Page 47 of A Bargain with the Fae King

Riven wraps an arm around me, pulling me close. “Lia, this is Solona, my advisor and Minister of Economy. Solona, this is Lia.”

Solona holds out a slim hand to me in an oddly human gesture. “It’s nice to meet you at last.”

I take it. Her other hand wraps around our joined ones, accompanied by a motherly smile that softens her features. His advisor. That’s right. Like a mother to him, he said. Not a lover.

“Though I should admonish him for his indiscretion and parading you about, in a robe no less,” she chides him as if he’s a child.

Yeah, about that…My eyes lock on the various articles of clothing that someone, likely Karin, laid out across a nearby chaise lounge. “Please excuse me. I’m going to change.”

Hiding in the bedroom and never coming out sounds like a great idea. Weariness begs me to slide under the sheets, tuck my knees against my chest, and fade into blissful sleep. But Riven won’t be waiting for me there anymore. He’s here. And sleeping my time away won’t ease my failures, not this time.

Muffled voices from the other room win the battle for my attention. I smooth a hand down the simple, navy dress and return to the sitting room.

“—when I go there tomorrow,” Riven is saying.

“Don’t you mean whenwego there tomorrow?” I interject, walking up behind Riven where he sits on one of the couches with his arms on his knees.

Sugar and spice tease my senses. Platters of food dot the coffee table across from him. The colorful array of food has my mouth watering in an instant.

A quick grimace crosses his features. “It’s not safe. If anything were to happen to you…”

I cross my arms. “You’re not leaving me behind again. How’d that work out for you last time?”

He frowns. “Not well. But if you’d only listened—”

“This is my sister we’re talking about! She’s out there alone and in the hands of… What did you call them, Unseelie? The Wild Tribes?”

“The Wild TribesareUnseelie.”

I roll my eyes. Not important. “Give me one good reason why I can’t come with you.”

He doesn’t blink before the response spills from his mouth. “Because Sigurd, or someone else, could shift you away. Or you could be injured. Or who knows what else.”

“Well, we already did the injured thing, and Sigurd had the chance to shift me away and didn’t. Actually, he helped me.”

Every inch of him goes deathly still. Even Solona straightens at my words.

“What do you mean?” His voice is low, dangerous.

I drop my arms. The sudden pressure in the room urges me down onto the chair across from Solona. “His eagle led me to the clearing where the Unseelie were.”

Riven groans and holds his head in his hands.

Solona’s hand trails to her cheek, a finger running along her jaw as her brows furrow. “Perhaps he genuinely wants to help us?”

Ever so slowly, he raises his head, a scowl etched across his face. “Or he was trying to get Lia captured or worse.”

That grim proclamation has me stirring in my seat. “Why? He doesn’t know me.”

“You need to tell her, Rivenean.” Solona casts him a meaningful look before rising to her feet. “I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Lia.” She nods in my direction before making her way around the sofa and out of the room without a backward glance.

Riven plucks a piece of fruit from the table. It crunches like a ripe apple, despite its purple appearance. The juice glistens on his lips, but he refuses to meet my steady stare until the doors close behind Solona with a woody thump.

I expect him to explain, but instead, he attends the fruit, taking another juicy bite.

Ugh, that fruit, whatever it is, looks good. The man eating it isn’t bad either. My stomach rumbles, though hunger isn’t the only thing twisting in my belly. “Tell me what?”

“Come sit with me, eat something”—he gestures to the table, fruit still in his hand—“and I’ll tell you.” His eyes are still downcast, staring at nothing across the room. All the heat and fire is gone from his voice.

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