Page 90 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
His breaths ghosted after me.
I jumped toward the next beam, hands gripping on tight. My raw knuckles stung from the strain as I swung my body forward, but my fingers grasped the wood tighter than before. Thank you, Adara.
I twisted my body as I lunged toward the floor. I made sure to land with a soft, audible sigh, before darting right to the carved column up ahead.
Zandyr followed.
He landed with feline grace and sprinted right after me.
Blood pumping wildly in my veins, I scaled up the column, hands and feet digging into the cat heads and snake tails carved into the wood.
Zandyr reached for my foot. I swung it out of reach, only the whisper of his touch gliding across my skin.
His raspy chuckle sent shivers down my spine.
He could have grabbed me if he really wanted to, and we both knew it. Perhaps he was enjoying the game too much.
Big mistake.
One of the first things I’d done after moving in was to explore and map out every inch of this house, roof included.
I squireled myself away in a nook, completely still as my senses heightened. I listened as Zandyr’s breaths came out sharper when he looked up. I smelled his rich, earthy scent as he wandered right underneath my hiding place.
Exactly where I wanted him.
I took off my left shoe and threw it a few feet away, right as I flicked my switchblade open.
Zandyr’s hair swished as he turned toward the noise.
With a grin, I pounced, just like I’d seen Adara do.
There was no way I could exhaust Zandyr to gain the upper hand. But I could distract him enough for one pretend hit.
Just one.
As I launched myself at him, hair swinging around my face, I felt triumphant.
For the briefest moment.
Zandyr turned, staring straight at me with a wide smile, as if he’d been expecting this exact moment. He caught me by the waist straight out of the air, like I weighed less than nothing.
He turned us around until I was trapped between the wall and his strong body. Our erratic breaths mingled together as our heartbeats settled into the same rhythm.
We’d gone through this dance back at my wedding, but everything felt so different now. He was just as powerful, his presence just as menacing, yet I was no longer frightened.
His hold tightened on my hips, hot touch searing through me.
A corner of his lips quirked. “Tricks like that don’t work on me.”
I licked my lips, almost tasting his breath on them. “Will they work on others?”
Because there was no point in splitting my skin open over and over again on the training course if I wasn’t getting any better. Or deadlier. He was one of the best warriors in Malhaven, I didn’t expect to beat him.
I wanted to defend myself against a real assassin.
“Yes,” he said. “You’ll be a true danger in no time.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, my body sagging against his. I didn’t move away. He didn’t let me go.
