I shifted my body to stand behind her and gently gripped her upper arms. “Open your eyes,” I whispered. Then I glared at Amatavi over her shoulder. “Bow,” I ground out, “before my wife.”
Horror filled his already concerned face, and he pressed it to the ground. He didn’t whine or beg for mercy like some would. I kept my hands on Auria’s arms so she’d know where I was. “What would you like me to do to him?” I asked, my voice low but loud enough for the soldier on the floor to hear.
She tipped her head to the side, but did not turn around. “What are my options?” Her question was breathy, like she was still too nervous to speak properly.
Her nerves made me more angry. Angry enough that I would punish Amatavi, no matter what his motivations had been. “Anything,” I growled.
She huffed a soft chuckle, and Amatavi risked lifting his face to hers. She tilted her head down toward him. “I told you that you’d regret hurting me.”
He paled so fast that I wanted to laugh too, and then he plastered his face back on the ground.
Auria’s arms relaxed, and she blew out a short breath. “All right. Let’s go.”
I didn’t move. “How would you like me to punish him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know—that felt pretty good.”
He draggedhis face up from the ground with his jaw hanging low. Auria might not know what I was capable of, but he certainly did. “The fae body can take a lot of pain,” I muttered. Amatavi heard and dropped his face again. “I could set magic to torture him all night, and then we could forgive him in the morning.”
She shuddered and shook her head. “I think he actually thought he was helping you. Unless—” she started to turn around, but then stopped herself. “Unless you’re not actually concerned about traitors and spies in all of your evening meetings?”
I ground my teeth before answering. “I am very concerned about traitors and spies, especially right now.”
“And—” She swallowed, loud enough for me to hear. “And he’s fae too, right? So he can’t lie either?”
“Correct,” I answered. What was she thinking?
“Then, punishing him for this would be like punishing him for an overabundance of loyalty.”
Amatavi lifted his face again, this time with more hope than he had any right to feel.
I glared over her shoulder, hoping he could see my displeasure. “I will not have you mistreated by the very soldiers who should be protecting you.”
“Never again.” Amatavi finally risked speaking. He looked at Auria instead of me—a wise choice on his part. “You will never fear me again. And I will do everything I am capable of to make sure you never fear anything or anyone else again. I vow it.”
Fae did not normally make vows so openly. One or two a decade might be typical, but Auria had just heardtwo in one evening. She was going to think they were promises we dropped like the winter courts dropped snowflakes.
She patted my hand, still on her shoulder. “There. All good. Now, I’d really like to leave this place.”
* * *
I led Auria out of the prison with a hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the underground labyrinth and up the spiral staircases until we stepped back out into the crisp night air. Walking out of the doorframe, she shivered. I unclasped my cloak and wrapped it around her.
She muttered a “thank you” as Parcival strode toward us. His eyes flew from her grip tightening around my cloak to me. “My lord, Captain Mushrank said you needed me here urgently.”
“Yes, Parcival.” I nudged Auria toward him. “I’ve found a wife. Obviously she can’t look at me now, so I need you to help.” The door behind me clicked open again, and Amatavi stepped out. I ignored him and finished giving instructions to Parcival. “Her arrival was not what I’d hoped for. I trust you can take better care of her.”
“Of course, sir.” My steward bowed at the waist toward her. “My lady.”
Auria didn’t turn around, but she stepped backward, brushing my chest with her shoulder.
I gripped her shoulders. How would we ever last a year without looking at each other? “He is safe,” I reassured her. “The original plan was to tell him because he will take care of you.”
She drew a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back. I smiled. This was the woman who had stared at a giant bear and asked him if he could lie. She would be fine. She took a step toward him, but Amatavi cleared his throat.
I quickly shifted to Auria’s side, so we could both look at the guard. “My lord, my lady. I’m scheduled to be on duty all night, but the gate can spare me if a guard is needed for your room.”
How comfortable would Auria be at this idea? Parcival, knowing the danger in her looking at me, stepped between us. But he needn’t have worried—Auria was staring at Amatavi.
