Page 81 of A Court So Dark
He cast a glance around the garden. “I’m sure the specimens here are unlike anything you’re used to.”
“You are correct.” I followed his gaze to a bush with perfectly round leaves.
“Many wouldn’t consider this garden beautiful, and I would call them shortsighted. There is no beauty in useless things, and there’s nothing useless about any of these plants. Each one of them has a use. Some heal, some inebriate, others kill, like that bush we just saw.”
“Fascinating.” And it really was. I knew a lot about plants and their many attributes. My knowledge could be called extensive by many, but I’d never seen any of the specimens found here. They drove my curiosity to no end.
“It seems you have a true affinity to plants,” Mythorne said, noticing my interest.
Kryn hadn’t mentioned anything about his sister liking plants, so I needed to tread carefully.
I made a noncommittal gesture with my hand. “Anything can hold my attention when expressed with such zeal. You’ve managed to make me very curious.” I added the last bit in an insinuating tone.
Our gazes locked and held. I smiled and took a step closer.
He made a disproving sound in the back of his throat. “We better keep our distance, my lady. We wouldn’t want your father growing angry.”
“I never took you for a male preoccupied with propriety.”
“I am when it pertains to the female I might marry.”
Behind Mythorne, the slightest movement of a shadow caught my eye. It slithered over the ground, so quickly that I might’ve missed it if I’d blinked.
Kalyll?
Once he moved closer, I became certain it was him. I felt him in my bones as if they were made of iron, and he was a magnet.
I shook myself and forced my attention back to Mythorne. “I am glad to hear you are considering me.”
“Are you, really? My court is not the best place for someone like you. I would think you would hate coming here.”
I leaned down to look closer at a flowering plant in front of us. I pretended to examine it, and when I glanced up I caught Mythorne admiring my boobs… well, Mylendra’s boobs. They were substantial, bigger than mine. I hadn’t gotten used to them.
“If you do not think I’m tough enough,” I said, “you must not know much about my father.”
“Oh, I know enough. You may think yourself hardened, but you are as soft as the first rays of morning light. I’m afraid there may be no room for that here.”
“You forget that light is insidious,” I retorted, walking closer and pretending to examine the plants.
He casually walked backward, keeping the distance between us steady. I did my best to hide my frustration, but this was getting ridiculous. Maybe he was a germaphobe, and that was why he had so many plants that could heal… just in case he caught some deadly virus. Honestly, at this point, a biological agent seemed like a much better weapon than me.
How long would it take to gain his trust? Days? Weeks? We did not have enough time or potion for that. His troops were already at the Winter Court and would be joined by the Fall Court regiment. And what then? What orders would they receive from their commander?
Would they immediately move on to attack Imbermore, Jeondar’s beautiful home? It was the closest opposing court. And even if the Spring Court rose to the occasion and joined Jeondar’s father, would they be strong enough to hold three armies back?
“And what of me?” The Unseelie King asked, gesturing toward his face.
“What of you?”
I acted as if I didn’t know what he meant. He was not a good-looking male by any stretch of the imagination, on the contrary. He was way too thin, and his hook nose made him look like a malnourished parrot. Though it wasn’t only his discordant features that made him unattractive. There was more to it. The windows to his soul told me he was far uglier inside. Despite the manners and diplomacy he had shown so far, his gaze swirled with malice, the kind that knew no bounds and rejoiced at the suffering of others.
He blew air through his nose and ignored my question. “I must admit. I am intrigued by you, Lady Goren. You don’t shy away the way most females do in my presence. You hold my gaze and talk with confidence. Even people who have known me for a long time are unable to do that much.”
“Are you trying to scare me, King Mythorne?”
“Scare you?”
“Yes. You are saying that even those you allow to keep on living fear you.”
