Page 159 of Beautiful Prey

“Mine,” he murmurs against my mouth, and I curl my fingers into his hair.

“I’m yours.”

He kisses me again, softer, then keeps me against his chest with one hand moving lazily down my spine. Neither of us tries to get up yet. For a while, we just sit there on the rug in front of the fire, warm and filthy and finally still.

He carries me to bed without asking, and for once I don’t argue. My legs are finished, my knees raw. By the time he gets beneath the covers behind me, I’m barely awake. The fire has burned down to nothing below us and the house has gone cold around it. His arm comes around my chest, pulling me back against him until there’s no room for the cold to get in.

I lie there, listening to the rain, and think about the moment the car door opened, about the partition, the wrong voice, and all the little things I noticed and ignored because I wanted so badly for it to be him.

I won’t ignore them next time.

Somehow, that thought doesn’t put any distance between us. I cover his hand with mine, feeling his fingers close around mine in answer, and for the first time all night, I stop listening for what might be coming next.

29

ASH

“On behalf of House Clement, it is my great honor to welcome you to our home and to a day I hope will mark the beginning of a long and prosperous friendship between our Houses,” Dad says, raising his glass as conversations die beneath the terrace lights and every face turns his way. “Some of you have traveled a very long way. Ambassador, you’ve come further than anyone, and I’m told the crossing was rough, so please, drink something.”

Laughter rolls across the lawn as the Ambassador lifts his glass in answer. “For those who haven’t been to this house before, these gardens were laid out by my grandfather, and I’ve never once had the courage to change them.” Dad gestures towards the beds lining the terrace. “The lilies were my wife’s favorite. Some traditions are worth preserving.”

Beside me, Jade’s hand tightens around mine. I glance down at our joined fingers, then look at him, his shoulder warm against mine beneath his coat.

Today is the ninth.

My birthday. The day Mom died. And somewhere behind us, Ryven is waiting to be married to a stranger because Dad decided one Clement could be traded as easily as another.

It’s been three weeks since Ryven left those flowers at Mom’s grave and told me he’d do it. Not because Dad had beaten him into obedience. Ryven doesn’t know how to surrender. But fighting this one meant putting the rest of us in the line of fire.

Dad let him keep visiting Onyx after that. Half an hour at a time, with guards outside the hospital room and another pair following him everywhere else. Even that felt deliberate. Just enough freedom to remind him who was allowing it.

Jade’s thumb moves once over the side of my hand, and I close my fingers around his.

“House Veyra has done us an extraordinary honor today.” Dad turns as he says it, taking the whole terrace with him towards the Veyra delegation.

They stand together beneath the lights in deep green and white, the Imperial at their head with his hands folded before him. Their clothes are immaculate, their faces solemn, and none of them looks particularly thrilled by what they crossed the Reach to do.

“An alliance of this kind isn’t built in a season,” Dad continues. “It’s built over generations, by people who understand that a House is a great deal larger than any one person in it.” He raises his glass toward the Imperial. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

A murmur of approval moves through the guests, the Imperial inclining his head.

“And so it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome into our family the man whose House will join ours today.”

The doors open behind him, and out comes Aleron between two attendants, slight and fine-boned in Veyra green with silver at the collar, his dark hair framing startling blue eyes. He stops at the top of the steps when one attendant touches his elbow, then hurries forward, his hands shaking and his gaze fixed on the flagstones as though the distance across the lawn were something he had to survive one step at a time.

Someone near us murmurs appreciatively, but all I can see is how young he looks under all those lights, about to be handed over to a man he’s never met.

Beside me, Jade lets out a slow breath. “It’s like watching my own wedding again.”

Despite myself, a grin tugs at my mouth. “Well, what can I say? You got lucky. You married me.”

He snorts, nudging me in the ribs. “You’re such an asshole. Just look at the poor kid. He’s terrified.”

“I know.” The grin disappears as I look towards the doors again. “And I don’t want to know how Ryven’s feeling right now.”

Dad raises one hand. “And now, the Clement who will bind our Houses together. Ryven.”

Ryven comes out first with Seren half a pace behind him, both wearing black suits with open collars. Ryven’s pale hair catches the light, his face set hard enough that I know better than to mistake it for calm, while Seren carries a folder beneath one arm, his dark hair combed straight back, and something about the focus in his face that I can’t quite place.