Page 80 of The Half King
“That I no longerwantyou?” he asked in a tone that implied she had lost all touch with her senses. He dragged a hand over his face. “Gods be damned. I sometimes forget how sheltered you’ve been.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and drew a deep breath. “Have you never had an argument before?”
“Not really,” she said. “Not like this.” The bickering with other children at the temple didn’t count. Those spats hadn’t made her feel anything as terrible as she felt now. She had never had a lovers’ quarrel, because until this day, she’d never had a lover.
“Tell me this, my lady of the temple,” he said. “Do you care for me?”
“Yes.”
“And do I sometimes frustrate you?” he asked. “Be honest.”
“You frustrate me often,” she admitted. “Nearly every day.”
In the background, Daerick sniggered.
“All right, then,” Kian said dryly. “Every day. And in those frequent moments when I vex you to no end, do you stop caring for me?”
“No,” she told him.
“Then why would you expect me to be any different? I’m capable of feeling more than one emotion at a time. Even when I’m upset with you, I never doubt that my spirit is yours. And there’s nothing you could do to change that. Nothing at all.” He unsheathed his dagger and offered it to her. “You could take this blade and drive it through the heart of every man in existence—my own included—and I would love you no less.”
Daerick interjected, “I beg your pardon?Everyman?”
“Barring Lord Calatris,” Kian added. “He’s still a boy.”
Cerise bit her lip against a smile.
“Do you want proof?” he asked, nodding at the blade.
“Not today,” she told him. “Today, the men are safe.”
Kian sheathed his dagger and then took her face roughly between his hands. “Listen to me, and listen well,” he whispered. “Our time is over when I take my last breath. Not one moment before. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” she told him, relief flowing through her.
Kian kissed her while Daerick made a retching noise.
“Cheers to true love,” Daerick called, lifting his mug of tea in a mock toast. “Now that the two of you have settled your differences, perhaps you can tell me the reason you sent everyone else away while I was forced to stay here and watch you kiss and make up.”
“My apologies, Lord Calatris,” Kian said to him. “I hope the experience hasn’t scarred you beyond repair.”
“Yes, well, you should be sorry.” Daerick pointed back and forth between them. “That was painfully awkward for me, you know.”
Cerise hadn’t enjoyed it, either. “I hope you didn’t overhear too much.”
“Only enough to make me wish this were ale,” he said into his mug. “Now will you tell me why I’m here?”
Kian led Cerise back to the fire, and the two of them settled cross-legged on the ground beside Daerick, close enough that they could speak in low voices. Even with Father Padron gone, sound carried on the wind.
“Our lady’s Claiming Day,” Kian began, squeezing Cerise’s hand. “It was more eventful than she led you to believe.”
“Oh, really?” Daerick asked. “How so?”
“While the rest of you were sleeping, we took a walk to the east,” Kian said. “So we could…watch the sunrise.”
“So you could watch the sunrise?” Daerick repeated flatly.
Kian glared at him. “The story will take longer if you interrupt me.”
Daerick made a buttoning motion across his mouth.
