Page 132 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

“Maybe I do.”

I shake my head. “You just have to babysit me again and want to go.”

When he says nothing, I look back to him, a strange pain echoing through my whole body. One that makes me long for my bed. For my sheets. Makes me want to slip under them and hide from the world.

“Can’t it be both?” he asks finally, as unfazed and melodious as ever.

I suddenly envy him for it, all of them, for their fae hearts and fae looks, all as unbreakable as stone, laughing about a mortal like me and my silly mortal feelings.

“It can, but it’s not,” I state dryly.

“We can pretend,” he counters.

“Sure. I can be a pretty slave for one night and then happily go back to being an ordinary slave tomorrow.” He brushes an invisible fleck of dust off his black shirt before his eyes survey me again.

“It’s entirely up to you whether you want to attend as an ordinary slave, although I’d much prefer you in something more exquisite. You’re going to be with me, after all,” he says, flashing me a cold grin that makes me all the more aware of how common I look compared to him. Not even the most beautiful dress will change that.

“Yeah, you know what—I don’t want to go. Just have some guards watch my room, I promise I won’t break any more wards, or try to run.” I turn away but he grabs my wrist.

“Maybe Iwantyou by my side tonight.”

I let out a snort. “All thosemaybes. You don’t.”

He lets go of me and I turn away.

He says to my back, “A pity. I’m not allowed to leave you unsupervised, and I’d really hate to ask Kyrith to look after you tonight.”

I swivel and glower at him. He just lets out a chuckle. Bastard.

“Just as I thought. I see you later, my little darling. Oh, and I think you’re going to love the dress I had made for you.”

He turns on his heel and strides elegantly away. Before he reaches the door, I pick the brush from the floor and hurl it at him.

He stops but doesn’t stir as it hits the wall mere inches from his head.

“You know, you could at least have the decency to turn around when someone throws something at you,” I seethe as he just walks on as if nothing ever happened.

He pauses and glances over his shoulder. His eyes glisten with dark amusement that somehow only makes it worse. “Why would I, when I heard you aim to miss?”

“Because I’m a human and can’t aim?”

He looks genuinely surprised. “No. I can only speculate about your motivations, but I do like to think because you didn’t wish to.”

“Maybe I did,” I say, still furious.

“Maybe, but unlikely, since your dagger had no problem finding Kyrith’s shoulder, am I right? I do look forward to later tonight, Melody.”

Then he’s out the door.

***

Nidaw enters later, slipping into the bathroom while I steam in the soothing waters, only to dress me in something totally different from what all the other servants are wearing. It’s a loose dress made of silk, soft and semi-sheer, stitched with golden ornaments that hide my body just so, and so light on my skin that I feelnaked. It hangs loose on me, only held by two pins at my shoulders, and cut so deeply at the back that I blush as I look at myself in the mirror.

The dress—it has the confidence of a seductress and the lightness of a nightgown.

I cannot,will notwear it. I catch Nidaw’s gaze, shaking my head at the siren. “I can’t wear this.”

“You look breathtaking in it,” Nidaw says with a questioning tilt of her head. “Lord Riven had it made especially for you.”

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