Page 83 of The Beast King's Bride

“What about?”

“What do you think? I’m in this strange place where everything seems to be upside down and have to guess every time what I’m supposed to do, what this curse is about… I mean, I can’t even say that your eyes are blue like the evening sky because the sky is pink!”

He stares at me. “You were thinking of my eyes?”

“I… didn’t mean…” Heat rises in my face and I look resolutely away from said eyes. “No. Definitely not.”

“You were.” He’s grinning now. “You were thinking of me.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” I sniff.

“You’re attracted to me.”

“Not the word I’d use.”

“Then what word would you use?” He grabs my hand, hauls me to him. His eyes blaze blue, trained on my mouth, his lips are parted. “Ash…”

He spins us slowly in a circle in front of the fire, and I swear I hear music on the air, a faint melody. He’s gazing down at me, sparks dancing in his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. Another gentle spin and I feel dizzy, drunk on his scent, on the feel of his arms around me, the fact that he’s holding me again.

Being so close to him is the sweetest torture. I want to kiss him, put my hands all over that powerful body but I still don’t know what my role in this story really is, what is expected of me, and even though I understand now that it’s not up to him to tell me, it still makes me hesitate.

So I take a step back and wipe my hands down on my gown. “I’m not done thinking.”

“About me?”

“About the curse and your world and why you brought me here.”

“You think too much,” he says rather sharply.

I take a step back. “Don’t be an ass. That’s not for you to decide.”

He jerks as if I’ve slapped him.

A breathless silence has fallen between us, taut and full of unspoken words. He looks expectant, but I don’t know what to say. I should apologize, I know that, at least for calling him an ass, but before I’ve managed to formulate something appropriate, he turns away.

“I should get ready for the patrol,” he says quietly. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”

I can’t even tell if he’s being sarcastic. He sounds sincere and it twists the knife in my heart.

“Talen…”

“I’m sorry you’re here against your will,” he goes on. “If you want to leave now, return to your world, know that I won’t stop you.”

He’s letting me go free.

And now, given the freedom to choose… what will I do?

The king doesn’t send for me in the days that follow. I wait for him to invite me to lunch or dinner, to ask Jassin to request my presence, but Jassin only shakes his head when I ask him.

He says things are bad in the land, that the king is terribly busy trying to contain the damage, to push back the monsters ravaging the countryside during the daytime, and in the palace during the night. Some of the guards have died, he says, and he looks so bleak I don’t know what to reply, how to comfort him.

“Focus on your lessons,” he tells me, “learn your letters. It’s important.”

Is it, though? Compared to being with Talen?

His cousin, Sheedra, gives him a strained smile. Everyone in the palace looks strained these days.

“How can I help?” I ask. “Tell me how to help.”

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