Page 172 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

When she peeked into his bathing chamber, she found it empty as well, and a frown replaced her smile.

Where had he taken off to?

If the king was coming today, he’d surely want to meet with them together.

The thought of the king had her skin tingle.

But not with fear.

No, she’d done what he asked of her, and he’d promised her her freedom.

She would be free today.

She sucked in a breath at the thought.

Walking into her own room again, she picked up the daggers from her dresser—she’d found no way to keep them on her while wearing the dress—and left the room.

Lessia smiled at the guards lining the walls outside her room, and while a few raised their brows, most grinned back at her as she made her way to the staircase.

“Lessia!”

She turned around at the top of the stairs, offering Zaddock, who rushed to her side, a smile as well.

“Did you hear?” Zaddock grinned from ear to ear.

She shook her head. “Hear what?”

“He won!” Zaddock nearly bounced from excitement. “He won again!”

She didn’t think she could be happier than she was right now, but more warmth spread in her chest as Zaddock shifted his weight from foot to foot like a child eager to go play.

“I need to tell our men, but you should go to his study. It’s on the floor below this one. He’ll want you there when it’s announced.” Zaddock waved to her before he sprinted down the stairs.

Lessia didn’t hesitate as she took several steps at a time down to the second floor, laughing to herself when she nearly fell in her eagerness to get there.

She asked a guard which door was his, and when he pointed it out, she forced herself not to run over. Still, her strides took her there in a few seconds, and she let her lips lift into a wide smile as she opened the door.

“Loche! I just heard!”

She started toward him where he leaned on his desk, but her muscles locked when she realized he wasn’t alone, and the expression on his face wasn’t happiness, but shock and betrayal.

Lessia’s legs nearly buckled when she glimpsed her father, clad in the emerald uniform of the Fae guard and with an unreadable expression on his face. And beside him…

King Rioner.

Her uncle.

His features were darker than her father’s, the hair that tumbled down his expensive purple robe more brown than golden, but there was no mistaking they were related.

King Rioner’s eyes remained averted, fixed on a spot on the purple rug beneath him, but she knew they carried the same amber hue as her own—as her father’s. While her father had kept her and Frelina hidden from his brother, he’d told them everything of the king who would stop at nothing to hurt them if he found they existed.

Her gaze shifted back to Loche.

He didn’t seek her eyes, and her stomach surged when he took a step toward King Rioner, placing the wooden desk between them.

“Loche…” Lessia pleaded. “I can explain. I don’t know what he’s told you, but—”

“Enough!” King Rioner’s voice rumbled through the room, the command surging through the oath tethering them together, and her lips snapped shut.

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