Page 176 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

Ardow pointed to the cell opposite them, and Lessia’s heart hammered against her rib cage at the blood pooling on the floor beneath the Fae.

But as Zaddock opened the door and she crouched down beside him, she realized he was conscious.

Pulling at his arm, she tried to get him to rise, but Merrick only rolled onto his side.

“Merrick, come on! They’ll kill you!” she hissed.

“You need to go without me. I was ordered to stay by our dear king.”

Merrick slammed his hand against the stone. “I was so stupid! I thought all the Fae had left when I came down here, but one of those sneaky bastards must have seen me and alerted King Rioner.”

Lessia swore.

She’d forgotten about his blood oath.

But she’d nearly been able to resist it, and she wasn’t even a full Fae…

Perhaps there was a way.

“Merrick, look at me.” She pulled at his arm again. “Look at me!”

“You know I can’t do that. I was ordered not to,” he snarled, his hands flexing by his sides.

“Trust me,” she snarled back. “You can resist it.”

Zaddock paced outside the cell. “You need to hurry, Lessia. They’ll figure out something is amiss soon.”

“Lessia, you have to leave him,” Ardow called, his voice soft.

“No! I am not leaving you behind, you stubborn male.”She grabbed his face in her hands and turned it toward her. “Look. At. Me.”

“It will kill me to break the oath,” he warned.

“It will kill you to stay here too. Wouldn’t you rather go down fighting?”

Merrick clenched his jaw, but his eyelids fluttered.

“Yes! Push back,” she urged.

A drop of blood snaked its way out of his nose, and his eyelids opened a fraction.

“Come on, Merrick. You’re the Death Whisperer, for gods’ sake! You can do this.”

With a hiss, Merrick’s eyes flew open and locked with hers.

She inhaled sharply as his eyes pierced into her amber ones.

She’d been right—they were dark.

Almost black.

But they also had swirling silver flecks in them, mirroring the pearly lock of hair that lay across his forehead.

They were like a night sky brightened by a million stars.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” she rasped, something surging inside her as she stared into his starry eyes.

---