Page 84 of The Witch in the Dead of Night

My jaw snapped shut. Although our interactions had been brief, the viscount hadn’t struck me as being particularly clever. Irritable, yes, but not to this extreme. “I didn’t know,” I said finally, my voice merely a whisper.

He huffed. “You want to be on the council? This is what you get. This is court. If I’m not looking over my shoulder every day, if the people closest to me are not careful, you have no idea what could happen.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I’d always believed that Mordric was beloved throughout the realm.

“I don’t know what to say,” I conceded finally.

His shoulders sagged. “Do you know how many times I’ve almost been assassinated?”

I shook my head.

“The first was when I was only eight years old. One of my father’s courtiers had appealed to him to dissolve his marriage, claiming that he’d fallen in love with another woman. His wife was cousin to the Queen of Arathnus, though, and ending the marriage would threaten the political alliance between our kingdoms. When my father refused him, the courtier and his mistress hired an assassin to smother me in my sleep. An incredibly stupid plan, given that I had been training with the Master at Arms for years by that point. The assassin was my first kill.”

“You were eight?” I asked, my voice hushed.

He shrugged. “Even as children, vampires are lethal.”

The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

“The second attempt occurred the night before my coronation. Poison in my wine at the celebratory feast. Not very creative, mind you. My family has been paranoid about poisonings ever since the same thing happened to King Sangrey in the year 703. The poisoner was someone I had known for a century and a member of the cult of Erondeth. He and his ilk were convinced that my coronation would usher in Valnar’s demise. In the end, he was forced to down the entire glass in front of the other guests. Not exactly how I wanted to begin my reign.”

I winced.

“And about thirty years ago, I was sailing to the Florin Isles when my ship was attacked. Someone had bribed the leader of a well-known band of pirates. Their captain tried to use that information as a bargaining tool, just before he was gutted by my guards. Never found out who was behind it, actually.”

“We spoke about the Florin Isles,” I said. “You never mentioned it.”

He nodded. “I suppose I’ve become somewhat numb to it all over the years.”

My gaze flicked up to meet his. His expression softened, the tight muscles of his arms unfurling. “I only want to protect you.”

“I can protect myself,” I reminded him. “Thanks, in no small part, to you.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I swear, sometimes I wish I could lock you away like a damsel of legend. Chain a couple of wyverns to your bedpost so that no one could harm you.”

I rolled my eyes. “That doesn’t sound very practical.”

The corner of his lips turned upward. “I lost my temper tonight,” he whispered. “Forgive me.”

The anger and resentment that had festered inside me for hours faded as I recognized the pain in his voice. The fear that came from guarding yourself for so many years, constantly looking over your shoulder. I took his face in my hands, running my thumbs along the sharp edges of his cheekbones. His black eyes fluttered shut at my touch. “I forgive you,” I whispered, before pressing my lips to his.

I slept fitfully that morning, waking as the light shifted behind the curtains. I blinked my eyes open, watching as the colors puddling on the floor faded from scarlet to gold.

I shot up, pressing the heels of my hands to my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, it was still there.

Sunlight.

Careful not to disturb Mordric, whose chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm beside me, I crept toward the window. Wrapping my fingers around the curtains, I peeled them back until the spring breeze tickled my nose. Sunlight had broken through the milky clouds, bathing the grounds in its glow.

I didn’t miss much about home, but I could count on one hand how many times I had walked in the sunlight since arriving in the capital.

Grinning, I threw on a dress and coat and took off in the direction of the courtyard. I wasn’t due to meet Enhart for hours, and I wanted nothing more than to soak up the warmth for as long as I could.

The grounds came alive in the sunlight. Bluebirds trilled merrily above my head, dancing an airborne jig. Purple crocuses popped their heads cautiously out of the dirt to the delight of the little brown hares taking their first steps out of the burrow.

By the time I arrived in the courtyard, I was wrapped in warmth like a swaddled babe and just as pleased. I unclasped my coat, draping it over the table. Dropping into a chair, I smiled, breathing in the scent of sun-soaked stone. My eyelids grew heavy as I tilted my chin in the direction of the rays.

You look blissful, came a voice. Like a housecat in a pool of sunlight.