Page 49 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

There were only three people in Ellow who knew—Ardow, Amalise, and Merrick—and she very much doubted any of them would have shared her secret.

Even if Merrick wasn’t exactly her favorite person, he’d been ordered to accompany her by his king, and he wouldn’t spill Fae secrets to a human.

Someone else must have.

And she had no idea who it could be.

Lessia glared at him. “Who are you working with?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know who is behind the strange things happening in Havlands?”

“No.”

She felt like stomping her foot like a child.

He was working with not just anyone, but someone with intimate knowledge of how her magic worked, someone who’d taken great precautions to ensure she wouldn’t get any information from him.

Swearing to herself, she burned her eyes into his once more. “You will forget about my gift, and you’ll forget about the children you’ve brought to Ellow. And you’ll always speak the truth to me from now on. You cannot lie to me. Understood?”

Venko nodded. “Understood.”

“Forget we had this conversation. You found me in the woods, and you decided you wanted to help me carry this wood into the cottage.”

After blowing out a breath, she released the grip on her magic, the reflection behind Venko dimming until it finally vanished completely.

As she blinked a few times, Venko bent down to pick up the wood, and she quietly followed him back into the softly lit house.

When Venko opened the door, she stiffened.

Light poured out of the door.

As they stepped over the threshold, warmth rushed over them from a fire already crackling in the fireplace, illuminating the empty sitting room.

With limbs tingling from the sudden change in temperature, she turned to Venko. “Did you light this fire?”

When he shook his head, confusion creased her forehead. “Do you know who did it?”

“I don’t, but I’m not complaining. I’m off to bed.” Venko grinned at her, his eyes no longer glassy. “See you tomorrow, Lessia.”

She took the bundle of wood from his hands and laid itbefore the fireplace to dry it out. Sitting down on the floor, with her back against the couch, she savored each lick of heat, even as her skin stung as it finally warmed.

She wasn’t complaining either.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

“Is that how Fae usually sleep?”

Lessia woke with a jerk.

Flying to her feet from where she’d fallen asleep on the floor, watching the fire intently, she made sure it still burned bright. Relieved to find the orange-and-red flames blazing, she turned around.

Loche leaned against the wall beneath the staircase, legs crossed and arms leisurely kept behind his back.

Behind his shirtless back.

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