Page 50 of Feathers and Thorns

“Fine,” she grumbled, smoothing out her hair. “But I don’t trust him, and neither should you.”

Soren gave her a serious look. “I don’t, but we may need him. He knows our enemy better than any of us, and we would be stupid not to use that knowledge.”

“Fine,” she said again, stalking toward the door. “But we’re keeping him on a short leash. And Rook”—Enara turned her attention directly on him—“if you hurt her again, I will flay the skin from your body piece by piece and feed it to the wolf dogs.”

Rook chuckled to himself as she slammed the door behind her. “Your friend has quite the way with words.”

Soren turned and smacked him hard on his bare shoulder. “You didn’t need to go and rile her up. If you haven’t forgotten, you’re the one who needs to earn our trust, not the other way around.”

She sighed heavily and rubbed her hands down her tired face. She was still exhausted from all the revelations from last night and had fallen asleep against Rook’s shoulder. Sometime in the night, he had lifted her fully onto the bed and covered her in the blanket. He had intended to sleep in the small reading chair by the hearth but, in her sleeping, drunk state, she had beckoned him to lay with her. She vaguely remembered him crawling in beside her, the heat of his skin pressing into her back, and him wrapping his arms around her waist.

“You’re going to hate me in the morning, little bird,” he’d whispered against the nape of her neck.

“I already do,” she’d replied and pulled him closer.

It had been the first time a man had ever stayed in her bed without sex being involved. Even so, the men she had bedded only stayed the night when they were too liquored to make it home safely. She hadn’t wanted to give anyone false hope that they would share breakfast in the morning, but she also hadn’t wanted to be responsible for someone’s son getting lost in the woods and eaten by some wild animal.

Even back at the manor, Rook had always slipped out before she’d woken, seeming to understand the invisible boundaries of their “relationship.” But she had to admit that, for the first time in a long time, a man other than her father had made her feel safe.

She clasped her mother’s ring that still hung on the chain around her neck. She hadn’t taken it off since that day back in Thorncrest. It was a miracle she hadn’t lost it in the lake.

“Soren?” Saoirse called from the door. “Soren, are you awake?”

Before she could get to the door, Saoirse turned the handle and walked on in, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline when she noticed Rook, who was still perched at the end of the bed.

“Does nobody understand doorway etiquette in this province?” he asked, rolling his eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company,” Saoirse said, addressing Soren.

“It’s fine. What did you need?”

“The king has sent for you.”

“Okay, we just need to change, and we will be right down.”

Saoirse nodded and gave her a quick hug before exiting the room. “Don’t forget to say goodbye before you head back to Edras Mora.”

“I won’t,” Soren replied then turned back to face the man who had her in constant emotional turmoil. “You should go.”

“And I was so hoping I could stay and watch the show,” he said, his eyes shining.

Soren rolled her eyes. She knew he was kidding, but it did seem kind of silly to kick him out when he had literally seen every inch of her naked body.

He hopped off the bed and stood toe-to-toe with her, heat radiating off his skin as he looked her up and down.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

“Saving a mental image. You look delectable, and I find myself wishing last night would have gone differently.”

“If you think last night means you’re getting anywhere close to this again,” she said, gesturing to her lady bits, “think again.”

“We’ll see, little bird,” he replied, booping her on the nose before exiting the room, leaving her blinking like a doe in the torchlight. “Meet me in the stables when you’re done,” he called back to her.

“I hate you!” she yelled after him.

“I know!” he yelled back from somewhere down the hall, and she couldn’t help the smile that graced her lips.

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