Page 149 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
As our little group walked back to the house, my mind raced with too many questions in the stillness surrounding us.
“What’s going on with Kaya?” I whispered to Adara, who strode next to me with that calm confidence of hers.
“She has a lot of pressure on her,” Adara said, though her voice had a weird chill in it. “She does what she thinks she can. Hard to have a conscience in that family.”
“I’m worried about her.” Kaya had looked depleted. If she was that ill, why drag her to such a public event?
“Worry about yourself.” Adara gave me a knowing look. “Kaya doesn’t have a target on her back.”
A bigger target, as of tonight.
“They’ve missed me so far,” I said with a courage I didn’t feel.
“All it takes is one good strike.”
“Don’t worry, Your Grace. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Leesa puffed up her chest. “Goose and I will decipher the scrolls. I can unwrap them, but he’s better at old tongues.”
“I’m sure Goose is very adept at tongues. He just needs to practice more,” Adara said.
I covered my laugh with a cough as Goose went absolutely red in the face.
Leesa frowned her small blonde eyebrows up at him. “What does that mean? I can help you practice your ancient languages if you want.”
Adara huffed a laugh; it was good to see her more relaxed. She’d been wound up tight for weeks. “Oh, he does, trust me.”
“I’m really grateful to you both for helping,” I interjected before I started laughing so hard I couldn’t stop; the hectic energy from meeting the Oracle still coursed through me, begging to be released. Poor Goose had just stopped stuttering when Leesa was around him. “I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job, especially together. Goose has helped me out in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”
“I heard,” Adara grumbled beside me.
Goose cleared his throat. “It was my pleasure, Your Grace.”
“You were very brave,” I said to Goose and looked pointedly at Adara. “Andthe only one who knew how the Archives worked. No point in risking more lives.”
Adara tightened her lips, but said nothing further. I didn’t either. There was still a gap between us that needed to be stitched, but things were calmer.
Tonight, no guards waited at my fence. A rush of excitement raced through me. Excitement?
“That’s trouble,” Adara whispered, right hand already reaching for her knives.
“No, that’s a message.” Zandyr’s velvet voice echoed from behind.
I turned around as if pulled by that same invisible string. Now I understood the sudden thrill pulsing inside. Zandyr hadn’t been there a second before. Fast as the wind, this one.
He leaned against one of the statues, one leg bent and arms crossed in front of his chest, the perfect image of power and grace. But his face–it radiated victory. Whatever had happened tonight filled him with the cool confidence of a conqueror.
He pushed himself away from the statue and the shadows, prowling toward me. There was a message in his darkening gaze, too. A hunger, completely honed on me.
“Forgive the interruption.” He stopped in front of me, inhaling deeply, as if he wanted to imprint my scent into his brain. Heat rose up in my cheeks; I must’ve been as red as Goose now. “I came to steal you away.”
Not taking his eyes off me, he nodded at the others. Adara shuffled away with Leesa and Goose, leaving the two of us alone with this delicious tension.
My heart pattered. Gods, the air around us had heated up fast. “Again?”
“Worked out well the first time, didn’t it, menace?” His voice was molten desire, drawing me closer.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Then I need to be on my best behavior,” he said playfully. He was in the best mood I’d ever seen him in. “Wouldn’t want you having second thoughts so close to the wedding.”
