“What are you searching for?” Aleksander asks after several more moments of me staring at him.
“I’m trying to determine if you’re like my grandfather or like your brother.”
Aleksander’s brow lifts. “What do you mean?”
I take a deep breath before responding. “Are you someone who cares about the people you lead? Or do you only crave control?”
Even though I’m not sure where those words came from, they seem right, as if suddenly, I see beyond Aleksander’s mask. I see the man beneath the layers. The one who has always lived in his brother’s shadow. The one who has always been the spare. The one who probably had to fight for his father’s attention—whether it was negative or positive.
“Careful, My Lady,” he says, his tone light and almost playful. “Or one might assume you have confused me with Jerrod.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the mention of that horrible man.
“No.” I shake my head, knowing that Aleksander isn’t his father’s shadow. Aleksander may crave power and control, but he doesn’t possess Jerrod’s particular brand of evil. “You aren’t like Jerrod.”
Aleksander cocks his head to the side as he studies me. “Does Jasce know that you attempt to read people’s personalities?”
“Not yet.”
A servant walks by with her arms laden with a stack of blankets in various hues. As she draws even with us, a red one slips from her tenuous hold and flutters to the ground. Aleksander bends down and retrieves the blanket, handing it back to the young woman with a charming smile.
A faint blush spreads across her cheeks, painting them with a rosy hue as she bobs her head at him in gratitude. “Thank you, My Lord.”
Aleksander turns to me, his eyes gleaming with a hint of amusement. “Let me escort you back to your bedchamber.”
I nod, and he walks down the corridor at an unhurried pace. I fall into step beside him, the silence between us broken only by the soft swish of our clothing.
When we stop in front of the door to the bedchamber I share with Jasce, Aleksander nods at me. “Until we meet again, My Lady.”
He turns on his heel and strides off down the corridor, his figure soon swallowed by the shadows.
I watch him go for a moment, then I turn and step into my room, where my eyes are immediately drawn to Jasce, who sits on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on me.
“Come here, Annora,” he says, his voice low and inviting.
I move across the room, my heart quickening with each step. The plush rug muffles my footsteps as I approach him. When I reach the bed, I sink down beside him, the mattress dipping under our combined weight.
“I’ve been thinking about you,” he says.
“Have you now?”
“Mhmm.” He leans closer until his lips nearly graze mine. “I can’t seem to focus on anything else when you’re on my mind.”
“Is that so?” I tease. “And here I thought you were busy being the fearless chieftain.”
“Even chieftains need a break every now and then.”
“Oh, do they?” I raise an eyebrow and allow my fingertips to trail along the collar of his surcoat. “And what exactly does this break entail?”
He leans even closer. “I think you know what it entails, wife.”
“I’m not sure I do,” I say, feigning innocence. “Perhaps you should enlighten me.”
Jasce grips my hips and pulls me against him. “I’d be more than happy to demonstrate.”
I giggle, the sound breathy and light. “Is that a promise or a threat?”
“Both.” His lips find the sensitive spot just below my ear, and I gasp.
