Page 119 of Between Fear and Favor

If I hadn’t seen the portrait of Kennon, I might have wondered if this man was Emmeline’s father, given the apparent love he had for the woman who had faked her death and caused another.

“She thought this place was god-touched,” he murmured, and as Elora and Thyra pried the door open, I could see why. The sun broke through the canopy above us, shining down on just the door.

“Cyran, come here,” Elora said, and I used my shadows to create a ramp over the weeds and bramble. I walked across it with ease, and Elora glared at me.

“Show off,” she mumbled, and then grabbed my hand.

“I expect you to check me for ticks after this,” I said, using my shadows to untwist the vines and clear our way forward into the walled garden.

“Of course,” Elora cooed. “Would you like some warm milk and a story before bed too, darling boy?”

I merely grunted as I ducked beneath the branches. She followed after me, and Thyra was close behind. The warrior woman muttered a curse in her language, and I couldn’t blame her.

The four stone walls weren’t visible behind all the brush and vines, and I could barely make out a stone bench beneath the twining plants. But it wasn’t the overgrowth which inspired awe. My mouth dropped open as I took in the hundreds of roses in bloom.

Because this wasn’t an ordinary rose garden, whose plants would bloom closer to summer. These were winterfrost roses. With their deep red petals and silver tips, even I knew they were a rarity. And here, Lady Highclere had grown more than I’d ever seen in my life. Thananyonehad likely seen in their life. And even without her presence over the last decade, they’d thrived. Wild and untamed, they’d reclaimed the earth, creating this storybook secret garden.

I didn’t hear Elora’s whispered words at first, until she repeated them, squeezing my hand for emphasis.

“Bloom of the betrayer.”

Chapter 52

DEWALT

“Dewalt,”Nor whispered. “I think I hear someone.”

I pried my eyes open even as I tugged her closer. She’d shifted in her sleep, rolling onto her stomach, and I’d moved into the spaces she’d left behind as if she’d pulled me with her. She was warm, and I pressed a sleepy kiss to her spine. The faint light of morning spilled through the hole in the roof, bathing her in gold, and I let myself pretend for a moment.

“I doubt it. Go back to sleep,” I said, pressing my cheek against her skin. I didn’t regret our night together, but I knew it shouldn’t happen again. I knew, for my own gods damned sanity, Icouldn’tlet it happen again. I’d been a gods damned fool to think I’d be able to separate whatever the fuck it was I felt for her from anything physical.

Nor had become so many different things to me, and I owed it to myself to treat it with respect. It wasn’t very dignified to pant after her and take whatever scraps she gave me while she figured out who she was without the Myriad. I had no intention of ruining that for her, so I’d keep Lucia’s secrets behind lock and key, protecting Nor from their implications.

But I’d learned one very important thing as I’d memorized every sigh, every gasp, every sound Nor had made: Lucia’s curse had lifted, and my heart was raw and aching for someone else.

Nor wriggled, and I nearly hissed at her. It was one thing to wake up with her in my arms, skin against skin, after a night of exploration—no, not exploration. It was something else. Something bigger. Regardless, I didn’t want to alert her to just how much me and my dick wanted her. Not this morning, anyway. “Stop wiggling that tight little ass, Nor.”

A sharp intake of breath which could have been shock over my words or titillation over their context was the only warning I got before she adjusted, aiming her elbow for my ribs.

“Someone is whistling!” she whispered. “Are your ears connected to your…to your…” She trailed off, and shoved me with her elbow once more. “Whenthatis working, does nothing else?”

I snorted, but quieted myself to listen for this mysterious whistler. “Thatcan make things distracting, yes, but no one is whistling. You must have dreamt it.”

“I don’t think?—”

“There’s a few words for it besides ‘that’,” I said. “I prefer cock or dick or even enorm?—”

“Walt! Be quiet!” And then her elbow flew at me once more. I caught it, using the opportunity to lurch forward and press a kiss against the softest part of her neck.

But then I heard what she had. Faintly, a melody I was surprised Nor didn’t mistake for birdsong soared through the morning air.

“Get dressed,” I said, scrambling out from between the furs as the whistling grew far too loud, far too fast. The fantasy I’d allowed myself to slip into was over, and reality had come knocking in the form of my sister. I’d had a single taste of Nor, and it hadn’t been nearly enough.

“What is it?” she asked, sitting upright as I scrambled for my pants. The sun caressed her skin, shining on her tangled hair and pouring down her chest. She held the furs over her, and thank the gods she did, because I was rendered silent as it was. I committed the sight of her to memory—tousled and drowsy—certain I wouldn’t see it again.

“Little brother,” Saski called in a sing-song voice, and Nor’s eyes widened as she tugged the blanket tighter around her.

“You have a sister?” Nor asked, turning to look for her clothes, only to find them wadded up from the night before. We hadn’t properly laid them out, and my mouth watered when I thought about why.

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