Page 80 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

His eyes locked onto hers. “It isn’t?”

She shook her head, and the fragile hope that bloomed in his eyes made the small torch he’d once lit within her glow a little brighter.

“Then help me understand, because right now, all I want to do is hurt the ones who’ve hurt you, and I don’t see a single reason why I should hold back.”

“Because taking the Everlys out of the equation creates additional problems right now.” Her eyes drifted down to his lips, and she ordered herself to stop it immediately.

They were surrounded by enemies. Her life hung by a thread, and her power-hungry cousin held the blade. Everyone she loved was in danger. Now was the time for strategic thinking and careful planning, not for wishing she could have one last, wild kiss with Tal just to see if the scar tissue held and the ache inside softened into something tender.

“Please stop looking at me like that,” Tal said quietly, his voice full of the same longing that lived within her.

She dragged her gaze back up to his eyes. “I’m not looking at you like anything.”

“Liar.” He breathed the word, tipping his head and bringing his face closer to hers. “You’re distracting me from vengeance, and you’re doing an excellent job, but I’m still going to walk out of this room and do what needs to be done.”

“I’ll do what needs to be done.” Charis lifted her chin. “But it has to be public. I need to unmask the Everlys in front of both the Rakuuna and those with influence in Calera. If I do that, I can silence the rumors about me with the truth about them, and I can force Queen Bai’elsha to switch her allegiance to me or risk losing the serpanicite she needs from your father.”

He was silent for a long moment, his face still close to hers, his scent wrapping around her like a memory she’d almost forgotten. Finally, he said, “You’re right.”

“I know.”

He smiled a little, but it disappeared quickly. “There’s only one event that will bring the Rakuuna, the Everlys, and those with influence in Calera into the same room.”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. “The wedding.”

He stepped back. Silence fell between them, broken only by the patter of rain against her window and the faint crackle from the wick of the lamp lit beside her bed. Then he put a hand into his coat pocket and said, “I once thought seeing you marry my brother would be more than I could endure, but I was wrong.”

She frowned.

“I can endure the wedding ceremony, and the thought of you with him, and the years of marriage afterward. I’ll hate every second of it, but I can survive it.” He pulled something from his pocket and stepped closer. “What I can’t endure is not being the one to protect you. To stand between you and the rest of the world that always seems to want something from you but very rarely gives you anything in return.”

“Tal—”

“I can’t endure hurting you. I can’t survive losing your trust. Losing you.”

It was impossible to look away. She could see his heart written on his face, and the tender, aching warmth within her flared a little brighter.

His eyes darkened as he watched her expression, and then he said, “I brought you a present.”

She blinked as he opened his hand to reveal a teacup painted in delicate swirls of blue and silver, just like the ones in Rames’s basement. “What’s this?”

“My favorite teacup.”

“Your . . . what?”

“I don’t have a holster, but I could get one. I’m a prince, so it would probably be pretty easy. Just commission it or—”

She held up a hand to stop the flow of words. “What are you talking about?”

His voice softened. “Remember when we went horseback riding and discussed which odious son of King Alaric you might have to marry? We joked that fussy Prince Percival wore his favorite teacup in a holster.”

She eyed him warily. “I remember.”

“I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.” He bowed, low and extravagant. “Prince Percival Talin Penbyrn, at your service.”

She let out a tiny, incredulous snort of laughter. “I know who you are.”

He gave her his crooked smile. “You know almost everything important there is to know about me, except this.”

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