He grabbed my jaw, slowly lowering his face an inch.
“My dungeons.”
Another inch.
“My key.”
Just a breath from my lips.
“My cordistella,” he finished, challenge ringing in his tone.
Chapter
Thirty-Four
Lucille
Awave of heat speared into my body, flushing my face and forcing my uniform into cool-down mode.
I didn’t know if Ronen was daring me to challenge his claim, Aspen, or both of us. I wasn’t prepared to say anything back. Not in front of Aspen. I still needed to have a talk with him that Ronen had so kindly interrupted. And to so blatantly call me his in front of him—was he trying to taunt Aspen? Hurt him? Did he hear the start of our conversation?
Probably.
“What fuels you when your spark is gone?” Ronen asked, shooting Aspen a meaningful look.
What did that mean?
I peered at Aspen, scared of what I’d see in his face, and frowned.
He didn’t look upset. Nor depressed or resigned. He almost appeared… to be smiling at Ronen? It was small and smug, but it had life to it that knocked the breath from my lungs.
“Who says it is?” he shot back.
Ronen grunted, but I swore I saw a flash ofrespect.
And it rendered me just as speechless as Aspen’s smile.
What was going on?
“Let’s go, Hellion.”
“Go?” I muttered, panning between the two as if that’d help me understand.
“To the dungeons?”
“Yes. There.”
I didn’t move.
Tingles vibrated up my hand as Ronen grabbed it, tugging lightly.
Aspen gave me a small nod, then went back into the room with Hadrian.
Ronen’s hand shifted to my back, guiding me forward while my mind tried to catch up.
Rune happily walked beside us, her shadow tail swishing back and forth like Ronen’s thumb on my spine.
We walked down the red-carpeted hall in silence for all of two minutes before I asked, “What just happened?”
