Page 56 of The King of Frost and Shadows

I half laughed, and half choked, especially hearing my actual name roll off his tongue. “Is that aserious question?” I hated that seeing him lifted a weight off me. Some part of me believed that he would do anything to keep me safe, which made me want to stomp and scream. He’d been very clear since the beginning that he planned to kill me. What sort of person was I to develop this false sense of security around him? I’d never considered myself stupid, but now I was questioning everything.

He flinched. “If I’d known—”

Anger warmed my blood, and I welcomed it. I needed something to fight off the cold that had sunk into my bones, especially since I couldn’t get myself into the tub. “What? You would’ve killed me immediately instead of allowing your minions the chance to do it?”

“Blighted abyss!” He clenched his hands. “Do you not realize everything I’ve jeopardized by bringing you to Ardanos?”

I stood, allowing my anger to flow through me without regard. If I was going to die, I’d go out with dignity. “Ididn’t come here, remember?Youkidnapped me, so don’t you dare try to turn this around like I’m inconveniencingyou. You’ve takeneverythingfrom me. My family, my future, and eventually my life.” I needed to push him to kill me now. Not that I wanted to give up my future, but something inside me was changing. I didn’t understand how I knew, but I’d felt a spark when I’d touched Lorne—something foreign and strong. Something I didn’t understand had shifted within me. So I wanted to die asmebefore I became something the Unseelie made me.

“And I regret that I did it.” He ran his hands through his hair, messing it up and making it fall into his stormy gray eyes.

My breath caught. I hadn’t expected him to ever sayanything like that, but his expression had twisted into one of such conflict that my lungs struggled to work.

I remembered something my mom had said more times than I could remember. “Regrets won’t make a difference. Only the decisions we act upon reveal the truth of a person’s character.”

“That sounds like a Seelie saying.” He grimaced. “Always so pompous and righteous, especially when they feel they have the wind beneath their wings.”

Here, it came back to the crux of our issue—Seelie versus Unseelie. So much anger and hate drove him, and the worst part was that I understood that and even felt sympathy toward him. Losing his parents so young had molded him into something I suspected he had never meant to become, and anger and fear ruled his decisions and emotions.

My anger vanished, and I leaned against the wall so I didn’t topple over. “Why come in here just to argue?” Tears burned my eyes. I needed him to leave me alone.

His wings folded behind him, and he hung his head. “My intention was to check on you. I heard you were upset, so I feared something was wrong. I … I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

I hated how my chest warmed at his concern. “I’m …” I tried to sayfine, but my mouth wouldn’t allow me to form the word. Tears welled in my eyes, clouding my vision.

“Lira—” he said softly, again using my actual name. “Why aren’t you in the tub? It will make you feel better.”

I hated how it sounded better than any folk song I’d ever heard and how he knew that water calmed me. “Please, don’t be nice to me.” I already struggled to remember not to feel anything nice toward him, but his unguardednessrisked shattering everything. “I need you to be mean and distant.”

He nibbled on his bottom lip. “I’ve been struggling with remaining that way toward you, and there’s no blasted way I could be that way toward you now. Why aren’t you bathing? You need to get the dirt and blood off so you can eat and get some rest. The next trial isn’t long from now.”

The image of the man I’d killed flashed in my head as if he lay right in front of me. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying not to fall apart again.

Hands touched my face. My eyes popped open and connected with his. The buzz immediately started on my skin, and some of the horrors retreated. No matter what my mind screamed, I felt safe with him. I couldn’t get myself to move away from him.

“Who did this to you, sprite?” he asked in a low rumble. His eyes focused on my chest where Eldrin had cut me not too long ago, and he winced like it pained him.

Even though my shirt hid the cut, a chill of warning shot through me as if he could see my scar. I swallowed, knowing that if I didn’t force my lips closed, I could tell him what happened. But Icouldn’ttake that risk. Eldrin had threatened to hurt my family if Tavish ever learned what happened.

“Your silence is louder than any words,” he gritted out. “Were you in the tub when it happened?” He glanced over his shoulder as if the person responsible would materialize.

I had to say something. It was as if he could read me. Silence hadn’t been the right answer. With words, I could at least deflect. He seemed to like to argue. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve already determined my fate.”

“Sprite, there are only a handful of people it can be if you were in here.” His nostrils flared. “My wings arebound if it’s one person in particular, but nonetheless, I still need to know.”

“Why?” The question left my lips before I could stop it. With it already dangling, there was no point in not continuing. “It shouldn’t matter to you.”

“You’re right, it shouldn’t.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and whispered, “But someone dared to hurt you. For the sake of my kingdom, I cannot show you any favor, yet something in me still responds to your scent and your voice. It reminds me of a future I used to envision. One long dead.”

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach more intensely than ever before, and I desperatelywantedto tell him who’d hurt me, though I didn’t understand why. “I need you to promise me that you won’t say or do anything to him because he’s threatened my family. I don’t care what happens here, but I need them to stay safe, and I don’t want to cause more problems between you and your people.” This was foolish, but this way, I could have some control over my life before it ended.

“I can’t make that promise,” he rasped, tilting my head up so our gazes remained locked.

“Then I won’t tell you.” I refused to give in. He had so much control over me, and I couldn’t hand my family’s safety over to him without his promise.

His jaw clenched as he examined my face. Then, his expression slipped into a mask of indifference. “Fine. I promise if that’s what is required for you to confide in me.”

“You promise? You won’t act differently toward him?” With my understanding that a fae couldn’t lie, I had to be precise with my words to bind him to our agreement.

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