Page 114 of The Poison Daughter
“Poison,” I finish.
He nods.
“That’s why I can kiss you.” I look up and blow out the breath that’s been trapped in my chest. “There’s nothing wrong with my magic.”
I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but my relief is so profound, I can’t help it.
Henry arches a brow. “You thought you were moving miles of vampire-infested forest from home, with a man who hates you, while your magic wasn’t working?”
“Yes.”
He whistles low. “You’re braver than I thought.”
I shrug a shoulder. “Or more reckless.”
He smirks. “Or just a complete idiot.”
I’m too shocked he’s making a joke right now not to laugh. “Did you think that’s what I would be? A pretty idiot?”
He smiles sheepishly.
“You must be pretty Divine-damned disappointed.”
He laughs, and it’s a real laugh. He looks relieved for the lightness, but my skin itches. I can’t get out of this room and away from the uncomfortable intimacy soon enough. He probably thinks I’ll feel indebted by the secrets he’s shared, but I just want to run.
There’s a knot in my throat threatening to choke me. “I’m sorry about your sister,” I rasp.
I’m surprised by how much I mean it. I know what it’s like to watch someone dear to you slip away. I think of Aidia’s face in bed beside me the night before I left the city. I can’t imagine what I would do if I lost her. Just like I can’t imagine that he would let it go if he blames my family for what happened. He lost the sister he loved—and hedied.
Then, there’s the matter of all the different ways he’s been killed. I may have finally trapped myself in the one mess I can’t kiss my way out of—an indestructible husband.
If I marry him tomorrow, I won’t have any escape.
An involuntary shudder ripples through me.
This sham marriage is so much more than I bargained for. I need to send a message to Kellan. I need Gaven to help me find a way out of here. I need at least three more creative ways to kill a man.
“Well, I appreciate you telling me, and I won’t share that withanyone. I feel quite refreshed and I’d like to go back to my room now,” I say as I turn away from him and press up to stand.
Henry’s gasp startles me. I freeze, standing on the ledge. I know what he’s seen, and I can’t believe my stupidity. My desire to escape left me exposed. I entered into this nude game of daring with him without considering that he might see the thing I’ve managed to keep hidden from everyone for years through carefully selected dresses and clothing that covers it up.
I meet his gaze over my shoulder. His eyes are narrowed and his jaw clenched.
“A gentleman would avert his eyes.”
His gaze lingers on my scars. “You’re to be my wife.”
“So you have a right to my body?” I ask, venom creeping into the words.
I’m mortified by the fury and pity in his eyes.
“Of course not. I thought—” He swallows. “I’m sorry. You were so comfortable in the library that I assumed and I shouldn’t have. I can leave and you can pull the string over there when you’re done and I will come lead you back to your room.”
We stand there, staring at each other over the water. The candlelight reflects off the surface. It casts an eerie glow on his face and stretches his shadow tall and strange on the wall behind him.
“Who did that to you?” he asks.
“Did what?”
