I felt him stand so close behind me that his shadows brushed against my body. “What is in your pocket?”
“Lock picks,” I answered automatically, then cringed, knowing that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
He moved closer, caging me with his arms and gripping the railing right next to my hands. He was close, so close I felt his chest rise and fall. Was he debating what to say? Probably something about his wife lying.A heat ran through me. I didn’t want him to worry about me lying, but—
Oh, how I struggled to trust him to still want to keep me safe and happy when we both knew I wasstealing. Especially after he already asked me not to steal the bread. I could duck under his arms and run away, but to what purpose? I was trapped in his kingdom even more surely than I was trapped in his arms.
Rat squawked and flew into Bylur’s face again. I didn’t dare turn to look at him, but I could imagine his indignation as he came looking for me and found me essentially pinned by Bylur. Bylur didn’t move, despite the bird’s attack. I pulled a few seeds out of my pocket and threw them on the floor. Rat squawked defiantly a few more times but settled on the ground and started cracking open sunflower seeds.
Bylur’s knuckles on the railing turned white, making a stark contrast with the black tips of his fingers. It shouldn’t matter, but I hated seeing him stressed over something I could fix. And there was nothing more to lose now from being honest. “Also a diamond. I think.” I blurted out in a breathy whisper. “I’m not entirely sure, and I was hoping to take it out into the sunlight to get a better look at it tomorrow. I can bring it back after that, if you’d like.”
Bylur’s fingers relaxed against the railing, and he bent his head down by my ear. “Have youcollectedany other jewels to get abetter lookat them?”
My breath caught. He knew. All the times I thought I’d been alone in the castle, and he knew. I nodded myhead, unable to lie to him but also unable to admit to stealing while I’d been here.
He straightened back up, so his voice came just above my head. “Out loud, please.”
“Why does it matter?” I panted. “You obviously know already.”
“It matters,” he whispered, “because I need to know my wife will not lie to me.”
“Then yes.” My mouth was moving ahead of my thoughts now, just spilling itself out in the hope that more words would fix everything. “I have a small pile of jewels I’ve collected from unexpected places around the castle. Most of them seem to be diamonds, though some of the colors made me a little unsure, and I think I’ve found some rubies and sapphires too.”
“Where have you been keeping them?”
“Under my side of the mattress.”
A smirk lifted his voice. “I don’t mind you stealing from the castle I have claimed. Everything in it became yours the moment we married. You could pull every diamond out of the woodwork, pile them under your bed, and only find ill effects from sleeping on rocks.”
My whole body relaxed with his words. He didn’t hate me. Or at least, I hadn’t ruined our precarious relationship by pilfering a collection of jewels from strange places.
He eased away from me and shifted his hands to my shoulders. “What about the others?”
“The others?” What could he mean by that?
“I have a dozen nobles who are missing jewels, rings, or cufflink gems.”
The cufflink reminded me of the moment I’d stolen it from Dedalus, and a hot anger ran though my hands again. “I hope Dedalus has turned over every cushion in his room looking for his cufflink.”
Bylur’s hands shook as he laughed out loud. Not the reaction I expected, but I’d take it. “You could have returned it after you reconciled.”
I folded my arms. “He still glares at me.”
“He glares at everyone.”
“Well that hardly encourages me to seek him out and confess to nicking his cufflink when he was acting like a barbarian.”
Bylur laughed again. “Oh, Auria. Would that I could look at you properly.” He squeezed my shoulders. “And did the other nobles also commit crimes that required your larcenous justice?”
I sighed. “No. Most of them were just curiosity.”
His sigh was longer and more measured than mine. “I would like you to return them, hopefully without ruining their cooperation in the council.”
I nodded. “It’s not an unreasonable request.”
A puff of air almost sounded like he was entertained by my comment. “I’m happy to know I’m not entirely unreasonable.”
I grinned. “Not entirely, for sure, but I do have a question that I haven’t been able to figure out. And you don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal, but I’ve been awfully curious.”
