Page 95 of Down Comes the Night

“There you go again. So dismissive.” He curled his lip. “Think! You’re too clever a girl to be fooled by Hal Cavendish’s pretty face.”

Sheknew,yet hearing him say Hal’s name with such raw hatred…

“What?” she whispered.

“Aren’t you tired of this charade? Yes, I know very well who he is.” His eyes locked on hers, burning with cold fire. “He killed countless of your countrymen. His people took our parents, left us alone in this world. But I can make them pay.Wecan. If you’d letme help you, we’ll both get what we’re owed. If you trust me, I can give you everything you want.”

“How?” she spat. “Even if I become your puppet liaison and the queen reinstates me, it means nothing. It’s not acceptance, and it’s certainly not love.”

His expression darkened. “You’re so determined to make things painful for yourself.”

“No. In case it’s not obvious to you, this is over.” Wren reached out and grabbed the key around his neck, pulling the chain taut. “I know what you’ve done. I know you’re the one who kidnapped those soldiers. As soon as I find what you’re hiding in that passage, as soon as I knowwhy,I will see you pay for it.”

Wren wanted to savor his dread, but the man was like quicksilver, deadly and changeful. His fear was gone before she could blink. In its place was smug resignation. “You still haven’t met my guest of honor.” He carefully enunciated each word as they began to slur together.

“What guest?” she hissed. “What do you mean?”

Before she could demand any other answers of him, Lowry slumped over.

Wren swore. It didn’t matter. He was only trying to daunt her.

From beneath his eyelashes, she could see the whites of his eyes like slick, wet moons. In another life, one where Vesria hadn’t killed his father, what would he be like? He could have used all that charm and intelligence for something good. But the world only had a part in shaping him. All of them had suffered from this war. It washischoice to succumb to the pain it had caused.Hischoice to meet hatred with hatred. If she didn’t prevent the war, it would only create more monsters like him.

Wren lifted the key from around his neck. Clenched in her fist, it felt like a weapon.

She found Hal where she left him, arms crossed uncomfortably, lurking by the buffet table. With the adrenaline coursing wildwithin her, it was a challenge not to abandon her poise and run to him.

Look at ease,she reminded herself.

After Lowry’s mysterious bout of illness, attention would already be on her. They needed to act discreetly. No small feat when a cluster of people lingered by the east wing, the tapestry billowing in the draft. Wren worried her lip. Anything unusual or unexplainable was cause for talk. So how were they going to sneak in without drawing suspicion?

And then, the perfect plan came to her.

Hal didn’t notice her until she slid her arm into his. She warmed under the relieved, heavy weight of his gaze on her. “Will you honor me with the next dance?”

He recoiled. “Why?”

“Because if we’re going to sneak into a cold, empty room hidden behind a tapestry without looking incredibly suspicious…” No recognition lit his eyes. His mouth remained a hard, unconvinced line. Was he really sooblivious? Wren felt her face heating beneath her mask. “Do you want me to spell it out for you?”

“No, I understand.” With a bow she thought was a bittoogracious to be earnest, he took her hand. “I accept.”

When they took their place on the floor, Hal slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close until their bodies were nearly flush. He dipped his head to the junction of her neck and shoulder, his lips barely brushing her skin. Suddenly, his hand was burning hot on the small of her back. Her world constricted to the scratchy wool of his jacket against her palm, to his breath tracing an electric path up to her ear. She dug her fingers into his shoulder and let herself melt against him. “What are you doing?”

“It needs to look as if we’re trysting. Was that not what you were suggesting?”

“Yes.” She hated the nervous, breathless tremor in her laugh. “That’s the idea.”

He played his role a little too convincingly.

The music at last picked up, a dulcet swell of strings that softenedinto the steady sway of a waltz. Wren nearly groaned. Ofcourseit would be a waltz when she was trying to ignore this…feeling.The dread that fluttered in her gut, however, met no reflection in Hal. Rather, he focused intently on guiding them into position, taking her hand in his and raising their arms into an elegantV.Last night, she’d sworn to surrender to this attraction between them only once. She was beginning to regret her noble restraint. It was far too easy to relax into him, especially when he was surprisingly skilled. He led them across the floor in slow turns.

“You implied you didn’t dance!”

“I implied I didn’tliketo dance.”

“Must you be good at everything?” she asked sourly. “It’s annoying.”

“You think I’m good at everything?” He said it so plainly, she wouldn’t have caught his meaning if not for the playful glint in his eye.