Page 119 of A Kingdom of Shadows

He hates the idea, and he always will.

He's shaking his head.

I decide I can no longer keep buried in the words I want to share with him. "I love you," I say what I had never uttered to any man. It is relief and anguish at once.

When it hurts.

It would only hurt if I no longer had him with me. It is a thought I cannot bear.

He closes his eyes; his forehead touches mine as he produces a heartbreaking sound from his lips. It's all he has ever wanted to hear from me. "Say it again."

"I love you, Darius Halen Rivernorth," I whisper. "Dragon and all."

His lips capture mine, and my beat pulses as his hands dive into my hair. Lust explodes between each movement of our lips and tongues gliding together.

It is a kiss that emphasizes the truth behind my confession.

He is my first love, and he will be my last. And I make sure he knows that as I keep my eyes on him, lifting myself up slightly before slowly settling against his hard erection.

We then spend the next minutes making love inside the tub, unaware of the world outside.

Chapter Forty-Five

I'm the last to arrive for breakfast. Everyone is already seated and eating away at what is in front of them. As I settle on one of the cushioned chairs, Darius and I share a secretive smile. Tibith is by his shoulder, snuggled close to him, while Darius tears off pieces of his bread and gives them to Tibith.

I don't think anyone suspects much of last night. Faye hums as one of the servants pours her tea, and Arlayna simply stares my way. Like always, she's more observant than others.

Aias then comes and sits beside me. He nudges my shoulder softly, and I smile up at him. He is the reason I'd stayed behind. After bathing with Darius and getting dressed, Aias stopped me along the corridors to inform me what he'd gotten up to with the king.

Disappointment had rung through me when he'd said nothing out of the ordinary happened and that Dusan had only shown him the castle grounds.

I now watch as Dusan leans back against his chair, his emerald attire shimmering with silver dust as he stares at everyone along the table. I've begun to question whether my untrust toward him stems from the trauma of Emberwell. I've always trusted too quickly. Maybe I am just more conscious of it now.

Coughing, I clear my throat and reach across the table to where the pastries are. "Any news on the night of Golrai's death?" I ask. By now, Dusan knows I'm not convinced about certain things. I didn't know much about Golrai, but I do know that she had come here relatively young and served long before King Dusan and his brother were born.

Someone inside the castle had killed her, but I do not know or understand for what reason.

"I have my best soldier looking into it still," Dusan says, sipping from his cup. "Aeron Hawthorne, I believe you've seen him around. He is Faye's personal guard."

At the mention of Aeron's name, Arlayna's fork seems to tumble out of her hands. Everyone turns their heads at her. She looks lost in her own thoughts before she shakes her head and apologizes.

"Sadly," Dusan is saying with a slight drawl as if the interruption had annoyed him. "We know nothing so far. And though Darius has done his best to help us, winter is approaching, and we can no longer delay your task."

"Dusan—" Meriel tries to intervene, but against Dusan, she has no luck.

"My niece will be in safe hands, Meriel. When encountering Thalorians or their leader, I'm sure she will show how truly ready she is to take on the crown."

My head bows at the realization this is our last and final task. With Golrai's death, Darius a Rivernorth, and learning we are a reincarnation of the deities of our world, it had slipped my mind.

"Who is their leader?" asks Darius from his end of the table. He's staring at Dusan calculatingly and just as untrustworthy as I am. Tibith rolls from his shoulder, unaware of the tension emanating through the air as he lands on Arlayna's plate with a splash.

Dusan clears his throat. "Kirian Tryskalyn."

The name brings unwanted goosebumps to crack along my skin. Despite it being inevitable, I have never met the leader, nor do I want to. Still, from what I have read inside the castle's library and knowing how Thalorians came to be, I ask the king, "What happened to the previous leader?"

Dusan's brows rise as he releases a short chuckle. "He killed her."

The silence around the room lasts too long for my comfort.

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