He looks confused. “You were bleeding.”
“So?”
“So?” he repeats incredulously. “So, I was worried about you. So, I wanted to make sure you were all right. You think I want to see you hurt?”
I use his shirt to wipe off the excess traces of blood around my nose. And to cling to an excuse to look away from him. “I think up until a few days ago, I was pretty sure you hated me.”
Kaidren chuckles lowly. He ducks his head to catch my eye-line with his. “I still might. I’m not sure I know what hatred means anymore.” He takes a small step forward, lowers his voice. “I’ve come to hate a lot of things since I met you.” Another step. “I hate your brother because, somehow, he doesn’t see you. I hate your father, because you are the most formidable person I’ve ever known, but he makes you feel small. I hate Selva Sixmenfor putting his hands on you. And Ihatethat you danced with Flynn and not me.”
Kaidren advances steadily. Each declaration narrows the distance between us until I’m trapped against the basin and he’s standing between my knees. “I hate myself, because I can’t get you out of my head.” He rests one hand on the basin behind me. The other on my waist. “Andyou. . .” The thumb on my side draws slow circles in the velvet. “Maybe I hate you too. You areinfuriating. You are vicious, remorseless, and maddeningly stubborn. You make me feel as if I’m losing my mind. If I could think clearly, I might hate you for it, but now—now I don’t know why I’d want to be sane if it meant I couldn’t have you.”
My heart hammers away as though it’s being chased. Maybe it is. Maybe it’s trying to flee from Kaidren, who means to capture it as his own.
My body is frozen still. Held captive by the searing heat and raw honesty of his brown eyes.
Kaidren stares at me like he’s searching for something. I have no idea what for, but he must find it, because the next instant, his lips are soft on mine.
I’ve never been kissed. I immediately see the appeal. At least, when the person kissing you is Kaidren Vale. His lips are gentle, yet urgent. They move against mine with a slow tenderness that makes my toes curl.
My hands move of their own accord, grabbing hold of the front of his unbuttoned jacket and drawing him closer.
Warmth pools in my stomach and seeps through the rest of me, thawing a secret place in my chest I tried like hell to keep frozen.
Magic. A different kind of magic than what I’m used to.
Magic . . .
Too late, I remember myself. Too late, I yank away.
The warm glow of the kiss is gone, replaced with horror.
Kaiden’s eyes open, dazed. Then they widen with shock.
Fear and panic fuse together, twisting my insides. From the moment we met, I’ve avoided Kaidren’s touch. I’ve pulled away, worn gloves, and evaded him like a coward.
Months of caution, rendered useless in a matter of seconds.
Kaidren finds his voice first. “You’re—” He flits through a thousand revelations, each plainly visible on his face. “Stars in hell, Remira. You’re the Shadow Queen.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
GIRL OF NO REGRETS
I stumble into the ballroom, dazed.
I’m ruined.
With one kiss, Kaidren wrecked my plans and gained all the ammunition he needs to destroy me.
I feel as if I’m spinning on a sheet of ice. Before, it made me feel powerful. I spun on a screen of tshira, above the most powerful men in the Republic. I was in control. Spinning above it all.
Now I’m frantic. My house of lies, five years in the making, teeters on a pane of glass. And it’s cracking. I’m spinning like always, but it no longer makes me feel in control. It only makes me dizzy.
“Remira.” Kaidren catches my arm, out of breath. “Please. Let’s talk.”
I rip my arm free and keep walking. “If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it. Everyone already knows you’re a liar.”
“Would you stop moving andlistento me?” He sounds exasperated. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I swear. And you know I mean that.”
