Earlier, I had been myself. I had been Annora. I couldn’t have faked riding a horse. It was too thrilling and too nerve-wracking. Scarlet was so tall, and I had been so high in the air.
“Scarlet was spectacular,” I say instead of offering an excuse or another lie.
He doesn’t speak.
I ball my fingers into fists and hold them tightly against my body.
He knows you’re not Lyra.
* * *
Golden light filtersinto the room, waking me from sleep. I freeze when I feel the weight against my stomach. My gaze shifts to the muscular arm thrown possessively across my body.
Great…
I try to move a little, but his grip tightens, keeping me close.
“Stay here,” he says, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Jasce…” I lick my bottom lip. “I need—”
“—to stay right here.”
I sigh and close my eyes. How did I get myself into this mess?
For most of my life, I knew I would never marry. Now, I’m lying here with Jerrod’s son pinning me against him.
Jasce rolls, taking me with him until I’m on my back and he’s straddling me with a smirk pulling against his lips. I try to not breathe too deeply, to not smell his scent of leather, smoke, and cherry wood.
I press my shaky palms against his chest.
Something sparks in his dark eyes as he leans close. “I wanted to see what you look like beneath me.”
I open and close my mouth, the words as frozen as my heart. Truly, if it doesn’t start again, I’m going to die in this man’s arms.
“Jasce.” His name escapes me, as if it’s the only thing I can say right now.
“Every fiber of my being wants you.” His words dance along my skin like a caress as he continues. “But I will not take what you don’t freely offer.”
As quickly as he rolled me over, he shifts away from me and stands. I lick my lips as he stretches lazily, then crosses the room, thrusts the door open, and steps into the corridor.
The door clicking shut reverberates through me as I clutch the bedcovers to my chest.
What just happened?
ChapterTwenty
A smile pullsat my mouth as I walk through the courtyard, picking red, pink, and white roses to brighten the bedchamber I share with Jasce. I would place them in Lyra’s room, but over the last three days, I have barely spent any time there.
Jasce even had some of Lyra’s clothes brought to his bedchamber. As I sat, watching Hanah sort and put away Lyra’s things, I thought of my gowns and the items I left behind. Like Mother’s seashells and Asha’s sketches.
Today, I needed to escape the palace, and I needed to do something with my hands. I lift my gaze, watching the butterflies and the moths flying from rose to rose.
If I had wings, I would fly home.
Would Jasce miss me?
I shake the thought free and keep cutting roses and adding them to the basket dangling from my arm. Alban stands nearby, watching, his eyes keen, his mouth thin. Truly, this man lacks the ability to smile.
