Page 35 of Hopeless Kingdom
His steps stalk closer to me. My eyes never leave his as I mentally calculate how many paces I’d need to reach the knights sword.
Three.
One if I flung myself.
In this moment, I feel a little like the rabbit who taunted the wolf one too many times.
I insisted we be alone. I used this persona to lure him here, to twist his perception of me into something of trust and power.
The narrow span of his thin chest brushes my arm as he lowers his head down to mine.
“I prayed for you,” he says on a confessional whisper that fans across my tightly strung neck. There’s something dark within the king. I feel it radiating off of him like the ancient and abandoned magic that pollutes this earth. “My mother said if I gave up all that I loved then the world would be returned to me. That I would be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams.” Long fingers toy with the ends of my hair.
I wish I knew exactly how I get myself into these situations. How did a lonely thief end up sharing a bed with two mythical fae men every night? How’d that same thief become the obsession of the most powerful mortal man in this country? How the hell did they all let me become the Eminence with zero reference checks?
Brilliant fucking stupidity is all I can blame.
I stupidly fell into this all in the most brilliant of ways.
My hips sway as I slip out of his touch and trail my fingers along the books, circling back to the door. He watches me as I give him coy glances from beneath my long lashes. Cautiously I hide the fear that’s pounds through my heart. He simply stares with a demanding yearning in his bright eyes.
“You haven’t gotten me yet, my King,” I say in an all too promising whisper just before I walk out of the room.
I walk out knowing I have only one chance to escape this kingdom; on the supposed seventh eve of the full moon.
Chapter Twelve
The Numbness
The four of us lounge in my room. Ryder leans against the wall just near the door, he pins me with a hard stare but no one utters a single word.
Daxdyn continues to lie on my bed like a toddler exhausted from a hard day while Darrio sits in a loveseat that appears too small for his large frame. I slip into bed next to Daxdyn and trail my palm down his forearm. Twisting covers lay in a mess between him and me but it doesn’t stop the apparent sadness I feel radiating off of him. His face is tilted into the hook of his arm and he seems to be asleep but I doubt he truly is.
I’ve noticed when he’s left alone for hours he sinks back into himself; into whatever consuming darkness resides within him.
“What happened during your meeting, your Eminence?” Ryder’s teasing tone breaks the silence and I pull my gaze away from Daxdyn.
The hard headboard meets the back of my hair as I tip my head up to look at the swirling lines on the ceiling.
“I’m not sure really.” I suppose I am but what if nothing comes of it? What if, in two days’ time, we’re all still prisoners of the Kingdom of Juvar?
“You’re not sure?”
Gods above is the exiled prince really good at repeating everything I say.
Let’s see just how much he likes his little taunting games.
“Did you know she was your brother’s wife?”
My tongue sweeps across my lips as I lower my gaze to him. His eyes shine with a knowing look. He feels the provoking tone of my voice, I can see it in his eyes.
He pushes his hands into his pockets. It’s a stance I’m becoming familiar with, but I don’t know what it means. Slowly, his teeth rake over his lower lip and I wonder if he’ll answer my question at all.
“Yes.”
Darrio tips his head to the side to look at his friend. Even Daxdyn shifts uneasily but he doesn’t move from his comfortable spot.
“Why did you start a relationship with your brother’s wife?” My eyes narrow on him.
