“Bedding someone isn’t the same as trusting them,” Victor replies coolly, not bothering to hide his disdain.
My hand gets sweaty in Alder’s, and my cheeks flush with the effort to keep my expression neutral. I know exactly what he means.
“You’re one to talk, aren’t you, husband?”
Okay. Wow.
I clear my throat, desperate to break the tension before this turns into aGame of Thronesspin-off. “We appreciate the warm welcome, but—”
“As I was saying,” Rude-Bitch-Mackenzie continues,not bothering to even look at me as she tramples all over my sentence, “you made quite the entrance.”
She gestures around the room, her attention lingering on the dark, unlit chandeliers and the massive dormant machine at the center of it all.
“The devices activated the moment you crossed the border into our kingdom.”
Alder raises an eyebrow, taking it all in stride, but I feel like I’m sinking deeper into quicksand.
“Everythingcame to life. The bulbs illuminated, the machines thrummed, the air itself felt…restored. I am disappointed that, since your carriage arrived in town, it has all gone dormant again.” With a shrug, she twirls her fingers through the air. “But that is of little consequence. It only reaffirms what I’ve known all along—a partnership between Cups and Pentacles is destined for greatness.”
Alder takes a deep breath, and his broad shoulders seem to get even broader. “Usually, after I wake something up, it stays awake.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I’m not a huge fan of wine, but that line makes me down a giant gulp as I will myself not to roll my eyes so hard I see into the past.
“They make a pill for that, you know?” I mutter.
Delphara’s gaze cuts to me. “Doyouhave something to add?”
The emphasis on “you” sends a jolt of anger through me. “I was literally speaking, so—”
“Excellent.” Wicked-Witch-Mackenzie returns her attention to Alder. “I do so look forward to discussing the details of our…alliance.” Her voice drips withsuggestion, and I don’t miss the way she trails a single, teasing fingertip along the inside of Alder’s arm as she says it. She has all the subtlety of a loaded gun.
I down the rest of my wine in one long pull.
Whatever’s written on my face must be clear enough to see from space, because King Victor clears his throat, his glossy gray eyes flicking toward Veiled-Innuendo-Mackenzie. “My wife forgets herself.”
Oh, I do like him.
“And, it seems, she has also forgotten your recent losses. Your father’s passing was so sudden. And what with your advisor’s machinations and beginnings of what I could only call a coup—”
Delphara waves a manicured hand. “We all agree Four got what he deserved.”
Victor’s nostrils flare. “The man was killed, Delphara.”
“And we’ve all since moved on.” She silences him with another dismissive flick of her wrist, her sapphire rings catching the light. “Enough of the maudlin, Victor.”
She pivots before I can blink and hooks her arm through Alder’s. “Come, Lord Lockhart. While I show you the pleasures Cups has to offer you must tell me what life has been like since abdicating your throne. I do hope the sentiment isn’t catching.”
Alder’s thumb grazes the back of my hand once, twice, before he releases it and lets her pull him into her orbit.
“No, you go on ahead. I’ll stay right here,” I mutter to absolutely no one.
And, like I’m back at my Mackenzie’s wedding reception, I exchange my empty glass for a full one as another silver server drifts past.
A hand brushes my shoulder, and I turn to findKing Victor watching me with an expression I can only describe as sympathetic.
“Don’t take it personally,” he says dryly, offering me his arm. “My wife has a…singular talent for alienating even the most patient of us.”
