“Did you sayLayken?” Eyden asked, startled.
“Yes, he’s been assigned as my guard,” Lora said, then quickly added, “Karwyn is very concerned about my safety.”
“Your safety or what you’re up to?” Eyden asked.
“He likes to keep tabs on people,” Lora weakly replied. “You didn’t answer my question, and time’s running out. Varsha?”
“Ilario has been tailing Varsha in Chrysa. She was on my possible ally list and, well, I needed intel, so I took a risk. So far, she’s delivered.”
“You trusted her?” Eyden—the one who once told her he chose to keep to the side lines—had taken another risk?
“I forced myself to trust her enough to take the risk,” Eyden replied, his lips pressed together.
“Why?”
“You know why,” he said, his voice was husky—barely a whisper.
Because ofher?To find out what had happened to her? Lora felt a familiar emotion tugging at her heart, but she couldn’t let it in; it would only doom them both. For what it was worth, she was surer than ever that Eyden had nothing to do with her capture at River’s Point. It had never made sense to her. It was clear to her that Saydren had been playing mind games with her.
Swallowing her emotions, Lora said, “So Varsha is our ally.”
He finally looked at her then, a faint smile on his face.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Eyden said. “She isourally. At least until we suspect otherwise.”
“Good to know. I really should go now.” Lora folded up the map and looked down at herself to find a place to hide it. She tucked the piece of paper into her bra.
When she looked up, Eyden was watching her. “I have something else for you, but you’ll need another hiding spot.” He pulled out a small runia from his pocket—a spelled device used by fae.
“A runia? Is that wise?” Lora asked. It was a good idea to be able to communicate, but also risky as hell.
Eyden’s smile was breathtaking. “Are you suddenly switching from insane to wise?”
Lora took the runia from him. “I’d never.” She bit her lip to keep her answering grin at bay. “But I can’t walk out with this.”
Eyden revealed a piece of leather. “You can strap it to your thigh. Your dress will hide it.” His striking eyes met her confused ones. “This time.”
God,the reminder of her last dress almost sent her into another spiral. Lora could see that he was thinking it too. And if she said she didn’t feel the urge to pull him closer—to let him touch her, do anything he wanted—it would be a damn lie.
“Hand it over, then,” Lora managed to say, her voice choked. Her hand trembled as she took the band and runia from Eyden. Holding both items in one hand, her other grabbed the seam of her dress, hiking it up. She quickly realised gripping her dress, keeping the runia in place, and knotting the leather band, was one too many things to do for two hands.
“Let me,” Eyden’s low voice said.
Red warnings flashed in her mind, but her head nodded without her command. Eyden stepped closer, kneeling in front of her. As he took the leather band back from her, Lora held the runia to the exposed skin of her thigh.
The sight of Eyden in front of her, his hand brushing her upper thigh as he wrapped the leather band around her leg, was too much for her. Blood rushed to her cheeks and her breathing became erratic. It took all her willpower to keep her legs steady.
Eyden was focused on knotting the band together and keeping the runia steady, but Lora’s eyes were trained on him. There were too many thoughts going through her brain, and none of them were appropriate. His hand was like fire grazing her skin, invoking a desire she hadn’t known until she’d met him. If he moved his hand up now, would she stop him?
Just then, Eyden’s hands left her thigh. “It should hold long enough for you to hide it in your room,” he said. But she thought his heated eyes might have been saying something else entirely.
“Thank you,” she answered in a daze. Her dress was still hiked up. Eyden was still kneeling in front of her. Did he want to touch her as badly as she wanted him to?
The butterflies in her stomach increased, heat building between her legs. Eyden’s eyes flared as if he could tell exactly what kind of reaction he had on her. His gaze seared her skin, taking her breath away. If she reached out now—
Standing up abruptly, Eyden dusted off his black trousers. Confetti was plastered all over his knees.
