He let out a low growl, pushed up from the ground, and glared down at her. “You cannot talk to me abouttrust.”
Whirling on his feet, he stomped away from camp. Reyna scowled and jumped to her feet. She followed after him, shooting daggers into his back with her eyes. He’d removed his armor, leaving most of his skin free of clothes. She tried not to notice that way his muscles tensed, the way his skin glistened beneath the dappled light of the moon.
She realized that she had never seen him like this in the northern kingdoms. There, he had always been cloaked in leather armor and furs. She understood why now. His body yearned for the south, for the crushing heat of it. Shadow fae, through and through.
“Where are you going?” she shouted after him.
He stopped and jerked toward her. “I’m going to find a place to sleep where I won’t be pelted with rocks.”
Huffing, she stalked through the trees, erasing the distance between them. She jabbed a finger into his bare chest, ignoring the warmth that spread into her hand. “You’re just running away because you’re too cowardly to face the consequences of your betrayal.”
He let out a bitter chuckle, wrapped his hand around hers, and yanked her hard against his chest. Eyes sparking, he leaned down and growled into her face. “At least I recognize myself for who I am and what I’ve done. You can’t bring yourself to say that what you did was wrong.”
“I didn’t actually do anything,” she hissed back. “I planned to kill him. But I didn’t. Meanwhile, youmorethan followed through with your little plan. Because here I am, forever bound to your arsehole of a father.”
“You never followed through because you never got your chance. You never became the High Queen. The realm wasn’t yours to steal,” he sneered. “Thane chose Eislyn in the end. And you know why, don’t you? Because you’re wild and impulsive and a bloodthirsty, stubborn-as-hell fool.”
Reyna gritted her teeth and tried to yank her hand away, but his nails dug into her skin. His words cut deep, slicing through the carefully-constructed ice she’d frozen around her heart. Every single word of it was the truth. She was everything he said. For once, she knew he was not lying.
“Let go of me,” she hissed, hating the tears that burned her eyes. She did not dare let them fall. Lorcan could not see the pain he’d caused. “Stop forcing me to look at your stupid face.”
“You’re the one who followed me, Reyna. You’re so desperate for a fight? Well, here it is.”
She glared up at him, the heat of anger flooding her cheeks. As they’d argued, they’d shifted together, and now they were only millimetres apart. Reyna swallowed hard at the feel of his bare chest beneath her hand, where he still trapped her fingers against his skin. She could feel his heart pounding, racing. It matched the frantic beating of her own heart.
“If this is a fight, then you’re doing it wrong,” she whispered up at him. “Draw your sword.”
His eyes flashed. “You would have us exchange blows?”
“Too scared?” She grinned.
“Your vows mean you would die within an instant.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against her ear. Anticipation shivered through her. “I take no pleasure in hollow victory. When I win, I want to know there’snothingyou could have done to best me.”
She glared at him, her heartbeat tripping in her veins. “You had the chance to get rid of me in the caves. Why didn’t you?”
He edged even closer, his chest brushing against hers. “And why didn’t you pull me down with you?”
His breath was warm against her neck, shooting a rush of electricity along her skin. She didn’t dare breathe, and she felt as if the words had been sucked out of her mind. They were so close. Too close. She could feel the thump of his heart and hear the whisper of his breath. Memories flooded her mind. His mouth on hers, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her.
She blinked, chasing the images away. “Let me go. I want to go back to sleep.”
At long last, he dropped her hand. He gave her one last look, one that seemed to pierce her very soul, and then he vanished once more into the shadows. With a shaky sigh, she shook her head and returned to the camp. Nollaig was standing by the glowing embers of the fire, warming her hands against the dying heat.
She didn’t glance up when Reyna returned, at least not that Reyna could tell with the massive hood hiding her face from view. “Did you two finally get it out of your systems?”
Reyna frowned. “Get what out of our systems?”
“He really isn’t so bad, you know. A little broody at times, but he’s far more good than bad. You can’t say the same thing about most fae royalty.”
Reyna scowled. “He betrayed me.”
“He didn’t have much of a choice, but I think you know that.”
“There is always a choice.”
Nollaig glanced up then, though the folds of her cloak still settled carefully around her face. “What would you have done in his place? Say the High King threatened you with your sister’s life. The only way to save her would be to deliver Lorcan to him. I think the answer is clear.” She crossed her arms. “You made a vow to your enemy in order to save your sister’s life. Something tells me you would do far more than that.”
“That’s different.”
