“I’m okay,” I mumble, taking his offered hand.
Garvan stands and pulls me up. He then looks back at my water tracks. “Did something happen?”
My first instinct is to lie. For some reason, I don’t want him to know that a crazy shadow demon wanted to hurt me, at least not until I can tell Oziel. “Yeah, just trying to get back to my room.” The lie slips easily off my tongue. I hope that’s the end of it, that Garvan will nod and go on his way.
But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he says, “I’ll escort you back, my queen.” Before I have the time to refuse, Garvan starts walking toward my—Oziel’s—room. I have no choice but to follow.
“Do you know where Oziel is?” I ask, doing my best not to sound too interested. Even though I am. Why hasn’t he sought me out yet? Is my mystery attacker after him too?
“The king was called away this morning to the River Hel. There was word of a hooded figure acting suspiciously nearby.”
“A hooded figure?” I echo, frowning.
Garvan stops right outside the door. As usual, the courtier is impeccably dressed in sapphire blue, with a silver tunic peeking through his overcoat. He nods once before reaching for the doorknob. “That’s what the guards reported—” he cuts himself off, eyes widening. “My king,” he says, almost imperceptibly.
With no decorum, I push past Garvan and peer inside. Oziel stands with his back to us near a table. There’s a faint glow emitting from something behind him, but I can’t make out what it is. Oziel turns, his usual golden eyes now midnight black. Much like Garvan, he’s dressed like a royal. The only sign the king is tired is the dark circles under his eyes. Maybe he really didn’t get any sleep last night. Oziel looks from me to Garvan, eyes narrowing to tiny slits.
“My king,” Garvan says again. “I thought you’d be at the River Hel.”
“I was,” is all Oziel says, not offering any more information.
Garvan awkwardly clears his throat. “I was just escorting the queen back to your chambers. I found her on the floor?—”
“I slipped while I was running,” Icut Garvan off.
“Why were you running?” Oziel’s question is for me, but his eyes never stray from Garvan. The temperature in the room seems to rise a few degrees.
“Because…” I hesitate. It’s not that I don’t trust Oziel, or Garvan, for that matter, but I’m still trying to figure out what I saw. Do all demons have the ability to move shadows, or is that an ability saved for the king?
Oziel finally moves, exposing the glowing object. In a glass dome is a bouquet of blood-red roses. Petals decorate the bottom, scattered all around. Has this always been there? I barely paid attention to the room since I’ve been in here, consumed with thoughts of the demon before me. Oziel's silence unnerves me.
“Check for updates with the guards, Garvan.” His command is a clear dismissal.
Garvan nods once and leaves without another glance back. We listen to his retreating steps until I hear nothing but my own breathing.
Suddenly the door slams shut, startling me. “What the hell?” I ask just as Oziel whirls on me.
“Did you fuck Garvan?”
Out of everything he could have asked, this is not something I expected. My mouth opens and closes in stunned silence. Anger radiates off my husband in waves. I've never feared Oziel, even when I first met him, but now…I can see the terrifying demon king everyone else sees. The temper he barely keeps in check.
“What the actual fuck, Oziel?” My voice is a near shriek when I finally find it again, my anger mounting at his accusation.
“Answer me,Wife,” he growls, closing the spacebetween us. Heat from his body kisses my skin; the sheer power of him is overwhelming. “Did you fuck Garvan?”
I laugh humorlessly. “Oh, you’re a fucking bastard, you know that, right?” I jab a finger into his chest. “You’re allowed to fuck any demon in this damn castle, but if I so much as walk with a man who’s not you, then suddenly I’m a whore. How about you tell me whose bed you were in last night?”
For the first time since I arrived, Oziel’s anger cracks, giving way to confusion. “No one. If I fuck another, you will know, Kitten. Because you’d be there with me.”
My anger still simmers, but hearing his words makes my cheeks flush. Damn him. And fuck my body for liking that thought. “For your information, asshole, I was nearly attacked in the bathroom, and Garvan found me as I was running away.”
In the blink of an eye, all residual anger drains from Oziel’s face. A new fierceness I’ve never seen before takes over. He grabs my shoulders as if to keep himself upright. “You were attacked?”
“Nearly,” I say, shoving him off. I need out of this damn towel, so I reach for the silk robe hanging off the chair. Oziel has already seen me naked, so I pretend that dropping my towel in front of him doesn’t affect me at all. I don’t miss the way his gaze heats as he looks over my naked body. I let him look his fill before abruptly closing and tying my robe.
“Do all demons have the power to manipulate shadows?”
“No,” Oziel says immediately. “They shouldn’t.Though technically they could possess the power if they were stealing it.”
