Page 53 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

They’d forced her to delve into the deepest parts of her mind.

Into the memories she’d do anything to erase, into theguilt and shame and anguish at what she’d done to her family.

Even though tonight had been quiet—a loaded silence, even—she hadn’t minded it.

Keeping an eye on the fire, and an eye on the men, distracted her enough not to start down that shadow-filled path.

“You’re sleeping down here again?”

Lessia didn’t turn her head around as she responded. “Someone needs to keep this fire going, since apparently none of us know how it was actually started.”

Loche didn’t respond, so she took another sip from her cup and leaned her head back on the couch, wondering what Ardow and Amalise were doing right now.

She could imagine them in the kitchen or perhaps in the bar area with people they’d brought home, and the ache in her stomach was replaced by one in her heart.

Taking another sip, she forced it away.

She was doing this for them. She needed to ensure Ellow remained safe from King Rioner, and if being here for a few months was the price to pay, she’d gladly do it.

Especially if she could also win her own freedom.

“What is it you think I could do better?”

Lessia jerked when Loche’s voice ripped her from her thoughts, the liquor in her cup sloshing, nearly spilling over her hand.

Looking over her shoulder, she eyed him where he stood behind the couch, his hands resting on the back of it. When their eyes locked, his held the same intensity as always, but his face was softer.

Or perhaps the shadows masked his usual stony expression.

“What do you mean?” Lessia turned to rest her arm on the couch, looking up at him.

He tapped his fingers against the couch. “You said I’ve done good things, but I could do better. So tell me, what would you have me do?”

A frown formed between her brows. “Are you trying to unsettle me again?”

Loche’s mouth twitched. “Not at the moment. But don’t worry, I will keep at it until I figure you out. I am merely curious. You are a resident of Ellow, after all. I do listen to my residents.”

Fidgeting with her cup, she assessed him, but no smirk marred his face.

Lessia coughed when she took another gulp of burning liquor. “I do think you’re doing good work. I mean, no one likes taxes raised, but you seem to disperse them to the people who need them. Still, there are people who don’t benefit. No one would employ me when I arrived here, and it’s been the same for all with Fae heritage. It’s as if we aren’t also human. My friend is only a fraction Fae, and he still couldn’t find work before we bought our first tavern.”

She waited for him to make a snide remark, but Loche remained quiet as his eyes traveled across the room.

As she was about to turn back to the fire, he finally responded. “I don’t agree with that, but I don’t make all the decisions. The council is filled with nobles, and they still hold a grudge against the Fae for everything that was lost in the war. You’d think they’d mostly be concerned with the lives lost, but to them, it was the Fae that forced the royal family off the throne and thus limited their power. They don’t forgive easily.”

Lessia played with the frayed hem of the couch cushion. “Most of us weren’t even born then, and we still pay for what our ancestors did. I’d like to change that.”

Surprised at her own words, she turned back toward the fire, her brows drawing close.

Maybe there was a way to change the future for the children she’d brought here. Make sure they didn’t have to work in her taverns or with Ardow in the office but have the opportunity to choose whatever path they’d like to take.

She couldn’t do it herself, but Loche would likely win this election.

And he could.

“What was it like for you in Vastala?”

Spinning back to face him again, she raised a brow at the curious expression lining his face. “What’s with all these questions?”

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