Page 264 of Kingdoms of Night

Perhaps another time. As his wife, he had the right to take liberties with her body. She supposed he’d liberate that thick stamen she’d traced at the outline of his pants in his own time. She would be happy to show him how when that time came. Though she found herself surprised that he hadn’t had much, or possibly any, experience with the females of his kind. He was a beautiful specimen.

“Morning, my lady.”

Enid looked up to see the other knight approach her. Sir Gawain had the same build as her husband, though his flesh was paler, more like sand kissed by the sun. His hair was the same dark color as Geraint’s. Unlike Geraint’s tight curls, Gawain’s tresses hung blade-straight down his back.

“Did you twine my brother to the bed?” he asked.

She hadn’t, but she liked the idea of it. “My husband has not yet roused.”

Just as Gawain had emphasized the wordbrother, Enid added meaning to the wordhusband.The two regarded each other warily over an imaginary line drawn in the earth.

“Look,” Gawain broke the tense silence first, “we may not see eye to eye, but you’re family now. My sword is at your disposal.” He palmed the hilt of the sword at his side. “So long as you do nothing to hurt my brother.”

The steel in his eyes made her petals itch to close. She knew better than to cower before anyone and show her hand. It looked like the games would continue in her new life.

“I’m but a reedy fae,” she said. “What harm could I possibly bring to him?”

Gawain raised one brow at her. He had the same hazel eyes as Geraint, like the brown at the center of the sunflower that stole a bit of the petal’s yellow color. And also, like her husband, it looked as though this man was smarter than he appeared.

“I’m not your enemy, my lady.”

Was he suggesting he was the opposite? Enid had no friends. Did he mean that he was her family? There was only her and her father left after the games that were played in this garden.

“Or I don’t have to be your enemy,” Sir Gawain clarified. “It’s your choice.”

With that, he walked off, leaving Enid behind to ponder that threat. She had no fear of this player. The Knights of Camelot didn’t play to the death like her father. She just needed to get herself and her husband out of this land of thorns and to the human kingdom.

Enid turned her attention to the plants in her personal garden. The plants that had rooted would have to stay. They weren’t hers for the taking. But they offered her their seeds.

One by one, they unfurled their petals. Bowing, the bulbs opened and made an offering to her. Enid collected their sprouts and seedlings into a pouch. She would grow this new generation in a new land.

“Everything is going exactly as I planned.”

Enid stilled at the sound of her father’s voice. She’d known she would see him again before she left. She pulled on the placid mask after petting the stem of a rare breed of carnivorous plant that offered up its seedling.

She cared not what game Gyges was playing now. She would no longer be a part of any of them. She was going beyond his reach as soon as her husband roused and took her from this realm.

“When I first saw that you had an interest in that human, I was so disappointed in you.”

Enid said nothing, only looked down at the ground where her father stood. He was garbed in bright yellow today. The color should not have complemented his purple skin. But like everything, it bent to his will, making him the brightest, most attractive thing to look at in the space.

“You have your mother’s look when you try to show you’re not interested.”

Enid lifted her gaze. “The knights and witches of Camelot will not tolerate your games.”

“I have no intention of playing games in Camelot.”

He stepped toward her, and Enid tried not to flinch. She failed when he reached for her pouch. By rights, each of those seeds was his. He could take them from her, leaving her with nothing of her home world as she crossed the Veil into the world of the humans.

Gyges pulled at the opening of the bag. Instead of emptying the contents, he held up another seed. When Enid caught sight of it, she gasped.

“This was from your mother’s roots,” he said, holding up the bulb of what Enid knew was a Pink Voodoo Lily.

The corpse plant was extremely rare. Her mother had been the last of her kind. Enid had thought all of her seeds had died when her mother did. She should have known better.

It didn’t matter what price her father would demand of her. Enid was prepared to pay it for a piece of her mother. She girded herself to learn what he wanted.

Gyges’ hand opened, and the seed fell into Enid’s pouch. He pulled the strings taut, closing the bag. Then, wonder of wonders, he handed the pouch to her.

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