Breathing hard, I swung my leg over his chest, but Kaden caught it and hauled me against him before I could climb out of bed. He pulled me in for a kiss that tasted like me, threading his fingers through my hair and caressing my cheek with his thumb.
My chest was so full it felt as though it might burst, and I wished we could stay like this forever. Just the two of us. Peaceful. Content.
Kaden’s kisses grew more languid, and he pulled back to look at me. His stormy eyes swirled with heat and longing and something heavy I couldn’t place.
Our conversation from the night before came floating back, but I quickly shoved it away. I tucked it away along with everything else I didn’t want to think about, including my maybe-dead father and how I was going to kill Semphrys once we restored the Death Bringer’s hands.
As if he could sense my swirling thoughts, Kaden reached up to brush my cheek, his expression growing soft.
The gesture was so tender that I felt a lump rise in my throat, and the backs of my eyes stung.
Mercifully, Kaden pretended not to notice my loud sniff. He just drew his arm tighter around me and tucked my head under his chin.
We both knew it couldn’t last, this fragile moment of happiness. I might have closed the bond between him and his father, but Semphrys was still coming for us.
We just had to get to him first.
The mood wastense by the time Kaden and I joined the others for breakfast. The spacious sun-soaked dining room was another area he and Sorsha had tended to, though a portion of the wallpaper was still bubbled and discolored, and the high-backed chairs carved to resemble meandering tree branches were singed from the flames.
It was barely dawn, and yet Sorsha and Adriel were already dressed in their fighting leathers and looked as if they were preparing to leave.
Sorsha hadn’t touched her food, and she was staring at her fork as though considering its merits as a weapon. Adriel sat unnaturally still, though he looked as though he wanted to crawl out of his skin.
“Good morning,” said Kaden cheerfully, his voice sounding out of place in the somber dining room.
Adriel muttered something indiscernible, and the princess met her brother’s gaze with a glacial stare.
“It would be, were it not for the insufferable ass youinsiston carting around with you.”
“My ass isn’t insufferable,” said Kaden in a tone of mock indignation. He made a show of twisting around to look, and I couldn’t resist tilting my head to admire the way his leathers hugged the perfect swell of his muscles.
“I was talking about the living statue,” said Sorsha icily. “But you knew that already.”
The slight feathering of Adriel’s jaw was the only sign that her words grated on him. I sank down into the seat beside the princess and took a long drink from the goblet of juice Fione had poured for each of us. It was citrusy and slightly tangy –– unlike anything I’d tasted before.
“Cart me around, does he?” the royal guard grumbled. “Last time I checked, my wings worked perfectly. It’syouwho sometimes needs carting.”
Sorsha’s nostrils flared with indignation. In one smooth motion, she was on her feet, a knife grasped in her hand. I realized belatedly that it had been the sharper utensil she’d been eyeing, and I edged my chair closer in case I needed to stop her from stabbing Adriel through the heart.
“I can summon my wings, no thanks to you. My magic never would have been depleted in the first place if the males around here weren’t such spineless cowards that it took three centuries to —”
“Younglings,” Kaden broke in. “Can’t we all just get along?”
“No,” snapped Sorsha at the same moment Adriel said, “I’m sure we’d all share your good spirits if we’d spent the evening balls deep in a beautiful female.”
I choked on the juice I’d been sipping, spewing some of the acidic liquid from my nose.
“If you weren’t so busy sniping at each other,” Kaden continued, handing me a napkin, “you might be interested to know that Adriel is the only one who has the ability to restore the Death Bringer’s hands.”
A ripple of surprise passed over the table.
“Did Gninou tell you that?” Sorsha asked.
Kaden nodded just as Fione came bustling in with an enormous wooden tray. It was heaped with platters of tiny boiled eggs, smoked sausages, baked plums, and a delectable-smelling bread. “All it will take is clay from the banks of the Adraeis River.”
Adriel shook his head. “Traveling to Adraeis is too much of a risk. Your father’s demons —”
“I’m afraid it cannot be avoided.”
