Page 68 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

Her eyes lingered on the mask of the guard closest to the gate, the almost birdlike beak jutting out beneath the two dark holes where his eyes must be, and a chill crawled over her skin. When she’d disembarked the ship that first day in Asker and two of Loche’s men instantly approached her, she’d nearly gotten right back onto it.

Only the blood oath had kept her feet planted on the human isle.

King Rioner’s guards had terrorized her enough during the years on the streets, and when she landed herself in his cellars…

They were the reason she’d caved when the king offered her the blood oath in exchange for freedom.

A few of them were mental Fae, and their ability to inflict excruciating pain by forcing her to relive her worst nightmares, over and over, made her beg for physical torture instead on the days they got bored and entered her cell.

Lessia rubbed her arms as she pushed the thoughts from her mind.

While she’d learned Loche’s men, and even the navy soldiers, were nothing like the Fae king’s, she still preferred to stay out of their way.

None of the guards spoke as she passed, but she nodded once in thanks when one of them, bearing the golden pin ofStellia’s company on his chest—a gilded sail resting upon his heart—opened the heavy doors to let her in. He briefly met her eyes, a flicker of recognition shining in his brown ones, as he stepped back once more, taking up his post outside.

Voices drifted through the hallway from the dining room, and she hesitated beneath the stairs, wondering if she should brave the other nominees to try to find out more about what to expect tomorrow.

But when Craven’s shrill voice rose over the murmurs, she thought better of it and took the stairs two steps at a time.

Still not ready to face her bedroom, Lessia decided to find that balcony again.

It was a clear night, and there had been little wind during her walk, so spending a few moments staring out over the sea would hopefully not deplete her meager reserves of energy.

After a few wrong turns, moonlight finally spilled onto the floor before her, and she drew a deep breath of salty air as she opened the glass doors and stepped onto the balcony.

Taking cautious steps over the slippery stone until she reached the railing, she watched as waves softly caressed the high cliffs the castle was built upon.

“And here I thought you’d finally come to your senses and taken your leave.”

With a low groan, she turned around as Loche confidently strolled onto the balcony, making his way to the railing and hoisting himself up, his legs dangling over the steep drop.

“Is there anywhere in this castle where people leave you alone?” Lessia glared at him.

There had been a few guards stationed in the hallways she’d walked to get here, but it’d been entirely quiet in the one leading to this balcony.

Loche swept his inky hair out of his face. “Yes.”

When she eyed him to continue, his mouth twitched, and she groaned again.

Lessia debated whether to go back to her room, but she didn’t want to lie awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, especially after the unwelcome memories that had clouded her mind back in the office and in the courtyard.

She had been here first.

So Lessia moved a few feet away, leaned against the railing again, and fixed her eyes on the silver-painted sea.

“How did you and your blonde friend meet?”

Snapping her head to the side, she met his scrutinizing gaze. “Now you talk to me?”

Loche’s jaw clenched. “It would seem so, yes.”

“You ignored me for a week. Why talk to me now?”

When his eyes narrowed, hers slitted right back.

She truly didn’t understand this man’s intentions.

Their eyes stayed locked for a few moments. Loche’s features remained hard, and his jaw squared while his eyes burned into hers as if he were trying to read her mind.

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