained on me, and my chest tightened.
The path opened into my personal garden, the wards I’d crafted myself closing the moment we passed through the arch, locking everyone else out.
The camellias I’d tended glowed pale in the moonlight, their blossoms heavy and fragrant. I led her to a cushioned bench, and she sank into it with a delicate sigh.
She held up the flower I’d given her. “You picked this here.”
I swept my hand out. “I tend to them myself. I wanted you to have something personal from me.”
“It’s lovely.” She pressed the blossom against her lips and drew in the flower’s light perfume.
I joined her on the bench. “Give the word, and I’ll pluck them all for you.”
“Then they’d die.”
“Not right away, and in between, they’d fill your room with the sweetest perfume.”
“I’d rather enjoy them here and think about you digging in the soil, carefully nurturing each one.”
“You can come here whenever you please, then.”
“I felt the wards when we entered.” She looked up at me. “Maybe they’ll attack if I come here without you.”
“Never,” I vowed. “I’ll make sure of it.”
She looked around for a long moment. “It would be nice to come here sometimes, to get away from everything else.”
“Including me?’
