She turns to her side, then kisses my jaw. “I never want to leave this bed.”
“I know.” I kiss her forehead.
She sits up, but I pull her back down, then wrap my arms around her. She laughs. “You know I can’t stay.”
“Just for a minute. I just want one minute to pretend this is our life,” I tell her.
“Wouldn’t that be something? Instead, I’m married to?—”
I press a finger to her lips. “Don’t finish that sentence. Right here, right now, you’re mine. If only for a minute.”
She nuzzles against me while I trace the swirls and vines on her arm. I wonder if I just made everything worse by trying to keep her, if only for a short time.
All too soon, we’re out of the bed and she’s stepping back into her dress. She looks at me as she laces it back up. “It might not always be like this. Things could change.”
“They will change,” I assure her. “We just don’t know how yet.”
“Then stop telling me never,” she says. “Start telling mesomeday.”
I take two steps to reach her, then grab a bundle of fabric at her waist so I can pull her the rest of the way to me. “I don’t think I could ever stay away from you. No matter the cost.”
When I lean down, she meets me in a kiss that feels far too much like a goodbye.
She hasn’t been gone more than five minutes when the knock sounds. I can’t help the smile on my lips.
“Did you forget something?” I call as I open the door.
Caiden stands on the other side, his expression hard. “Your sister killed three more guards. Give me one reason I should let her live.”
“I thought you said you were sending more. How are they so incompetent that they can’t keep her under control?” I leave the door open while I return to my room and start dressing. “I can’t wait until morning. I’m going now.”
The door closes, and I turn. The way Caiden is looking at me sends a chill down my spine. I haven’t been afraid of him since we were children, but there’s something in his eyes that has me reaching for a weapon.
“I let her live. I let both of you live. And with one word from me, I send Anya right into your sister’s rooms and let her play with her a while. You want to be the one to tell my darling wife why her best friend was shredded? Why her body is in pieces?”
“You wouldn’t,” I say.
“You know what I wouldn’t do?” He takes a step toward me. “I wouldn’t fuck your wife.”
“Caiden, I…”
“Don’t. I saw her leave your room.” His whole body is tense. “I told you to end it. I warned you.”
“It’s me. It was my fault. Whatever you’re going to do, take it out on me. Don’t hurt her.”
“I can’t hurt her. Don’t you see? Don’t you see what she’s done to me? I would rather feed myself to the dragon than harm her. And that makes her dangerous enough that I should do it. I should end her. She’s a weakness. A threat to my crown. But right now, all I can see is the man I used to call my best friend betraying me.Again.”
“You know that’s not the same thing,” I cut in.
“No, it’s not, but it’s enough to remind me of exactly who you are.” He glances at the knife in my hand. “Are you going to kill me, then? Is that how this ends?”
I drop the knife. We both know I won’t. Like I know he won’t harm me or my sister. He needs us. We’re safe. Sabina and Anya are not.
“I’m serious, Brevan. End it. She’s my wife.Mine.I swear to the gods, I will make her watch while I kill Anya. Or maybe I’ll make you do it.”
“You don’t have that power,” I bite out.
“Are you certain? How sure are you that you can control that magic you keep hidden? The magic that even my father didn’t know about.”
