Page 52 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“Good, the salve worked well,” he said, more to himself than to me as he dropped my hand. He raised his gaze from my palm. “Your stitches are ready to be removed.”

I bit my tongue as he pulled me to the chairs in front of the fire. I wanted to scream at him, about both my brothers and Maricara. More, I didn’t want to have to scream at him. I wanted him to find them both important enough to address on his own.

We remained silent as he carefully cut and removed the sutures in my hand. I kept my eyes on my lap or on the cat that had settled by the fire as if it could still feel the warmth. Anything to avoid where his hands held my own.

Finished, he settled back in his chair with a sigh, crossing his hands over his stomach. The frown was still firmly on his lips, and something that almost looked like hurt had settled into the lines of his face. “I expected you to have said something by now.”

He was upset I had not reacted to his little game the way he’d intended, and it only made it easier to feign the indifference I so desperately wanted to be a reality. “What is there to say? You are your own person, and one of high status at that. You can do whatever you please. I have no say over you, my lord.”

“Why do you call me that now? I’m not wearing my mask,” he said, frown somehow deepening.

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you not? You are playing your games still, both now and in the hallway with her.”

He leaned forward abruptly, resting his forearms on his thighs. The intensity in his eyes as he studied me made me want to fidget, but I held still. “Were you jealous of her, Odyssa?”

“I have no claim to you and no authority over who you give your affections to.” The storm clouds that swirled in his eyes told me I’d not kept my voice as indifferent as I’d hoped.

“Youarejealous,” he breathed. In a blur, he was on his feet, hands resting on the armrests of my chair and leaning over me, caging me in. “Good.”

Both eyebrows raised at that, and I did not swallow back the indignation. “Good?”

“Yes,” he said, leaning down closer to me, his hands tightening on the armrests and making the leather creak. “I wanted you to be jealous. It infuriated me that you seemed so unaffected, that you walked past without a word or even a glimmer of emotion on your face.”

“Did you plan that?” I snarled. “If you wanted to play your games, I’d prefer you do it with someone I don’t have to work with every single day.”

“I am not playing a game with you.” His head tilted and the silence thrummed with unresolved energy. “And I certainly did not plan that. I don’t even know that woman’s name, Odyssa.”

“I hardly think her name matters in this instance,” I replied. “If you did not plan that, did she?”

“Why would she plan that?” He raised an eyebrow. “Had anyone but you seen her, she likely would have been punished. Especially given I did push her away after you passed.”

I said nothing at first. Maricara had made it clear she did not like me, and she had made equally clear she would do nothing to jeopardize her own life in this place. It did not fit, that she would do this simply to get a rise out of me when she could have gotten in trouble for it. She had wanted something from him, and he had not given it to her. “What did she ask you for?”

He frowned. “Nothing.” Understanding dawned upon his face. “She’d only just approached when you passed, Odyssa.”

“What did you say to her to make her laugh, then?” I knew the jealousy was leaking into my voice, yet I could do nothing to stop it. The claim I felt over him was unwarranted, I knew, but despite that, he wasmine,and after all the warnings the others had given me about him, they could not change their minds when they decided that perhaps he did appeal to them after all.

“Nothing that should have gotten that much of a reaction from her, I swear it.” He reached out a hand to rest on my thigh.

I hummed, still trying to puzzle out what either could gain from the interaction besides my jealousy. Was that what Maricara had been looking for? Or was she after something else?

The leather creaked again as he bent his elbows, bringing his nose to brush against mine. His voice was throaty as he whispered, “I did not plan it, though I cannot deny I was curious as to how you’d react once you appeared in the hall. It disappointed me, I admit.”

“Oh?”

“I wanted you to be furious, to tear her apart for touching me.” His breath ghosted over my lips and I struggled to keep my eyes from fluttering shut. “I wanted you to pull her away.”

I shifted in the chair, clenching my thighs together at the heat that spread through my body at his voice. It was a miracle my own voice was not breathless. “You were perfectly capable of removing her hand from your body if you did not want it there. The fact you did not until after I had already passed by is indication enough that you did want it there, for whatever reason.” I shifted up, until our lips brushed when I spoke. “I told you I wanted no part of your games, Tallon.”

Before I could take a breath, he was hauling me to my feet and had one hand around my waist holding me against him. “Odyssa, I?—”

Whatever he’d been about to say was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Tallon, are you in there?” Prince Eadric’s voice called out from the hallway.

Both of us flinched, jumping apart. My eyes widened as the haze of Tallon faded and I realized my reality. The prince was here, and I was here, where I absolutely should not be. Tallon looked over at the cat, who had perked up as well at the intrusion. “Take her through the closet. Get her to her rooms and keep her safe.”

It jumped to its feet, brushing up against my calf as it led me to a smaller door along the wall. I followed, keeping my eyes firmly on the cat and not looking back at Tallon. I reached to open the door the cat stopped in front of, but Tallon was behind me, reaching around to open it first. Closing my eyes for just a moment, I took a deep breath before stepping forward.

“Wait,” he murmured, taking hold of my wrist and turning me around. His other hand came up to cup my cheek. For a moment, I thought he might kiss me again, but the playfulness and the heat in his eyes from earlier was gone, replaced only by a look of worry that made my stomach churn. “Be safe, Odyssa. I will meet you in your rooms when I’m finished.”

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