Slowly, as if releasing a breath he’d held his whole life, Andrian softened in her grip. Not for the first time, Mariah watched as his walls crumbled to pieces, melted bricks of ice and shadow splaying at her feet.
She somehow knew they wouldn’t go up again. Not for her.
Broad, calloused hands encircled her shoulders. Warm and muscular arms settled around her body.
“I don’t deserve you,” Andrian whispered into the slim space between them. “I will never deserve you and all your light.”
“Light?” Mariah snorted. “I’m as shadowed as you are, Andrian. The only time I find light now is with you.”
His arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry I hid so much from you. I’m just—” He swallowed. “I’m fucking terrified.”
Mariah drew a deep inhale of his rain and sandalwood scent. “So am I,” she murmured. “But please; don’t let him take you from me, too.”
“Never,” Andrian said. “I swear to you,nio. Whatever you need for your revenge, I will see it through. I will go into the depths of Enfara itself, if that’s what it takes.”
“Together.” She glanced up, fingers digging into his skin. “That’s what I ask. That whatever it takes to defeat that fucking god, we do ittogether.”
Andrian’s mouth lifted into that beloved, cocky smirk, though the rage they shared didn’t leave his eyes.
“Always, princess. Together.”
Chapter 48
“Lady Ciana Visseau, Your Majesty.”
Ciana gave the guard a warm smile, shifting from foot to foot. He ignored her, of course, keeping his attention dutifully trained on the ornate dining room door.
“Show her in!” The king’s muffled voice echoed through the door. Ciana tried to keep the butterflies in her stomach from jumping into her throat.
She really hoped the king had wine. She needed a glass desperately.
The guard pushed open the door. With a deep breath, Ciana straightened her spine and brushed inside.
As she’d expected, the dining room attached to the king’s private quarters was resplendent yet also warm and comfortable. Decadent smells drifted into the space through a door that she assumed led to the kitchens, and a table shaped from a single tree trunk stretched through the room. Two place settings were arranged across from one another, set with crystal glasses and perfectly polished silver.
Niktael leaned against a cart ladened with beverages and liquors. He’d forgone the crown tonight, his rich brown hairslightly more relaxed and rumpled, the top button of his cream shirt undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
He also wasn’t alone.
Beside him stood a man with a serious expression on his stern face, red-brown braids falling around broad shoulders, moss-green eyes shadowed beneath a pinched brow. Ciana recognized him immediately; she’d seen him once already, on that day when they first arrived in Vatha.
This was Ydros, God of Earth and Knowledge.
Why was he here? Was he joining them?Thatwould certainly add a strange twist to the evening.
Niktael faced her, an easy smile spreading across his handsome face. To Ciana’s relief, Ydros turned and made for the kitchen doors. He said nothing, but he did cast Ciana a strange glance, so fast she almost missed it.
She fought the urge to shake her head. Gods. So fucking strange, every last one of them.
“Lady Visseau!”
Ciana’s attention snapped back to the king. “Your Majesty.” She gathered the tulle of her skirts, dropping into a low curtsy.
Niktael chuckled. He set his glass down on the cart and strode toward her, earthen eyes dancing. “How many times do I have to tell you,” he said. “It’s Nik.”
“And how many times do I need to tell you that it’s Ciana?” she teased, genuine warmth blooming in her chest.
It was becoming far too easy to banter with Nik. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
