He tipped his face up, eager, his lips parting as his lashes sought his cheeks. He slid a hand into my hair, but I stopped, my mouth a hairsbreadth from his.
He deserved a little torment. Probably more than a little.
Still, I hovered there for much longer than necessary. Just a fraction of an inch, and I would know what he tasted like.
And goddess, I wanted to find out. Something swelled in my ribcage, so insistent it felt like a tempest trapped inside a thimble. Because while, on some level, I’d found him beautiful since I’d first laid eyes on him,this—the temptation of his scent, his nearness, waking up to him the way I had—it was...
Well, something I couldn’t indulge in, at any rate. Because despite Kyven’s claims, our annulmenthadto stand. I would secure Amryssa a place in Hightower, one nobody could dispute.
Moreover, until Amryssa walked down that aisle, everything could still fall apart. Which meant I needed a backup plan. A way to make Oceansgate livable for Amryssa, if possible.
“I want you to help me find out if Zephyrine’s in my dagger,” I said, not so much speaking as breathing the words directly into his mouth. “And if so, how to get her out. How to stop these nightmares.”
Kyven’s eyes snapped open. He was so close I could count the diamond flecks in his irises. Feel every needy pull of his breath.
Goddess, if I kissed him, I wouldn’t offer him an inch. Not even a mile, like he’d said. I’d give him a fucking light-year.
So I pulled back, leaving him straining toward empty air. He groaned, but I swore I clocked a note of appreciation in it.
“You’re ruinous, do you know that?” His voice had gone tauter than a bowstring. “I swear you’ll be the death of me.”
I forced a chuckle. I wouldn’t, although I very nearly had been, that first night. If only he knew how that tongue of his had saved him.
“But...I’ll help you,” he continued. “Of course I will.”
“Thank you.” A knock came at my door, and I moved away, grateful for the distraction.
It was probably Miss Quist, come to deliver Amryssa. Except when I swung the door inward, a steward waited in the hallway, his face pinched. “Harlowe. Your Highness. The seneschal wants everyone downstairs, in the library. He’s putting together a search party.”
“A search party?” My blood chilled. “What? Why? Is someone missing?”
The man wrung his hands. “It’s Althea. Her chains weren’t used last night. Or if they were, they were stowed away first thing this morning. And she didn’t show up for her duties. We’ve searched her room, but...nothing. It’s like she’s vanished.”
Vanished. I turned to Kyven, seeking reassurance, but when our eyes met, ice frosted my bones.
Because, for just a moment, he didn’t look at all surprised.
16.
On the way downstairs, I glanced back to where Kyven trailed after me.
His expression radiated quiet concern, but I couldn’t forget the flash I’d seen in my room. Or the fact that he’d been so interested in Althea last week.Orthe knowledge that he’d been unchained during last night’s storm, because while he’d comforted me, yes, I couldn’t be sure he’d stayed. At the nightmare’s peak, he could have gone anywhere, done anything, and I wouldn’t have known the difference.
My stomach soured. Just minutes ago, I’d been so certain of him, but that had been before he’d admitted to spending the past decade as an actor. As aliar. One adept enough to wield any accent at will.
Now confusion cycloned within me. Who was he? What was he hiding? By the time we reached the library, my head throbbed.
Vick had already arrived—he stood in a corner with folded arms, his expression guarded but his eyes as incisive as ever. I wished I could turn that acuity back on him, because while theproceedings didn’t appear to surprise him, they didn’t appear tonotsurprise him, either.
Gods, what ifhe’dtaken Althea? What if neither of them had?
Ugh.
Olivian cleared his throat, signaling for quiet. Most everyone was in attendance, except Miss Quist and Amryssa. Lunk occupied an armchair, his expression somber.
“As many of you know,” the seneschal began, “one of our housemaids was discovered missing this morning.”
I grimaced. I barely knew Althea, but I hoped to Zephyrine she was all right.
