Page 35 of Invidia

It was… smooth. We’d never done anything like this. Our trysts had been secret and the barest of barebones—we’d basically had the ground, some shadows, and whatever cleanup supplies Evrin had shoved in his bag that day.

And I’d loved it.

Evrin flicked his floppy hair out of his eyes, and the motion made my heart do something stupid. Intellectually, I was over him. I’d decided to be. I was a strong, independent woman, and I didn’t want to be hung up on him any longer. Unfortunately, my heart rudely wasn’t playing ball with the prescribed timeline I’d given it.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Evrin said lightly. “He finds himself indisposed on account of him being a massive prick.”

“Evrin! Did you do something to him?”

“That would be most unlike me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I merely had a conversation with him, in which I ascertained that he was a massive prick, and his intentions toward you were dishonorable, and I suggested he find somewhere else to be tonight.”

I narrowed my eyes, taking a sip of my wine. Though, in all honesty, if that was what had happened, then I couldn’t find it in myself to be mad.

“How did you even find out about it?”

Evrin took a sip of his own drink, apparently choosing not to answer that question. It had to be Damen—the two of them had been friendly at dinner.

“I guess, if Tavaris’s intentions were dishonorable, that I’m glad you’re here and not him,” I mumbled into my goblet.

“It’s not my intention to make you uncomfortable, Tallulah,” Evrin said solemnly. “If you’d prefer that I leave now, I absolutely will.”

Did I want that?

The battle between my head and my heart continued to rage on, but when Evrin was sitting right there in front of me—looking outrageously good—my head didn’t stand a chance.

“Stay.”

Chapter 13

Stay.

I did my best not to read into it, but it was a struggle. Even if it was only because I was a better—or at least, safer—option than Tavaris. I would be having words with Damen after this about how these candidates were being determined, because I strongly felt that a greater level of discernment was required.

“How much did you know about Tavaris prior to sitting down at this table?” I asked, suspecting I already knew the answer.

“His name.” Tallulah’s cheeks went pink. “And that he has a nice house? Not that I care about that,” she added quickly. “That information was just made available to me.”

I grunted in irritation. Not that Tavaris was rich—he was. He’d recently inherited an impressive estate and was presumably in the market for heirs, which was undoubtedly why he’d insisted on being on this ridiculous list in the first place. But that simply wasn’t enough information for Tallulah to be provided with.

Unfortunately, I was a nobody and my opinion was worth less than nothing, so I doubted the queen would take it well if I voiced that.

“What did you say to him to get him to stay away?”

“Merely that I would be here.” My presence was usually plenty of a deterrent to keep Shades away.

Tallulah looked at me warily over the rim of her goblet, as if trying to figure out what it was about me that was terrifying. It was wrong of me not to explain it, not to lay out in detail that I wasn’t scary, I was repulsive—but my ego wouldn’t let me say the words out loud.

“Is that something you intend to keep doing?” Tallulah asked mildly.

“Yes. If these suitors of yours have got any sort of spine to speak of, they shouldn’t have a problem telling me where to go,” I groused, immediately squashing the desperate, primal instinct to pull Tallulah into my arms and remind her who she belonged to.

I didn’t have that right.

But it was made exponentially harder when Tallulah’s scent sweetened, a hint of desire mingled in with her pleasure at that answer.

---