“I want to talk to you,” he said when their eyes met.
His tone wasn’t rude, but his words weren’t a request. Lannahi wasn’t going to argue with in his current state. “We will talk. After you wash off the blood and Blann checks your wounds.”
She could tell that Ashared didn’t like her answer.
“She’s right,” Lizaar interjected, glaring at him. “You look bad. Clean yourself up at least.”
Ashared clenched his jaw. His gaze almost burned her skin, but he eventually nodded.
Lannahi asked Berikk, who was standing nearby, to help Lizaar get Ashared to his room. She herself moved ahead with her guards.
Barely had she finished summarizing the events to Souhi, Ledaii knocked on the door of her chamber. He had a strange look on his face.
“Your Highness,” he began with hesitation, stopping next to the sofa. “Would you care to visit Ashared in his chamber? Blann told him to stay in bed, but I’m afraid he won’t listen. He demands to speak to you.”
“What else did Blann say about him?” Lannahi asked, trying not to look concerned.
“He is badly bruised,” the man admitted. “But his body should recover in a few hoursifhe rests.”
Lannahi relaxed. “I’ll come in a moment.”
“Now would be better.” When Lannahi raised her eyebrow, Ledaii cleared his throat. “I’ve never seen him like this, but I’m quite certain that if I lock him in, he’ll try to break down the door. If you… value him even a little,pleasetalk to him now.”
Lannahi inhaled. She nodded.
When she entered his chamber, Ashared was standing by his bed, propping himself with his hand against the wall. He bathed and put on fresh clothes, but the stubborn expression on his face hadn’t changed since she saw him last.
Lannahi closed the door but didn’t move toward him.
“Just don’t thank me,” he said before she had time to speak. “We both know that I didn’t fight for the sake of Goldfrost.”
Lannahi ignored the knot in her chest. “Blann said it would be better for you to lie down.”
“I want to talk to you,” he repeated.
“Sit down and we will talk.”
He regarded her for a moment as if he wasn’t sure if she wasn’t fooling him. “I need help with sitting.”
She arched her eyebrow. “You didn’t need it with standing.”
He sent her an angry look. “Are you suggesting that I’m lying?”
Suddenly, Lannahi understood why Ledaii had such a strange look on his face. She didn’t know what to think about Ashared’s behavior either. He was usually steadier.
She swallowed a cutting retort and walked over to him, letting him use her as a support as he sat down. He leaned against her quite heavily, but she couldn’t be sure he didn’t do it on purpose.
She began to move away, but he held her firmly with his arm. She sent him a warning look, but he ignored it.
“You broke your promise,” he said, not checking his anger anymore. “You kissed him.”
His overwhelming closeness, the wild intensity of his gaze, and her own embarrassment brought a blush to her cheek, but she didn’t allow herself to hesitate. She reached for her own anger. “You made me the same promise but under false pretenses. Were you merely hoping to gain my favor? Get information out of me to give to Lizaar? Were you planning on manipulating me?”
If she expected Ashared to show remorse, she was wrong.
“You conquered my cousin’s city,” he said in a low growl. “Did you really think that I would trust you? That if I found out about something that endangered my family, I would sit idly by?”
The blush on her cheeks deepened. His argument was not unreasonable. Trust worked both ways.
