The sound of treachery spilling from the captain’s mouth like a profession of love made me still. It thrilled me. It terrified me. “That’s very chivalrous of you.”
Evander took a step closer and the briny scent of him engulfed me. It beat through me, making my chest fill with thrumming heat. The look he gave me was expectant, earnest.
A protector, even if it was only in spirit, was not something I’d hoped to find in the captain. I’d only let myself wish for a thread of kindness, for him to be preoccupied enough with his job to let me continue with my quiet life still intact. I rose up onto my toes and set a quick kiss to his cheek. “Your secret is safe with me.”
With each cup, the bitterness of King Nemea’s wine turned sweeter.
Evander set another goblet into my hand. “A dance?” He smiled over the rim of his own. “It’s been years since I’ve tried, but I promise I won’t embarrass you the way the king of Varya did.”
I found King Theodore across the room with a self-righteous pinch on his face. “Fine,” I said to Evander, absently.
“You sound thrilled,” he teased.
“Just swear you’ll catch me if I swoon.”
He came closer, and the salt on him sent shocks shooting through me. “I swear on the beloved deity herself.”
We pushed ourselves onto the crowded floor, and when the music swelled, Evander’s hand fell drink-heavy on my hip. He gripped the folds of my skirt, the flesh beneath, and then he pressed us together as he guided me across the floor. He surrounded me, the heat of his body spilling through my own.
It was its own kind of intoxication. To be touched, to feel his pulse beneath my fingers when I grabbed his wrist for another dance. Then another.
More wine. More of that sea scent.
There were women—I’d seen them—who were lit from within,and when they became wives that light dampened. I did not know if it was their husbands that doused their flame, or if they themselves curled up around it, their very souls trying to protect it from extinguishing. Regardless, I had been prepared to watch myself dim. But Evander’s touch lit sparks inside me, and somehow, he coaxed the light within to burn brighter, to burn steadily.
The night, the music, the dwindling candles, all began to blur as we crept toward morning. My head hummed with drink. The dance floor still brimmed with bodies, and the music still beat through the air. Evander tightened his hold on my ribs and pulled me closer. He set his mouth to mine, his top lip slipped between my own, and the biting taste of salt filled my mouth. I gasped.
It felt like blood, hot and pulsing, flooded my back, deep around my spine. My body tensed. He slowed our dance. “What’s wrong? Are you tired?”
I could only nod.
With a soft tug, he led me toward the grand doors, and in my haze, I let him. His strong arm snaked around me, his warm breath fanning against my neck. I arched into him mindlessly, tilting my head back, when my gaze snagged on the wing—on the etching below it.
THE MONSTER IS ALWAYS SLAIN
The king of Varya’s words scurried through my mind, a bug inside my skull.
Is the captain an idiot as well as a murderer?
“You all right, love?” Evander’s voice was gentle at my ear.
“I don’t feel well.”
His mouth quirked. “Too much wine. You need bread. Come on.”
At the banquet table, he pressed a hunk of bread into my hand,and grabbed the other, leading me out of the throne room with quick steps. Navigating the dark stairs took more focus than I’d anticipated. The wine in my blood had grown potent. I fought to cling to Evander’s strong hands.
“This gown—” He swatted at the wide skirt, trying to keep me upright. “Bleeding Gods.”
“I do what His Majesty asks of me.” My words slurred together. “I wear the dress that steals my air. I marry the captain—” I cut myself off, suddenly aware. I looked up into Evander’s piercing eyes. “It’s what we do, isn’t it? Obey.”
He seemed to marvel at me for a long moment before he said, “It is.” He sounded plagued by it. “Every day.”
Evander tugged me the rest of the way up the stairs. At the top of the landing, he pressed me into the wall with a rough kiss. I jolted at the bite of cold stone against my neck. He spoke over my lips. “It starts to wear on you, doesn’t it? Always doing what you’re told. Having no say.”
That shocked me. I wanted to sayyes, yes, yes,but I was distracted by how badly I craved a full breath. I was distracted by the salt on my tongue, and how desperately I wanted more. He kissed me again, pressing me harder into the stone wall.
“Soon, when we’re married,” he said, between nipping kisses, “you won’t have to answer to him.” He gestured to the oaken door behind him. “This is your room?”
