I nodded. “I should check my ingredients to ensure that nothing else has been tampered with.”
Suddenly, Falken pulled me into an alcove, turning me so my back pressed against the stone wall. When I looked up to askhim what he was doing, he kissed me. All my worries vanished as his clean scent filled the nook. My shoulders fell, and my heartbeat rose. It was just a kiss, but it was also more than that. His hands didn't wander. He kept them around my waist. This wasn't about lust. Nor was it a claiming. It was . . . comfort. Affection. It was a balm to my nerves and heart.
I leaned forward and slid my hands up Falken's solid chest to wrap around his neck. My fingers played with the ends of his hair, and the King made a happy sound that vibrated across my tongue. A strange feeling overtook me. Warm and stable. Safe. He had me backed into an alcove. I should have felt threatened, but instead, I felt safe with him!
Falken eased out of our kiss and looked down at me. “Better?”
“What do you mean?”
“You looked scared.”
“I was not scared.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“I was concerned about my lab, but I wasn't scared.”
“And how do you feel now?”
I snorted a laugh. “Better.”
“Good.” He took my hand and drew me out of the alcove. “Don't worry about your lab. Whatever was tampered with can be replaced.”
We were ten feet down the hallway before I realized we were holding hands in public. But I didn't pull away. I couldn't. Not after that kiss.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As the Dragon King and I stopped at the stairs to go our separate ways, I saw Daglor come around a corner. I started to smile, but then his companion appeared. I frowned, wondering what that man was doing in the Royal Palace with Daglor. But then I remembered Arril was a knotter of the Auilos Clan. The same clan as Daglor. Glancing at Falken, I knew I had to leave before he spotted me. The King would not be happy if he learned of the past I shared with Arril.
“Ah, I think I'll get something to eat before I go up.” I let go of Falken's hand, spun around, and headed toward the kitchen—away from Daglor and Arril.
Shortly after I turned, Daglor called out, “Your Majesty, I'd like to introduce you to my cousin.”
His cousin? Wonderful.I lowered my head and picked up speed.
Then came Arril's, “Sevarin?”
I kept walking.
“Master Sevarin!” Daglor shouted as if I might not have heard Arril.
Grimacing to myself, I turned around. Falken was frowning at me.
I lifted my chin and returned to his side, pretending to have just noticed Arril. “Arril, well met. What are you doing here?”
Arril's green eyes lit up with mischief. “I live in Sconheit.”
“Yes, I know that. I meant in the Royal Palace.”
“Ah.” His black tail, a perfect match to his waist-length hair, twitched. I came to visit my cousin, Daglor.”
“Have you finished your wander years?”
“Yes, I'm back to stay.” He cocked his head, letting his straight hair slide across his arm. “Daglor was just telling me about Master Alchemist Sevarin Beckhur, come to save the kingdom. It feels like fate that we both ended up here.”
“Daglor is your cousin, and the King summoned me here. That's not fate. It's a coincidence.”
“You can call it a coincidence, but I'm calling it fate.”
