Page 34 of The Blade in the Ashes
I sighed. A small part of me had hoped that if I requested to go for a walk outside, the guards would just leave me to it, but I’d had no such luck. Hyrax had apparently been rather insistent that I was not to be left unattended.
So, I was back to supervised outings—just as I had been when the Dragon ruled this kingdom.
Hyrax might have been my father, but that didn’t mean he trusted me.
Which, admittedly, he shouldn’t.
“What in all of creation are you two doing out here?”
I whirled, Nessira and I both jumping at the sudden voice.
“Caldrius,” I greeted him dryly, meeting the heavy gaze of the man I had married.
He made a show of walking toward me, posture too carelessly relaxed when the air was this bitterly cold. He held his hands easily in his pockets, the breeze pushing back the edges of his unbuttoned jacket as he moved.
“Why do you always say my name as if you’re displeased to see me?” he asked, coming to rest a hand on the small of my back and pressing his lips against my temple. I leaned away from his touch.
Nessira snorted next to us, then seemed to realize what she had done and bowed her head respectfully to Caldrius before taking a few carefully measured steps behind us. He watched her with narrowed, suspicious eyes as she did, before his gaze traveled over the guards behind us.
“What areyoudoing out here?” I questioned, trailing my eyes over his rumpled clothing. He’d been out riding; that much was obvious from his smell.
“My job, which now includes patrolling the castle grounds,” he answered briefly, eyes focused on the guards over my shoulder. He glanced between them and me, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes as his arms began to circle around me.
“What are you—”
I moved to push him away, but before I knew it his hands cupped my cheeks and pulled me to him. His head dipped towards my neck, his grip unyielding. “You wouldn’t be trying to escape your shadows over there, would you?”
I stilled, pushing aside the frustration boiling in my blood as I realized what he was doing. To onlookers, to the guards, we probably looked like nothing more than a happy couple embracing one another.
Which gave us the perfect excuse to talk freely.
“And if I am?”
“There are easier ways to do that, darling.”
I pulled back, meeting his gaze. A sudden chill ran down my spine as I took in the mischief hidden within his smirk. I hated when he looked at me like that.Thatexpression reminded me too much of the Caldrius I’d befriended in the Underworld. That had been a version of him who was constantly teasing and light-hearted.
It was easier to pretend that the version of him who had been my friend had never even existed.
So now, when I looked at him, I forced myself to see the man who had been influential enough to convince the God of Death to recreate the woman he had once loved.
“I might be able to help you,” he offered, folding his hands behind his back as he stepped a few paces back away from me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, swallowing. “And what would you want in return?”
He flicked a lock of dark hair that had fallen over his brow out of his eyes, his lips lifting into a playful grin as he crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
“Admit that I’m not your enemy,” he requested, his shoulders lifting and falling in a simple shrug.
My brows lifted. “That’s it?”
“And that you consider me a friend.”
“A friend?”
“And that you would be open to exploring a more romantic relationship with me.”
Nessira scoffed behind him just as I threw my head back in frustration. Caldrius’ grin only widened as he waited expectantly for my answer.
