Page 44 of Queen of Ever

The worry lines I knew so well carved themselves between her brows.‘You being in here is going to cause trouble, isn’t it?’

‘Maybe.But I don’t care.’

‘There are a lot of things you don’t care about that are pretty important, so that doesn’t reassure me.’

‘I’m not afraid of Solas.’

‘That’s not what I meant,’ she said, shaking her head.‘I’ve already been caught up in more than my fair share of drama since I arrived.I don’t want to be the centre of some other scandal when we don’t even know how long we’re all going to be stuck here.’

I watched her closely, trying to read her, to understand what she was saying.Tried to keep my disappointment from showing when I figured it out.‘You don’t want anyone to know about this.’

‘Not really, no.Not if it means we get swept up in a hurricane of gossip and Solas gets bent out of shape.I’m already embarrassing him by rejecting him.He’s going to feel like he needs to do something to save face and prove he’s still in control if we try to rekindle our relationship right under his nose.And what will the queen do if she hears about it?’

Well,thatI cared about.‘Use it to her advantage,’ I grudgingly admitted.I took her hands, threaded my fingers through hers.I wanted to tell her a half-truth to reassure her, to see her smile again.But I didn’t.‘I’ll gladly take on Solas, but I don’t know how to keep you safe from Moriana.’

‘Then I think this, us, needs to be kept a secret.’Her tone was firm.She wasn’t asking for my opinion on this decision.‘At least until the conclave is over and we aren’t stuck here anymore.’

Secret.So pandering to Solas and pretending he was still going to be taking her back to the Summer Palace.The idea made me grind my molars together.‘Alright,’ was the only word I managed to get out in response, even as my fingers curled possessively against her skin.I hated the idea.I hated that I didn’t have a better one yet.

Slipping onto my lap, she laid her head against my chest with a sigh.It thawed my frustration almost immediately.‘And whatwillwe do after the conclave is over?’

I cradled her to me, unsure how to respond.Because if I had to give an honest answer, I’d have to tell her that she was safer at the Summer Court, and I didn’t want to tell her that.I wanted to keep holding her.‘I don’t know,’ I said finally.

‘Are you sure it’s worth it?’The words came out small, quiet.Her face still turned away.‘Do you really choose me despite all the problems it’ll bring you?’

I frowned.Drew her back so I could look her in the eyes.‘Of course.I already have.’

I was rewarded when that sunshine smile returned to her face.‘You have?’

‘Imogen, I made that choice when I took you to bed.I thoughtyouwere the one who didn’t know what you were getting yourself into.’

‘But you never said so.’

‘I thought it was obvious.’

‘No!’She smacked a hand lightly against my chest.‘It wasn’t.If you’d been more open with me, I might never have run.I thought you might have regretted tying yourself to me and you were just trying to make the best of a bad situation.’

Cupping her jaw with my hand, I searched her penetrating, vibrant gaze.‘Then let me make this perfectly clear.You know I can’t lie, so look at me as I say this and know how much I mean it.I choose you.I choose you over the numbness and the isolation and the restraint that was my life until you stumbled into it.Fuck that stupid prophecy.’

She looked like she was weighing each word as she listened to me speak them, and when I was done, she kissed me fiercely.I wound my arms around her, drawing her closer, but she straightened before I could get too carried away, pulling back, and her expression showed her thoughts were not where mine had been.

‘You know, I’d really like to speak to the oracle who foretold this prophecy that’s caused us so much trouble,’ she said.‘I don’t know how telling the future works, but I’m not convinced they got it right.When my magic woke and I hurt you, it felt so wrong that I almost vomited.How am I supposed to be your downfall?’

‘I don’t like the idea of trying to see Dhrigada,’ I replied.‘She lives in a sort of realm between realms.The only way to access it is by portal, and they’re monitored.If we went there together, it’d be reported both to Solas and Moriana.That, and I don’t trust her.’Imogen chewed her lip, staring at the wall as she thought.I let her think.I liked holding her like this, my fingers tracing secrets against her back.

‘Haddock is an oracle,’ she said slowly, immediately souring my mood.‘He helped me with my fiorainm.Do you think he could help with this?’

I heaved a sigh of resignation.‘Yes.Haddock could probably help.’

Chapter 17

Solas

Ithrewthedoorsopen and strode into the room the Seelie Court had been provided for private meetings.One woman should not be so hard to control, but at every turn she defied me, doing the exact opposite of what she was told.Stupid little fool.She should feel honoured that I would show her any consideration at all, given she was raised as a filthy human.But instead, I’d been insulted and spurned, my attention treated as something unwelcome.If I cared at all for her opinion of me, I might have felt humiliated.But as it was, her reluctance was merely an inconvenience that I’d have to overcome.

My advisors were waiting for me, standing motionlessly on one side of a table that had seen better days, much like the rest of this ridiculous castle.The three of them shared the same blank expression at my entrance, carefully keeping all emotion from their faces as I began to pace.

‘We need a new strategy for Imogen, Your Majesty,’ one of them said, keeping his voice soft and low to manage me as he stated the obvious.He was usually the first to break the silence.So predictable.

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