No harm.
The marred skin on her neck and the slice across her cheek taunted me with the truth. She was no longer bound to be here by flimsy magic. No oath tied us together any longer.
“It seems we don’t need to hold up this alliance, do we?”
I swallowed hard. “So you’ll return to Luz?”
“That depends. Would you try to keep me here if I said yes?”
“No.” It was the easy answer. The more complicated one burned in the graveness of my voice. She couldn’t go—not now, not after I’d just found her.
“Then I am willing to stay.”
The air deflated from my lungs, but her tone told me this wouldn’t bode well for me.
She added, “With a few conditions.” Blood dripped onto her neck as she gingerly wiped her cheek with the cloth and winced.
I stepped across the room and sat beside her on the bench. Outstretching a hand, I offered to take the rag. “You’re just smearing it around. Let me? While you share your conditions,” I said, trying to feign indifference as my mind grappled with what she might propose.
She hesitated but reluctantly handed me the cloth. I dunked it in the lukewarm water and began to dab away blood from her cheek. She met my gaze with resolve.
“An Egress, built immediately so that my advisors may come and go as they please and I can aid them in rebuilding Luz.”
“Done,” I grunted. She pursed her lips, which dragged my gaze down. “You want that in blood?”
She shook her head. “Enough has been spilled—and blood oaths can clearly be broken. But I am not done,” she said. I dabbed my finger in the salve and gingerly pressed it to the open wound on her cheek. “I want your assurance that what happened tonight remains between us.”
I stilled, glancing at the blood running down the side of her neck over the purple-mottled skin. “May I?”
She pulled her hair to the opposite side and nodded.
“I agree with your condition. But what exactly happened tonight, Sybilla?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted and sucked in her cheeks. “You said you can teach me how to control it...and that’s another condition. If I’m to stay, I want to understand how to wieldthat.”
I fought a smile and trained my face into a neutral expression, as I slid the cloth down her neck. That was a condition we both wanted. The stronger she grew, the better she could contend with Caym in the years to come.
“Then we begin tomorrow.” I took a dry cloth and wiped the water off her neck where it had dripped. My fingers trailed over her soft skin. Those stunning green orbs of determination held my gaze. “Is that all?”
“No. My last condition”—she hesitated—“is that you marry me, Darvandadearest.”
My whole body stiffened. I’d heard her wrong.
The proposition struck me in a way that raised the hairs on the back of my neck and made my palms grow clammy.
“Why would you want to marryme? You’ve made your opinions of my character rather clear.”
She looked a bit smug about having taken me off guard. “Because, Darvanda, you don’t seem like the kind of King who needs, or wants, a wife or another ruler’s crown. I have two years left to marry to keep my position, and I’d rather focus on matters of my Corridor than court prospective consorts. It’s a wise political move for both of us. It’s no secret that I want to bring Source power back to Henosis, and you need resources for your people.”
I didn’t need her crown, or a wife. I needed a child.That was a more complicated matter—one that would become less complicated if we were to marry.
She continued, “You are powerful in your own right; you have your own lands and no desire for mine. We would maintain separate rules and stay out of each other’s affairs for my mortal lifespan. It’s a perfect arrangement.”
I shrugged. “Very well then.” My heart raced.
“Utterly romantic,” she scoffed, and I had to fight a smirk.
“Do you wish to be romanced into marriage?” The question left my lips before I could think better of it.
