Page 31 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

Amalise squashed a giggle beside her as Harver scowled, but when Lessia smiled at him, the corners of his mouth lifted, a hint of red tinting his cheeks.

“Yes,” he mumbled.

Winking at him, Lessia approached Ledger, squatting down before him. “Hey, you. We don’t condone fighting here, but you’re not in trouble. I know what you had to do to survive in Vastala. You’re safe here, though, and we will get you anything you need. You just have to ask.”

Ledger shifted his gaze to hers, his lower lip trembling. “I thought he stole my coin.”

Lessia glanced at the golden Vastala coin he shifted between his fingers and nodded. “But he didn’t?”

Ledger shook his head, his chin dropping to his chest.

Lessia placed a hand on his shoulder. “How about you apologize to Harver? I should think he’d accept it quite easily. I believe you might be very good friends, and you can protect each other—be loyal to each other—instead of fighting.”

“I’m sorry,” Ledger muttered.

“It’s fine, as long as you show me how to throw a punch like that. I saw stars after just one.” Harver grinned.

Ledger looked up through his lashes, a small smile taking over his face as he nodded.

Her eyes flitted between them, and when Harver rose to sit down next to Ledger, asking him to tell him more about the coin, a faint smile lifted her lips, and she bid the boys good night.

Amalise elbowed her as they left the bedroom. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me alone with them. They’ll probably tear down the house before you’re back.”

Lessia snorted. “You handle them as well as I do.”

She could perhaps do it better.

While Lessia had come to love each one of them, she couldn’t help but keep them all at arm’s length.

She wasn’t sure she deserved the pure love of a child.

Not with what she’d done.

And every single one of the children loved to spend time with Amalise. She would sneak them out to places Lessia disapproved of—like the woods fanning out behind Asker or to some of the cliffs where it was possible to dive in the summer. The children loved feeling like they were in on a secret, so Lessia pretended not to know.

When she pulled the door shut, Ardow chased two girls who’d sneaked out onto the small balcony to do gods know what into their room, softly closing the door after scolding them, albeit not too seriously.

A mist of wistfulness dimmed her vision as Ardow slung his arms over Amalise’s and her shoulders.

This was her home.

This messy group of humans and part-Fae was her family.

What did it matter if every other person in Ellow hated her?

As long as she had this to come home to, she’d be all right.

When Ardow and Amalise pulled her into a tight embrace, a true smile overtook her face.

A smile that remained as she walked out the door to make her way to the castle again.

Chapter

Fifteen

Not even the strong gusts of wind filled with shards of ice could wipe the smile off her face as she walked along the dark cliffs toward the white castle. It was a clear night, and she was grateful for the light the moon and the winking stars provided in the deep winter darkness.

Soft light spilled out of the many windows in the castle, and Lessia wished she could bottle the sense of safety that filled her after spending time with her friends, could take a sip every time Merrick snarled at her or one of the other nominees glared.

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