Page 27 of Savage Crown

Her lips open, but no sound comes.

I don’t know what possesses me to do it. Maybe it’s the way the candlelight catches the blue of her eyes. Maybe it’s the factthat she saved my life, risked herself when she had nothing to gain.

Or maybe it’s something darker.

My hand shifts, fingers tracing just beneath her jaw, lingering at the delicate line of her throat. I shouldn’t be touching her. I shouldn’t be thinking about how easily I could press my lips to the hollow of her pulse, about the way she hasn’t stepped away.

She does move—just barely, just enough that I think she might pull away.

I tighten my grip.

Not hard. Not demanding. Just enough to make her stay.

Her breath catches. "Rylan?—"

I don’t know what she’s about to say. And I don’t care.

In this moment, I don’t want to listen to her words.

I want to understand why I crave her more than I ever craved Lartina.

I don’t kiss her.

But I don’t step away, either.

The silence stretches, thick with something I don’t want to recognize.

Softly—too softly—I murmur, "You’re not telling me something."

Something by passes on her face and I can’t catch it. What is it? Guilt? Hesitation? Fear?

I hate that I can’t tell.

She swallows, her throat shifting beneath my fingertips. "It’s nothing," she says again.

Another lie. The same one.

I exhale sharply, forcing myself to release her.

She steps back, blinking rapidly, as if clearing something from her mind.

I let her.

But as she moves toward the door, I say, "If you lie to me again, little thief, I won’t be gentle about getting the truth out of you."

She pauses, her back to me.

Without turning, she murmurs, "Neither will I."

The door shuts behind her.

I exhale slowly, running my fingers through my hair.

This was nothing.

It has to be nothing.

If it’s not?—

---