Page 93 of The Ever Queen

“Stormbringer?” My lips parted.

“It means nothing,” Celine protested. “It’s not like the Ever Crew has many options while out to sea, they’ll take what they can get.”

“Don’t downplay the spell you have on the man,” Mira said. “Liv, he looks at her like she lights the sky.”

Celine cursed. “Life was peaceful before the Ever was overrun with princesses.”

I took hold of Celine’s elbow, and Mira took the other as though it were something we’d always done, as though Celine Tidecaller had always made us a trio, not a duo.

I leaned in to whisper, “Stormbringer would be a fool not to hang the stars for the likes of you, and it’s not simply because you’re the only woman on the crew.”

Celine dragged her palms down her face, groaning, but when she quickened her step, the slightest hint of a grin tugged at her lips.

When we descended the staircase to the upper levels, the lot of us collided with Sewell and Tait as they made their way for the study. My heart tightened. Tait met my gaze for a slight glance, then stepped back. By my sides, my fingers danced in disquiet.

“Sewell, would you be kind enough to take my place and take your girl and Mira inside?”

Sewell, beaming with a touch of mischief, offered an arm for both women, leaving me with the back of Tait’s head.

He was making a clear dive for the study. Damn idiot wanted to avoid me as much as I’d struggled being in his presence.

“Heartwalker.”

Tait came to a halt but tilted his face to the crisscrossing rafters. “Nothing needs to be said.”

“You’re as infuriating as your cousin. Perhaps worse.”

Tait spun around. The red in his eyes was not as prominent as Erik’s, more gold and with dark streaks of brown like wet sand. Still, there were slices of crimson, like blood carved through the dark. “We are needed inside.”

“We will get there.”

I clasped my hands in front of my body and stepped a pace away. Chest to chest, eye to eye. For a moment, I said nothing, merely studied him. Tait was a brute on the outside, but beneath it all, every action he’d taken, every risk he’d faced, was laden in deadly loyalty.

The man risked it all to protect the House of Kings—aiding Erik when he’d been stabbed, no fear of his cousin’s blood. Taking a blade for me, no thought for his own life.

“I thought you died.”

He shoved a hand into the pocket of his trousers and removed a paper smoke, rolling it between his fingers. If I had to guess, it was more a nervous habit than a need.

He didn’t look at me. “It wasn’t a deep blow.”

“I saw it. It should’ve been fatal.”

Tait let out a rough sigh. “What do you want me to say? Should I have done nothing?”

A smile crept over my lips. “You don’t care for me much, I know, but I merely wanted to thank you.” I hesitated, then rested a hand on his upper arm. “I will never forget what you did, and I’m glad you’re alive.”

With that at an end, I turned for the study.

“Earth fae.” Tait cleared his throat. “Livia.”

I peered over my shoulder.

“You’re . . . you’re wrong.” At long last, Tait met my gaze.

“About what?”

He shuffled the paper roll between his teeth, unlit, and put his hands in his trouser pockets. “I care what happens to you. I know at times it does not seem that way. I . . . I am unaccustomed to showing—” Tait waved his hands around, searching for the words.

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