Lora glanced at her own shirt, half ridden up, exposing more than her stomach. She adjusted it quickly as her eyes scanned their surroundings. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, she quickly grabbed her jacket off the ground. Her fingers grasped her phone. She couldn’t believe she’d dropped it and was thankful the jacket protected it.
Eyden moved forward, seemingly relaxing. “Would you look at that? It’s a rabbit.” He turned to Lora before pointing to a chestnut brown animal crouching next to a bush.
The animal turned its small head towards her. Its bright green eyes bored into hers as if telling her they had needed its interruption.
Eyden turned to her fully and for a moment neither knew what to say. As much as Lora wanted to pick up where they’d left off, the feeling of guilt took precedence again. Could she go there with him when he didn’t know her most well-hidden secrets? They needed to have that conversation she’d been putting off. After their mission tomorrow, she would tell him. She had to.
She cleared her throat. “I suppose we should head back. Continue this some other time?”
Eyden moved his head in agreement. He glanced at his jacket, still lying forgotten next to the tree where Lora stood frozen in place. Drawing closer, he picked it up. She could still feel the heat of him on her skin. The sexy smile plastered on his face made her heart flutter. Neither of them walked away.
Sighing, Eyden reluctantly turned, but Lora grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “What about the firewood?”
“The what?” His darkened eyes focused on where her hand touched his darker skin.
A smile tugged at her lips. “Firewood? The reason we came out here?”
“Right. Yes. That’s definitely the only reason we came here.” His eyes drifted to her face, lingering on her mouth.
Before she registered his movement, Eyden’s lips captured hers, drawing her in again. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, making her shudder as the fire inside her rekindled.
They pulled apart too quickly and only as far as they had to, their foreheads touching. “To be continued?Maybe?” Lora asked, breathless, her eyes seeking his. The fire was still brewing beneath her skin, awaiting Eyden’s touch.
A half-grin stretched his lip upwards. “I’m counting on it.”
Chapter46
Amira
Amira nearly knocked out an old fae carrying multiple scrolls as she barrelled down the corridors. She barely stopped to apologise and carried on with her run. Nalani’s words from the early morning hour echoed through her mind.They’ll be executed.
That’s not what she wanted. She was fine with the two fae being thrown in jail for a while. They should learn their lesson. Butdeath?It was awfully permanent, and she couldn’t be the one responsible for such a fate. Not again.
Outside the throne room, Amira took a few minutes to collect herself. The afternoon sun was streaming in through the high windows on either side of the heavy door. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and calmed her breathing. Satisfied, she opened the door and entered the room.
For the first time since Amira’s arrival, the throne room was completely silent. Wooden benches were placed on each side of the throne and members of the court already occupied most of them.
Amira sighed in relief. If other fae were involved in the judgement, maybe the sentence would not be as terrible. Right next to the throne, in a comfortable armchair, Rhay was dozing off.
Everyone watched as Amira walked up to the throne. Unable to decide where she should sit, she was relieved when Nouis indicated a spot right next to Rhay. When she sat, he woke up and almost jumped out of the chair.
“What’s happening?” Rhay panicked.
“Everything’s fine, Rhay. You’re in the throne room,” Amira said, trying to calm her friend. She put her hand on Rhay’s, but she caught him tensing up and immediately removed it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Rhay waved it off. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
Amira noticed that he himself was definitely not calm. His eyes kept looking at the large door on the other side of the room. “Are you worried about the judgement?” she asked.
He didn’t seem to have heard her. She wondered if she should repeat the question, but before she could make a decision, the doors opened. Even though he had been monitoring the entrance, Rhay still twitched when Karwyn stepped into the room.
Everyone except Rhay stood up to welcome the interim high king. Amira noticed that Karwyn kept his gaze on Rhay the whole way to the throne. When he reached him, he squeezed his friend’s shoulder in an affectionate gesture. Rhay’s face stayed completely blank. The absence of any reaction from Rhay only seemed to fuel Karwyn’s vengeful spirit.
“Bring them in,” he roared before taking his place on the throne.
Four guards dragged the two defendants into the room. Their hands were bound behind their backs and Amira had trouble hiding her disgust at the sight of their bloodied faces. It was clear that the guards had abused their authority. Or maybe they had just followed their orders, Amira thought, when she saw Karwyn’s pleased smile.
The guards threw the two fae on the ground where they stayed motionless. The man eventually dared to look up. Amira could see that he had sobered up. In his eyes, she read fear instead of malicious intent. Sobs shook the woman next to him. She kept her face buried in her lap.
