A saucer-eyed Ani lets out a squeak at the king’s hard tone, but I let nothing show on my face at the threat. “I still don’t know what you want me to say. I have no idea how I got here except for what you’ve told me. Supposedly, I crashed in a field and nearly died and have been your guest ever since. My memories are trickling back, but they’re disjointed, to say the least.”
As with Ani earlier, my explanation slips out readily, but this time, I frown at my willingness to oblige. Had I meant to disclose all of that? That was much too cooperative, especially in response to a person I’d rather kick in the teeth than comply with.
Frowning harder, I stare at my cup and then at a very guilty-looking Ani. “Was there something in my water?” I demand.
“Nothing life-threatening. Verac root,” she admits, looking deeply apologetic. “I made the tincture myself, and it’s harmless other than the effect of making you conducive to sharing information.” Indignation barrels through me as she flushes slightly. “And it might affect your emotions some.”
Isn’tthatthe truth? Fury floods in the wake of the outrage, but it’s not toward Ani. It’s directed at the man who stands a few feet away, the pompous ass who thinks he can do anything he wants. He must have given the order for me to be dosed with a damn truth tincture.
Heisa king,a tiny voice reminds me, but I’m too riled up to care.
Something visceral thunders through my veins and gathers inside of me, as if to erase the Verac root serum from my bloodstream. I know that’s not possible, but I clamp my lips together and vow not to let a single compliant statement leave my mouth. By some uncanny miracle, I feel the root’s unnatural compulsion dissipating and let every ounce of my small but invisible victory show on my face. My nemesis’s eyes narrow at my smug expression.
“I told you what I know, Your Insufferable Majesty. But if you need to trick me to be convinced, then have at it.”
Those intriguing shadows whip to life around him like chaotic vines as his lips part in shock. I stare in fascination, remembering the feel of them on my wrists. Are they prehensile? What kind of magic would those be? Aether? Corpus? Despite my contempt forhim,I am curious about how it all works.
The king stalks forward, his long legs eating up the space between us. “Do you take me for a fool?”
I lift a cool brow. “I mean... if the boot fits, who am I to argue?”
He gapes. A smile touches my lips at being able to provoke him so easily. For some strange—and possibly very delusional—reason, I don’t feel afraid. Instead, I feel a heady amount of exhilaration, which should be signal enough of my precarious state. Poking a man who has the power to bind and torture me isn’t my wisest course.
However, if he wanted me dead, he could have left me to die. Instead, he’d told his healers to save my life.
So whatdoesKing Darrius want with me?
He’s not going to volunteer any information, so I’ll just have to irritate it out of him. I stare at him, his black eyes flashing with rancor. I try to keep my expression neutral, but I’m sure my amusement bleeds through as I lean back against the headboard. “You know, my aunt always says if you keep your mouth open too long, you’ll catch flies.”
“Mind your tongue, girl!” Darrius snaps, advancing on me.
Girl?My eyes burn with outrage.
Ani backs away as the tension in the room ratchets. The king’s shadows whirl and snap like coiled whips, and if I wasn’t so provoked, I’d be mesmerized by their sinuous dance. Every cell in me bristles. If I had magical tendrils like his, they would be flaring like vicious, vexed creatures, too, ready to take him on in a heartbeat. For a second, I imagine such a thing and feel a force in the center of my chest unspool through my veins like molten lava.
Whatisthat?
The flood of power—adrenaline?—makes my lungs feel unnaturally tight. In fact, I might be hallucinating, but out of the corner of my eye, I notice that the cuffs on my wrists in my lap have taken on a crimson glow. Though I’m intensely curious about what made the runes come alive, I refuse to drop the king’s cold stare.
“You’re very angry, you know.” I tap my mouth thoughtfully, easing off the bed and standing to my full height, which is not much at all, especially compared with his six and a half seething feet of intimidation. “Don’t you know that anger is dreadful for your constitution? I’m willing to bet that you’ve been quite constipated of late. My aunt makes the most incredible carambola juice that just gets all those pesky blockages flowing. I’d be happy to whip up a batch if you direct me to the kitchens.”
Those dark eyes flash, nostrils flaring, but I ignore the obvious warning that I’m treading a very fine line. King Darrius probably expects everyone around him to fawn and grovel. I might not know how I ended up here and have fuzzy gaps in my memory, but I do know that I grovel for no one.Especially not kings.
I blink, wondering where that thought came from.
“You insolent—”
“It’s no trouble at all,” I say, cutting him off with an audacious wink, ignoring Ani, whose panicky blue gaze is darting between us. “We’ll get you unclogged and call it a day.”
Face suddenly inscrutable, though his vengeful eyes tell a different story, the king scoffs. “Stick instead of carrot, I see. Maybe your tongue will loosen then.”
I beam as if I don’t have a care in the world, though my instincts are firing with warnings of imminent danger. “Mind my tongue, loosen my tongue? Which is it, Your Majesty? You seem to have quite an obsession with said appendage.”
I school my features to stone as his eyes flick to my mouth, something sinfully heated flaring in them that makes my breath absolutely fizzle and syrupy heat slide through my core. For the briefest of moments, he looks at me as though I’m a treat he could quite happily and voraciously devour in the wickedest, best kind of way. I swallow a gulp.
Stars above...
That sensation behind my rib cage tugs and thickens, some indefinable tether reaching out and straining towardhim. The king’s eyes widen as if he feels an answering pull, too, but then he whirls on his boots and strides out of the room with a vicious curse.
