Page 94 of Given

I turned in his arms so I could see his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What if she’s more powerful than you?”

I started to smile. Then stopped. “You’re serious.”

He held my gaze, his own steady.

“What if she’s more powerful than you?” I tossed back.

“I’m fully prepared for that to be the case. She told you she’s a farseer?”

“Yes.”

“A rare gift.”

“Others have possessed it.”

“Oh, I’m aware.” He tossed his head toward the top of the stairs. “So are you, or have you forgotten who stood there and watched us fuck?”

I pulled from his arms and sat up. When he tried to leave the bed, I got on my knees and cupped his jaw in both hands. “This isn’t about him. He’s dead, and he’s not coming back. The only place he lives is your head.”

Varick jerked from my grasp. He moved across the bed and sat on the edge. Now, candlelight cast flickering shadows over the waxy scars that ran from his shoulders to the base of his spine. The marks were a stark reminder that Valen of Lar Keiren would never truly go away.

I crouched behind Varick. After a moment, I leaned forward and kissed one of the thick, angry weals. Muscle trembled under my lips. I planted another light kiss and sat back. “This isn’t about him,” I repeated. “It’s about us. About saving the Deepnight and keeping this kingdom safe. I can’t do it alone. I need you here. By my side.”

He stayed still. And silent.

“You used your Voice. In my head just now.”

He grunted, and it was such a typical response I smiled despite the heaviness of our conversation. “I need actual words, baby. It’s not like you to use your gift. Did you change your mind about Given?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He twisted around, and his fierce golden gaze slammed into mine. “You are the king. And you are Nor Doru. If the Deepnight fails and the land dies, I could lose you too. I’ll never let that happen. I won’t allow it. Do you understand?”

Relief—and another emotion I couldn’t examine too closely—made me want to sag forward. Instead, I brought his hand to my mouth and dipped my tongue into the valleys of his knuckles. “I understand. I want the three of us together. Tonight.”

He frowned. But his gaze strayed to my mouth, and his voice took on a distracted quality as he said, “I’ve only just arrived at court.”

“That’s why we should do it right away. We begin as we mean to go on. I told you we would share her. Given wants you. I know you want her.” I sucked the tip of his finger into my mouth, then released it. “And I definitely want to see you two fuck. What do you say, baby? Would you like to fuck my wife?”

His eyes closed on a long blink. “I think that’s been obvious from the start.”

“Tonight, then. There’s no time like the present.”

And no time to lose.

Chapter Thirty

GIVEN

Once again, I found myself seated between Laurent and Varick at the dining table in Laurent’s chambers. All day, a sense of surreality had plagued me. Everything was the same as before. But everything was also completely different.

I was Laurent’s wife now. The Queen of Nor Doru. But it was the other difference that made my heart pound and heat graze my cheeks.

Laurent and Varick had slept with each other. As in, this very day, Varick had fucked my husband. “He fucks me. Never the other way around.”

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