Page 29 of Rook of Ruin
There are no glasses, so I take a sip of the sweet wine from the bottle. “How did you find this place?”
“I travel back and forth quite a bit between our kingdoms, and I stumbled upon it.” He holds his hand out for the wine.
“A good surprise then.” I smile as he takes a drink.
“A good surprise.” Simon returns the smile, squints at the lake, and licks a small dollop of mustard off his mouth. We eat and drink in easy silence. He reaches into the basket and pulls out strawberries and soft sweet cream. I watch as he dips the strawberry into the cream, and it explodes as he bites into it. There is something sensual about his mouth, and I find myself staring.
“Simon?” I lick my lips.
“Hmmm?” He turns his head and looks at me while he slowly chews the strawberry.
“How do you do this?”
“Eat strawberries and cream?” Amusement etches across his face.
“No. I mean this.” I wave my arms. “How do you put people so at ease?”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.” He sighs, and his eyes roam my face. “It’s basically . . . There are larger things out there, things I’ve experienced, that make the drama of the court pale in comparison. I can put people at ease because I’m truly at ease in what I consider relatively petty situations.”
I pluck a strawberry, dip it into the cream, and bite down. The contrast of sweet cream and tartness is enough to make me want to groan with delight. “I envy you.”
He snorts. “Don’t.”
“You have traveled, you’re calm under pressure, you enjoy the small things that make life wonderful. In some ways, you remind me of my friend Tess. She would like you, I think.”
“I’m a likable guy.” A small dimple pulls in.
I throw him a look and say, “Debatable.” It makes him grin. “During the . . . in the—” I try to phrase my question correctly. “When you were given two questions, why did you choosethosequestions?”
He squints again and glares at the lake. “You deserved better. I don’t know, O. They needed to see you as a person. Your mind could have answered the love question multiple ways. You could have said your sister, your queen, hells, even a lover.” He shrugs, taking another sip of wine.
“No, you asked if I wasin love withsomeone, not if I love someone.” I give a bitter laugh. “And IwishI had a lover. At least he could take my mind off all this marriage business.” I bite my tongue, pausing to see if he reacts how I hope.
He smirks. “Depends on the lover.”
I laugh. “True, but at least you don’thaveto be with a lover for life.”
Simon doesn’t say anything for a while, allowing my mind to wander until he heaves out a breath. “Do you know what a life debt is?”
I overheard a Crow speaking of life debts to Ralin when I was younger. Life debts are extremely rare. I consider my answer carefully. “It’s where you owe someone your life, correct?”
“Sort of. It’s where you owe someonealife. It might not be yours specifically, and you could owe them anything,” he says slowly, then looks at my brace with curiosity. “In order to create a life debt, one must have great power.”
Interesting.“I assume you owe someone a life debt?”
“I do.” He glances down at his hands. My heart hurts for him.
“I hope when your debt is called in, that life is worthy of saving,” I say softly.
He nods. “I think it is.” Simon plucks some grass and lies back onto the blanket. I do the same.
I want to ask him a million questions, but there’s sharp tension in the air. I decide to truly allow trust to enter my heart. If he wanted to tell me more, he would have. Changing the subject, I blurt out, “Simon, what’s your favorite flower?”
“I’ve always been partial to lavender.” I make a mental note, but he continues, “But I suppose white roses are growing on me.” He makes me smile so much, my face hurts. We watch the clouds go by.
“O, what’s the deal with you and that Rook?”
“Oss—Alec?” A ripple of warmth runs down my spine. “The Spider?”
