Page 92 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

His entire face lit up, eyes sparking like gray diamonds,and his curved mouth made him look even more handsome than he usually did.

Scowling, she patiently waited for him to catch his breath, refusing to let her own lips curl when he gulped for air.

When he finally calmed, she glared at him. “What’s so funny?”

Loche shook his head, the smile still brightening his dark features. “Zaddock said the same thing about you.”

A frown formed between her brows. “That I was seducingyou?”

Loche winked at her. “Your reputation precedes you, darling. But don’t worry, I set him straight. I am confident it’s one of the masks you wear, especially after your friend’s little show for Zaddock. I can’t wait to learn what you’re hiding behind it.”

Swallowing, she shot him an icy stare. “And what makes you so confident you’re right?”

He lazily leaned back in his chair. “You’re too innocent. You blush just at the mention of something between us. I haven’t seen you approach a single man, not even that guard of yours that all the women in council were fanning over—even with his Fae heritage.”

Loche’s eyes trailed over her face as he nodded to himself. “You’re too caring to be taking every man in Ellow who glances your way to bed. A woman like you wants to be loved, deeply and without constraint, by someone who knows the true you and adores you all the same.”

Heart racing, she forced herself to draw a breath and raise an unbothered brow. “I am not innocent, Loche. And I don’t want or need love.”

“Your mask is slipping, little liar. You may have done bad things, but you’re not a bad person. I know how to read people, and while you’re still hiding something from me, Iknow you’re good. And you crave love more than anything, I think.”

Heart pounding more rapidly than it should in this stupid library, Lessia made to leave but stilled when Loche raised his hands.

“Don’t let me stop you from your research.” He picked a book from the pile. “I’ll be here reading, but I won’t bother you anymore. The castle isn’t safe, if you haven’t heard.”

Shaking her head, she waited for him to say something else, but Loche only made himself comfortable in the chair and glued his eyes to the book. Lessia stared at him, but when he remained quiet, she picked up the book she’d started on and began reading again.

They stayed like that for the next few hours until Lessia rubbed her blurry eyes, a yawn shattering the quiet rustling of pages.

Loche immediately shot up to help her put the books back in place and, without a word, followed her back to her room.

Chapter

Forty-Two

“Where did you disappear yesterday?” Lessia took the hand Merrick offered to get up from the training floor.

She’d done better today.

Perhaps gobbling down several plates of food after returning from the library had given her more strength.

Or she was learning something.

Merrick released his grip as soon as she was upright and turned his back to her. “I had some business to attend to.”

With a scoff, she followed him up the stairs, grateful for the two lanterns he carried, as evening was already falling and not a sliver of the moon shone through the thick cloud bank surrounding the castle.

Merrick had been nowhere to be found when she woke, and as a snowstorm had raged since last evening, Lessia had spent the day holed up in her room. Mostly to avoid Loche and the other nominees, but also because she’d woken to dreams that hadn’t plagued her sleep in many years.

Not nightmares.

No, she would have preferred to dream of King Rioner’s dungeons instead of her family, her sister, and the warm home she’d grown up in. The devastation of waking up had nearly paralyzed her with guilt, so spending a day in bed trying to lock it down had been a relief.

When Merrick barged in, she’d been sitting with the balcony doors open, listening to the roaring storm and relishing the biting cold that kept her mind from wandering.

Lessia was grateful he hadn’t questioned what she was doing. The Fae had only waved for her to follow him.

Trailing her eyes over his thick winter leathers, she wondered what other missions the king had him undertake in Ellow. She sighed as she nearly lost sight of him around a spiraling bend of the staircase and made her tired legs take two stairs at a time.

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