Page 110 of Of Sword & Silver

“I’m not.” I toss my hair.

“Pretty little liar,” he says, trapping a curl and winding it around his finger.

My heart skips a beat, and it has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with how badly I want this man.

“You told me,” he drawls, “that you didn’t want me near you until we finished this thing here tonight.”

“Right.” I nod decisively, my voice giving me away by cracking. “No distractions.”

The Sword grins at that, so unbelievably handsome in his silver-shot black clothes and silver mask that I doubt anyone would think he’s human.

He’s never been further from human than he is right now, bathed in starlight and fire, his dark eyes gleaming from behind his mask.

“No distractions,” I repeat, and he smiles down at me like he knows I’m saying it for my own benefit.

“As far as I remember, I am the one providing the distraction tonight.”

“And I’m the worm on the hook,” I tell him.

I don’t mention my misgivings about Dario, but he leans closer, like he senses them anyhow. “Kyrie. Look at me.”

I do, of course I do, because for some reason, this male is impossible for me to resist, same as that damned chalice I drank from, and he holds my gaze.

“You can do this. You will do this. I believe in you.”

My chest tightens, an aching warmth spreading through it that has nothing to do with the curse’s progression in my lungs and everything to do with the way he’s looking at me like I’ve hung the moon itself.

“Besides,” he says, pulling me closer into his side. “You’re the loveliest worm I’ve ever seen.”

I laugh out loud, a barking noise that turns into a cough. I glance back at Caedia once it finally subsides, but she just shakes her head.

I’ve had as many of her potions as she can give me—safely, that is—already today.

I square my shoulders, and the entrance to Alaric’s palace—where I once made my home—looms ahead.

“Here we go,” I say quietly.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for me, personally.

And if I believe everything Lara’s said, then there’s more riding on this crime than I can fathom.

“You know… is it really a crime if you’re stealing from a criminal?” I murmur to the Sword.

“Yes,” Morrow says from behind me. “It is.”

“Are you sure, though?” I ask him, batting my eyelashes. “Really, really sure?”

Lojad’s knight laughs, a booming noise that catches the attention of nearly everyone in the snow-dusted courtyard.

Good.

I pull the hood of the white velvet cloak down a little bit, letting my red curls shine against the fabric.

The whispers begin nearly immediately.

The first part of my plan is in full swing.

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