Page 4 of Kingdom of Spirits

“Maybe.”

“Probably not, though?” Tahlia asked, elbowing Fara a little in the thigh.

“You need my warnings.” Fara bumped Tahlia’s arm with her knee. “You don’t take anything seriously enough.”

“At least you’ve moved on from warning me away from dragon riding.”

“I recognize a lost cause when I see one.” Fara’s voice softened. “It’s truly amazing, what you’ve accomplished.” She finished the braid with a few pins.

Tahlia faced her, touching the tight coils. “Thank you. For everything.” She hugged her, not just for the praise and the braiding, but for the way she’d stood by her every step of the way up this mountain. Literally and figuratively.

The Brass Lanternwasn’t too loud yet. The night was young and most ate later on. Tahlia walked in and the warmth of the fire across the room cocooned her immediately. Severin, one of the gate guards, played dice with two others at a round table near the front windows. Good thing Fara had stayed back. She’d be over there losing their new income as quickly as it came in.

Two servers moved around the tavern with trays of mead and bowls of stew. Five males and one female huddled at the bar top, their laughter loud.

Marius was sitting at the table where he’d interviewed Tahlia before the tournament. She paused just to watch him, standing behind a cluster of maids enjoying some time off.

Marius held that same scarlet writing book—a tidily bound collection of parchment—he’d been jotting notes in that day. His brow furrowed as he wrote something down, then crossed it out. He switched his quill to his other hand and stretched his wrist. He had his hair down, and a sheet of it draped over his shoulder as he scribbled more lines of black ink. Her fingers longed to touch his smooth skin, to feel the heat at the crook in his elbow and the underside of his strong jaw.

Chapter 3

Marius

Marius finished his mead, the honey flavor pleasant—unlike his mood. Tahlia would arrive at any moment and he had yet to finalize the questions he wished to ask her. Of course, he wouldn’t sit here and read them aloud, but he needed to see them listed out before launching into conversation. If he didn’t have a plan, they’d wander into talking about riding and missions. He longed to know her more deeply than that. Lists tended to calm him, but this time, he was far, far away from a peaceful state of mind. His palms were sweating and he couldn’t stop fidgeting.

If you could change one thing in your past, what would you alter?

Do you long to travel when you’re on leave? If so, where and why?

…

Three was the problem.He’d written and rewritten it a dozen times and couldn’t get the wording right. He’d wanted to ask herabout having younglings, but it was a question that could give him away. If he asked that directly, she would see how serious he was about her. He wasn’t certain she felt even close to the same way. Perhaps she’d only enjoyed their night together for the physical pleasure of it. Perhaps her heart wasn’t affected as his was. Perhaps she would reject his attempts to make her his mate.

“Oh, and what is the subject for tonight’s scarlet book of secrets?”

Tahlia’s voice sent a thrill through him, and he braced himself to look up and meet her gorgeous dark honey eyes. When he did, she smiled and set a hand on her hip. The feral side of him wanted to pick her up and throw her onto the table right here, right now. Why did she drive him so mad?

“What has the Shadow of the Shrouded Mountains running his hand through his hair and nibbling his quill like a raccoon?” she asked.

Tahlia leaned to peer at his list. He snatched up the little book and slipped it into the soft leather pocket of the simple vest he wore over his tunic. A part of him wished he could wear battle leathers all the time. He always felt too exposed in civilian clothing.

He gritted his teeth. “It’s nothing.” Damn. He’d practically growled at her. Taking a deep breath, he gestured to the seat across from him. “Please. Thank you for coming before the others.”

“I’m glad you asked me to,” she said. “Now, what did you want to chat about?”

Marius motioned to the passing server. “What would you like to drink?”

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