Page 2 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

Lessia waved toward the table where the rest of their friends sat and where a group of soldiers and merchants hovered nearby to try their luck with the beautiful women.

Amalise scowled, but when Lessia kept her feet firmly planted, she shrugged and drew a breath to calm herself. Amalise could be a bit protective, and her temper rivaled Lessia’s—which was one of the reasons they became instant friends when Lessia arrived in Ellowfive years ago.

Finally, a smile overtook her face, and Amalise wiggled her brows, whispering theatrically, “I’m thinking the one over there.”

She not-so-subtly pointed to a tall soldier whose eyes were fixed on them and who was clad in the same navy uniform as the man next to Lessia but with wavy black hair spilling far down his back.

Amalise pursed her lips when her eyes snapped back to Lessia’s. “He’s got better hair than me! I need to know his secret.”

Lessia snorted. Amalise didn’t need any beauty tips. She was already the most gorgeous woman Lessia had ever seen. And Amalise knew it.

Lessia’s eyes trailed her friend as she approached the soldier. Her full hips swayed seductively as she stepped up one step too close, invading his space to whisper something in his ear.

Snickering to herself, Lessia turned back to the bar.

The soldier who’d bumped into her had managed to order a few cups of ale and slipped Bren some silvers.

Bren’s eyes widened when they locked with hers, an apology ready at the tip of his tongue, but Lessia winked at him, gesturing toward the rest of the bar, where dozens of people leaned across the surface, desperate for his attention.

When he still hesitated, she waved her hand again, offering him a wide smile.

Although from the look on his face, she wasn’t sure if it reassured him, as his posture remained tense when he finally approached another patron.

Shifting her eyes back to the soldier, Lessia tapped his shoulder. “I know you’re new here, so I’ll give you a pass this time. But me and my friends over there”—Lessia jerked her head toward the table where Amalise and a few otherseyed them closely—“are thirsty. And we order first around here.”

He seemed to prepare to respond with something snarky, but his gaze swept over her again, and his muddy brown eyes widened. “You’re—”

“Half-Fae. Was it the ears? Or perhaps the teeth?” She couldn’t help but let her lip curl, showing off her sharp canines, her grin creeping wider when the soldier inched backward.

“Or was it maybe the height?” Lessia straightened to her full five-nine stature, leveling her amber eyes with his frightened ones.

The soldier stared at her with the bar pressed into his back, the air around him crackling with nervous energy and fear seeping into his scent.

Lessia softened her gaze. “Is this your first time on Asker?”

His quivering chin dipped.

Gods, he must hail from one of the remote isles in Ellow if he hadn’t encountered Fae or even half-Fae before. Not that there were that many half-Fae on the human isles—or in Havlands at all—but here on Asker, the capital island of Ellow, it wasn’t unheard of to run into one from time to time.

The air shifted as the soldier’s eyes narrowed. From the stale scent lacing his breath, it must have been ale bolstering his confidence, and his features twisted into a drunken sneer as he spat, “I don’t know who you think you are,halfling, and I truly don’t care. My friends and I just spent weeks at sea. We are thirsty.”

Her guilt instantly melted away, and Lessia clenched her jaw not to snarl at him.

Shifting her golden-brown hair out of her face and balling her hands into tight fists to keep her unpredictable Fae emotions in check, she hissed quietly, “I am going to give youone more chance, soldier. My friends and I own this part of town—including this tavern. You may apologize for the vile thing you just called me by heading over to them and distributing the drinks you bought.” She nodded toward the mugs of ale lining the bar behind him.

When the soldier scoffed and turned around to gather the cups and return to the rowdy group of soldiers he’d come with, a buzz filled her ears, and Lessia ground her teeth.

She shouldn’t.

Using magic on humans was not only illegal, as she’d break the most sacred stipulation of the treaty between humans and Fae; she’d also despise herself for it later.

But her patience was truly running thin today.

And she had a reputation to uphold.

Casting a quick glance around the room, making sure no one looked their way, she blew out a deep breath and closed her eyes. The corners of her mouth lifted as her magic purred at the chance to be unleashed.

It had been months since she last used her so-called gift.

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