Page 168 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

Alarin’s eyes found hers again, and his mouth fell open. “You look so much like…” He shook his head. “Forgive me; I am forgetting my manners. What is your name?”

She couldn’t help but stare at his familiar face, and a wave of memories washed over her as she noted the stubble on hischin, the one spot where hair never grew. Some of the creases by his eyes had deepened, but otherwise, he looked exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him.

A deep ache spread inside her, and she had to bite her tongue not to jump into his arms, telling him how much she’d missed him.

Her father.

Loche cleared his throat beside her, and she quickly snapped out of it.

He didn’t remember her.

Didn’t know he’d lost two daughters that day.

“I’m Lessia Gyldenberg,” she mumbled.

Her father smiled at her, and the sight crashed right into her chest, before he shifted his gaze behind her. “Merrick! It’s good to see you.”

Merrick stepped around her, and her brows rose as the males embraced.

She hadn’t known they knew each other.

When Merrick stepped back, there was a small smile on his face, and her brows lifted even higher.

And apparently liked each other.

But then Merrick froze beside her, and his face slowly moved from her to her father. A rush of air left him when he snagged on the hair tumbling down her shoulders—the golden shade identical to that of the male before them.

The others seemed oblivious to what had just happened. Wishing Loche and Lessia good luck tomorrow, they returned to the rest of the delegation, which hovered at the back wall.

Her father glanced at her again, his eyes narrowing slightly as his gaze trailed over her, but then he shrugged. “Merrick, may I have a word?”

When Merrick gave him a sharp nod, he smiled at her andLoche. “If we don’t speak again, I wish you a pleasant evening.”

Merrick started following him as he turned to walk out of the room, and before she could stop herself, she gripped his hand. He didn’t turn around, but he squeezed hers quickly before letting go and stalking after her father.

She blew out a breath.

He wouldn’t tell him.

Loche downed his glass beside her, then picked up another and emptied it as well. “I know we need to work together with them, but do they need to be so damn stuck up?”

A shocked giggle escaped her, some of the tension lining her shoulders easing.

One side of Loche’s mouth lifted. “I guess Alarin wasn’t too bad.”

She nodded, and while a sudden yearning to tell him who Alarin really was coursed through her, she kept her mouth closed.

Tonight was not the night for big revelations.

And her being the daughter of King Rioner’s brother—the male next in line for the throne, should something happen to Rioner—was definitely a big revelation.

“Come on.” Loche tugged at her hand. “Let’s dance. There won’t be any balls for a while after this.”

There weren’t many people dancing when Loche’s arm circled her waist, but she didn’t even hear the whispers she was certain came from human and Fae alike as he spun her around the makeshift dance floor.

Instead, she let his strong heartbeat drown out the sounds around them and his breathing slow her own until she could push the overwhelming thoughts flooding her mind deep down inside her.

Chapter

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