Caddver’s gaze shifted back to me, eyes dipped to my chest, as if he were searching for something.
“Tell me, Lady Delilah… does such power impress you?” he asked lightly. “Or intimidate you?”
I thought about it for a moment before responding, “both, I suppose.”
A corner of his mouth twitched.
“And yet you remain here, at his side,” he pressed. “A mortal female, elevated to the High Lord’s balcony. That is no small position.”
I folded my hands calmly in front of me. “I’m a guest.” “Are you?” he asked softly.
His eyes dipped briefly to my neckline, then returned to my face.
“There are whispers,” he continued. “That the High Lord has taken… special interest in you.”
The night breeze lifted a strand of my hair across my cheek. I resisted the urge to step back.
“The High Lord takes interest in many things,” I replied.
Caddver stepped closer, his crimson robe brushing against the stone.
“And you?” he asked. “Do you take interest in him?”
The question hung in the air between us. His yellow teeth flashed again as he smiled.
“Power can be intoxicating to young females. Especially those unaccustomed to it.”
I held his gaze steadily and my heart thumped.
“My only interest in the High Lord,” I replied evenly, “is entirely self-motivated.”
Caddver’s brows lifted slightly in interest. “So you do not…care for the High Lord?”
The pause that followed felt dangerous, like a test I hadn’t agreed to take.
“No,” I answered, though it took effort to make it come out clean. Something dark and pleased flickered behind his eyes.
“How… refreshing,” he murmured. “Well, no matter, it seems as though you’ve caught the eye of a different powerful Fire Fae anyway,” he added, gesturing to the rose in my hand.
I glanced down at it, then back up at him, and replied with a warm smile, “So it seems.”
Heat gathered behind me. “That will be enough.”
Titus’s voice cut through the night air.
He stepped in beside me, not quite touching, yet near enough that his warmth curled around my back. The deliberate closeness sent a fine shiver up my spine. My skin prickled at the quiet dominance of it.
Caddver turned slowly.
“My Lord,” he said smoothly, bowing his head. “We were simplydiscussing—.”
“You were prying,” Titus interrupted, his tone calm but sharp as a blade. “Lady Delilah does not answer to the Temple.”
“Of course,” Caddver said lightly. “I merely wished to ensure her… comfort in our realm.”
His blackened gums showed again as he smiled.
Titus’s jaw tightened, but his expression remained controlled.
