“No, she would not have been free,” Euyn says, pursing his lips. At least he has the decency to look sorry.
She lunges for him again, but I catch her. Barely.
“Let him explain, please,” I murmur.
She stares right at me and shakes her head, disgusted. She’s going to kill him. Whether it’s now or later, poison or not, her resolution is clear in her raised chin. It’s going to take a lot of effort to keep him alive if I can’t defuse this. And I already have too much to do.
I take a steadying breath. “You need to explain now, Euyn, and take care with your words. What makes you say Daysum wouldn’t be free? You just said the indentures weren’t valid.”
“I believe they aren’t, but with Dal dead, Seok is the most powerful nobleman in the realm.” He frees his legs and backs an extra step away from Sora, which is not easy with so much snow piled up around us. “The word of a commoner wouldn’t matter, especially since Chul murdered the only man who could’ve testified on his behalf. There’s not a court in Yusan that would believe her father over Seok. Especially not when Seok can claim he paid a fair price and Chul already confessed to killing the magistrate.”
As much as I disagree in principle, Euyn is correct. A Yusanian court would look at the murder of the magistrate as an admission of guilt. They would see a convicted commoner who sold his daughters for gold and who now seeks to renege. Seok would be believed without question.
“I thought it would upset you for no reason, Sora,” Euyn says. “I swear—that is why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to dredge up the past because knowing the truth doesn’t change anything.”
He really should stop talking to her now. We all know it wasn’t the only reason. He wanted to save face and not admit he hunted her father. He wanted to avoid the consequences of his actions.
She stares at him and takes a step closer. I wait, ready to restrain her again.
“The truth makes no difference toyou,” she says, voice shaking. “It meanseverythingto me.” She pauses, and tears well in her eyes. Then she leans forward. “I pray that every single thing that happens to Daysum happens to you, Euyn. In this life or the next.”
Sora walks away, fur blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her head is high, and she looks more regal than the prince even as she pushes through the deep snow. Euyn flinches as she passes, but she doesn’t touch him. She doesn’t need to.
I let her put some distance between us, and then I look Euyn in the eye. “Any more secrets that you’re holding on to?”
He swallows hard and shakes his head. “No.”
“Good. This is the last time I save you from one of them.”
“But don’t you think…” he begins. He studies my face, and something in his expression shifts.
“Don’t I think what?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Nothing.”
We walk along the cliff together, even though I’m certain he’s lying to me again.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Royo
The Northern Pass, Khitan
Aeri’s mouth is on mine. I inhale her. She tastes like a treat from a sugar house and feels like the softest silk. Her flower smell blooms all around me, and I can’t get enough.
The sky glows with ribbons of color as I pull her onto my lap. She straddles my hips, light like a feather. We’re both in winter gear, and I wish we weren’t. I want her in one of those short dresses with just a strip of fabric separating us.
Heat flushes through me, and I sweat, holding her tight. She hums with pleasure as she kisses me just as hard as I kiss her. I want to break her, devour her, and be lost in her all at the same time.
I’ve never desired someone like this. It’s a need, not a want.
I run my hands under her shirt. Her skin is as soft as the fur she’s wearing. She makes little gasps and moans when my thumbs graze her nipples. I reach up to her collarbone and then trace my fingers down. But my hand catches on something—a necklace, I think.
Aeri breaks our kiss, recoiling for a second.
But that’s enough.
Ten Hells, what the fuck am I doing?
