Page 109 of The King is Dead
“That’s not fair.”
“None of this is fair. Including your reticence to hurt this man with the truth!”
I sighed. “I was never reluctant once you were willing to take the crown. We only delayed to suityou.”
“A decision I now regret. But I will rectify it. Right now.” Then he turned on his heel and started towards the door, straightening his clothing and rebuckling his belt.
“Melek! You’re not going to tell him—I am!”
“Fine, then come with me.”
“No! I mean—yes, I will go. But you stay here. Let me talk to him—”
“Not on your fucking life. I’m not leaving you alone with him, not after that,” he said, looking back over his shoulder and pointing at the letter in my hand.
I wanted to stamp my foot. “Would you juststopstorming around and listen to me?!”
Melek stopped dead. He was almost to the door, but he took a deep breath, then turned to face me, his arms folded, and waited.
I sighed. “I’m notgoing to humiliate him. You can walk me there, and you can wait outside. But I’m having this conversation with him alone. I’m not going to make him face you like some smug, sexy angel of retribution, grinning while he gets his heart broken!”
Melek arched one brow. “Grinning and… sexy?”
“You know what I mean,” I muttered.
“I do—and yet you wound me. I would never besmugunless he grew disrespectful of you. But he has already proven that he thinks it’s his right to step into your life—and your bedchamber. I am taking no risks with this man.”
I wanted to slap him. I wanted to claw the hair out of my head. But thankfully Melek didn’t start for the door again, he just tilted his head and watched me.
“I don’t want to argue with you,” I muttered.
“Good. I much prefer being seen as the sexy angel rather than the irritating one.”
“Oh, you’re definitely both.” He wasn’t supposed to grin at that. I sighed. “But that’s not the—”
“Wait,” he said quietly, his brows knitting together in a frown. “You said Angel… Whatwasit that scared you out there?”
I swallowed hard. “When Turo was debasing himself, I looked for you. But it wasn’t you I found.”
He frowned harder. “What did you find?”
“The Fallen,” I said quietly. “He was standing behind all of you, wings out, and he… he spoke to me in my head.”
“What?!”
“He was laying claim to me.”
Melek stared, raking a hand through his hair, muttering curses under his breath. “What the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know, but Turo thinks I was afraid ofyou,and that means the others will as well.”
Melek nodded. “I took advantage of the chaos, but I saw some of them watching me and…”
“This is why you have to let me handle this, Melek. They need to hear from me that you are not—”
But Melek held up both his hands to stop me, as if he was surrendering. I cut off as he sighed heavily.
“I don’t want to argue with you.” He rubbed his face and a small shiver rippled down his spine, then he looked at me grimly. “But I’m going too.”
