Page 125 of This Monster of Mine

“You know why,” she said quietly. “You know me.”

“I do.” A strange bleakness laced the words. “From the second you stared up at me at the Robing.”

A ragged breath left her. “I should head upstairs,” she said after a moment.

“Stay.” It wasn’t a demand. He slipped a hand beneath her hair. Tilting her head up, he pressed his thumb against a knot at her neck, easing it in a slow stroke.

A fierce fondness rose above her yearning. “Bribing a Petitor, Kadra?”

With a droll glance, he worked into her shoulder, and she admitted defeat.

“I suppose I can,” she muttered, and his teeth flashed in a warm smile.

Unsure of where to rest, she awkwardly leaned against his shoulder. He cradled the back of her head and brought her into the curve of his neck. His arms tightened, secure as iron. And for the second time in as far as she could remember, she finally felt safe. Cared for. She closed her eyes against the burn of tears and slipped her arms around his chest. This was enough for now. This soft peace would sustain her another day.

As the seconds passed, she felt him relax in slow increments, his heartbeat dwindling to a sedate pace that her pulse unconsciously followed. The cares of the city beyond their walls faded.

As her eyes drooped, she felt him stroke her hair. A hoarse breath sawed out of him when she curled into his neck. Between one breath and the next, the world faded to midnight.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

What roused her wasn’t the twitter of songbirds or the crick in her neck, but the ray of evening sun piercing through the curtains to arrow into her eye. Scowling, Sarai shifted against the blanket wrapped around her and froze as theblanketmoved as well.

Flushing to the roots of her hair, she disentangled herself from the crook of Kadra’s shoulder. At some point in the night, he had slightly slumped to the left, still holding her across his lap, a muscled forearm locked around her waist.

He looked younger, features relaxed in sleep. Stubble laced his jaw and cheeks and her heart gave way at the picture he made, painted in the sun.

“Drenevan.” She tested the syllables out loud.

His mouth curved. She jumped back as Kadra opened an eye and cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Good morning.” His voice was a low burr, even more spectacular when rough from sleep.

“Good morning,” she stammered, looking left, then right, then left again in the vain hope of finding anything that could assuage her embarrassment. That quest proving futile, she jackknifed to her feet and swallowed at his completely undone robe in the daylight. A valley of tanned skin freckled with curling hair trailing past his abdomen lay open for her perusal. She immediately fled from his study to the rough music of his laughter.

Hiding until he’d left for work, she paced his study, formulating and reformulating until a maneuver with a chance of success began to coalesce.If she cast enough doubt on the testimony of Aelius’s witnesses, then she could extricate herself from thecalumniacharge and preempt Aelius’s no-confidence vote. It was all she had if Telmar didn’t show.

Hours passed, and he didn’t. The weight on her chest grew heavier.

As the day drew to a close, she quietly gave up. There was no point thinking about what his refusal to show meant for her. Dressing, she paid meticulous heed to her appearance. Polishing her boots and weaving her hair into a sleek braid, she eyed her grim-faced reflection.

I won’t be whipped to death, she tried to convince herself.I’ll be back here tonight.This isn’t the end.

But when she left Aoran Tower at sunset, it was with a thousand fervent prayers to the uncaring gods above.

Dusk was still new to the sky above the Aequitas. The audience buzzed, crammed into every nook of the court, roars of excitement rising when she entered the stage to mark the beginning of the trial.

Sarai bowed low. Just as many had shown up today as for the Robing. It wasn’t every day that a Petitor had to prove their decisions at the land’s highest court.

On the opposite end of the stage, the Tetrarchy assembled on the long dais to thunderous applause. Kadra seemed unperturbed, but a pale-faced Cassandane wet her lips, hands clenched on the arms of her seat. Aelius and Tullus were the image of composed serenity.

When Aelius raised a hand for silence, Sarai grit her teeth at the familiar scroll in his hand.The warrant.That he hadn’t filed it yet indicated he was giving her until the end to recant on the scuta and ruin Kadra.

“Many of you are aware of this case,” Aelius noted. “A month ago, Metals Guildmaster Helvus was murdered by former Guildmaster Admia. However, rather than be given justice, he was humiliated in his domus as he died and accused of purposefully manufacturing faulty scuta by the Petitor before us.”

The onlookers had never sounded more divided. Jeering originated from some seats, the occupants sporting the colorful robes and crests ofGuildmasters. Yet there were just as many raucous cheers from those of Edessa’s social classes who had little love for the Metals Guild.

She prepared to defend herself when Aelius’s smile turned sly.

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