Because she looks different. Another side of her, uncovered. She doesn’t look like a Wildling temptress, or ruler, or warrior. She just looks like ... a woman. The paint on her face has been scrubbed away, her hair is tied up, and she is in clothes that appear not to fit at all.
She has the nerve to look annoyed. “Do you normally call upon rulers at midnight?”
If I needed a reminder that she gets on my nerves, this is it. “May I enter?”
Her voice all but announces her disappointment over being paired together. “I suppose.” She steps aside and I walk in, expecting to see everything she’s been hiding.
Instead, I find ... mess. Clothes everywhere. Endless cups of half-drunk tea.
The door clicks shut, and I turn to find her there, looking at me not with the respect I’ve come to expect as king, but withirritation. “Yes?” she asks, her tone dripping disdain.
Regret. I’m already feeling its teeth sink into me.
Best to get this over with.
“I would like to make a deal.”
Her expression remains unchanged, but I hear the unease in her voice as she asks, “Oh? What is it you propose?”
That voice. Always beautiful, even when her words are dripping poison.
I clear off a chair. “May I?” I ask, even though this is my own damned castle. She nods, still glaring at me, and I take a seat.
This is going to be pleasant. I can already tell.
“I have a theory about the curses, one I’ve been working through the last half century. And I believe you are able to help me. You see, I require a knowledge of nature. One you clearly possess.”
She’s looking at me like she doesn’t trust me. That’s new. Over the centuries, I’ve become known for my honesty more than anything else. But she’s looking at me like I’m lying. Like I’m going to trick her.
As if she isn’t a little liar herself.
“What is the deal?” she finally asks.
“You are, of course, aware of the second-to-last line of the oracle’s riddle. One of our realms must fall for the curses to be broken.” She nods. “As we are a pair, I cannot harm you.” It’s part of the rules, to encourage working together. “And, if you help me find what I seek, I will do my best to protect you from the other rulers as well.”
I find it to be a fair proposition. I’m pleased with myself. I sit back in my chair, awaiting gratitude.
Instead, her look is withering.
I blink. Does she not realize I’ve just offered her a lifeline in this competition? Does she not realize I’msavingher? Her anger makesmeangry. I shouldn’t have come to her room. I shouldn’t have believed the Wildling could be reasonable.
She’s captivating, and fascinating to watch. She’s a constantly evolving mystery. She has eyes that rival any of this world’s beauty.
She’s also fucking irritating.
“Youwant to protect me?” she says, looking me up and down with pure and utter disdain. “I thought you were dying.”
Yes. So very irritating.
My own anger flares; I can feel it heating my skin. I grip the side of her chair so hard, I think I might break it. Does she think this is all a joke? Does she not realize my death will doom thousands? “Is it a deal or not, Wildling?” I spit out.
That only makes her smirk. And that ... just angers me more. It also makes me question again whether she was ever trying to beguile me at all. It can’t possibly be her plan. Or maybe, she’s just incapable of being pleasant for more than a few seconds.
The disdain must be clear on my face—but she justsmiles.
“I disgust you, don’t I?” she asks. She takes a step toward me. “Is it the heart eating?” I frown, because yes,thatpart of their curse does disgust me. It only makes her grin wider. “Or the dresses?” I try very hard not to think of the dress she was wearing when she plunged off the balcony, wet and dripping and tight against her skin. Or every single one she’s worn since. I have them all committed to memory, like I’m a damned tailor. “What a shame the only person who can help you with your supposedtheoryrepulses you so much.”
I stand, then step toward her, hands curled in fists.
