Page 145 of Shadows and Roses

He slipped into the chair across from her and peeked at a scroll. The code appeared the same. "Delia’s on the move again? They probably think thoserogue mercenaries are soldiers."

She raised a brow. "That’s right, Octavius mentioned teaching you the code. I’m glad they finally trust you."

Ah, the reason he was here. He set down the scroll. "How canyoutrust me? After I came back, and… the way I behaved."

As though she was expecting the question, she smiled and extended her hand, lightly resting her fingers on his. "I didn’t care how many nobles you flirted with. I wouldn’t reject you if you had chosen to share your body with another. I don’t control you." Then she paused. "But, I’ll be clear this time: sleep with anyone else after tonight, and I'll put a blade in your chest before you leave their bed."

If Vern didn't get there first.

He laughed, the sound roaring louder when she raised an irritated eyebrow.

"This isn't funny—"

"No! Yes! I'm sorry!" He fought to clear his expression. "I was just thinking—your father would get there first."

"My— Oh! He told you? Yes." She smiled slightly. "He probably would. He'd let me finish the job, though."

His grin faltered at her too-sweet smile. Yes, Vern would do that.

Castien brought her hand to his lips. "Then I will be very careful to never hurt you again," he promised. "I never was one for knife play in bed."

A faintly haunted look passed through her eyes, then she giggled. "Of course, none of this would have happened if my mother were still alive. She would have dragged you to my room and barred the door for a week. If you were still alive, she'd expect a wedding date."

A wedding. Could she still want him to be her Consort? Could he bear it if she didn't? If she married for politics, if another man shared her bed.

Who was he to judge?

He forced a light smile. "Just like that?"

She stroked his arm. "Well, if you hesitated at all,thenshe’d stab you in the heart. Or at least a lung. She hated indecision."

Perhaps it was the self-pity that made him ask, "And if, somehow, she was there when I returned from Nadraken?"

Her beautiful claws gently tugged the strings of his bracers. "She would’ve killed you when you started befriending the nobles. Of course, I wouldn’t have let her. I refused to believe you could be a snake."

"What if you had been wrong?" he breathed.

Her fingers paused. "I wasn't." One claw gently outlined a scar as she said, "But I would follow you into darkness if you lead me there. You want honesty? That's my truth."

He caught his breath at the whisper of the Queen she could have been, the hint of fire and death in her eyes. "No. Anais—promise me you will never burn the world for me. I don’t want that."

She looked away. But when he started to pull back, her fingers curled around his hand, her eyes snared his, and he couldn’t break the gaze.

He would do the same for her—how could he expect her to do any less?

Holding his eyes, she stood and rounded the table in a few short steps. Emerald deepened to dark forest green and his heart beat faster. No, he wouldn’t have done the same. He would’ve taken her army and razed every inch of land between them. The world would already be on fire.

She leaned down, her lips parting. He caught them. Caught her, pulled her close, and claimed her lips, her tongue, her breath. She was his entire world, this magnificent Queen who didn’tjudge him for being a whore.

When their lips parted, she leaned only an inch away, whispering, "I’m not waiting this time."

But he put a finger to her mouth. She growled, the sound echoing pleasantly in his chest.

"First, I have a surprise for you." From beneath the table, he slid a package between them.

She reluctantly edged backward a few more inches. "Right now? Castien, I want—"

"Trust me."

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