Page 83 of The Shadows Between Us
“Nothing, but I can’t seem to sleep.”
“We had some excitement today, and the men who let the intruder in have been dealt with, but you’re safe. I promise. There are men out in the corridor and men out in the courtyard, watching the windows.Not that anything could reach us up here, but better more precautions than less.”
I nod, already having known all of this.
“I’m next door, should you ever need anything. You’re not helpless,” Kallias says emphatically. “You stabbed the assailant with a dagger to the thigh, for gods’ sake. You’re very capable.” He places a comforting hand on my thigh.
I turn to him. “Thank you. I know all of this, truly. I just can’t seem to relax.”
“Lie back,” he instructs, and I do so, scooting over to the opposite side of the bed so there’s room for him. He starts to recline, but his eyes catch on the bedside table to where my letters are piled up.
Kallias picks up one, and I’m about to thank him not to go snooping through my things, when I realize just what he’s holding.
“My dearest Alessandra,” Kallias reads aloud. “I hope you will forgive my boldness, but word has reached me that the king did not accompany you to your latest outing at the estate of the Christakoses.”
I leap forward, trying to snatch the letter from his grip, but Kallias stands out of my reach, never ceasing in his reading. “In fact, it’s rumored you spent the evening with a childhood friend. This has dared me to hope that perhaps you’ve ended things with His Majesty. You, of course, know of my business travels. They’ve kept me from your side too long, but I think of you daily. I miss your conversation, your smile, the way you look away from me when you’re overcome by my generosity.Who the hell wrote this?” Kallias’s eyes skip to the end to find the signature. Then he barks out a laugh. “Orrin wrote you a love letter!”
I stand, trying to rip the damned thing from his hands, but Kallias keeps jumping out of reach.
“When I look at the night sky, I cease to see its beauty. All I can think of is you. Your sable hair and how I long to run my fingersthrough its lengths. Your lips, ripe as cherries—how I long to taste them. Your fingers are as dainty as butterfly wings, and your eyes have a shine to rival the light of stars.”
“Damn you, Kallias, give it here!” I throw myself at him, and this time, instead of dancing out of reach, he turns to shadow.
Along with the letter, which is now safely out of my reach for as long as Kallias likes.
“That is unfair,” I say.
Kallias wipes a shadowed tear of mirth from his eyes. “How could you keep this treasure from me?” He reads, “Your voice could command the world to stop spinning, the plants to stop growing, the wind to cease blowing, the bugs to stop chirping.” The king erupts into a fit of laughter.
“Chirping bugs. In his love letter to you!” Kallias clenches his stomach with both hands, and in doing so, he loses his grip on the letter. It solidifies instantly, and I snatch it up before it even hits the ground.
I tear the damn thing to shreds and let the pieces fall to the floor.
“Not all men have skill with a pen,” I say through gritted teeth.
Kallias turns toward my stack of letters. “Tell me this isn’t his first letter. Oh, please say there’s more!”
“There isn’t,” I assure him.
“A pity. Oh, I haven’t laughed that hard in—well, at least a year. Alessandra, are you blushing!”
“No. If my face is heated, it is from the fury I feel toward you.”
“For making fun of Orrin?”
“For making fun of me. For thinking it humorous that anyone should want to write me a love letter.”
Will he never see me as a romantic prospect?
Instantly, the joviality disappears from his face, replaced with utter seriousness. “Alessandra, I do not tease you. It is only Orrin’s attempt at poetry that amuses me. You are worthy of all the poets’ notice, butthat”—he points to the shredded pieces on the ground—“is not worthy of you.”
Somewhat appeased, I challenge, “And I suppose you could do better?”
“I most certainly could.” He looks sadly upon the torn scraps at the floor. “Did you have to destroy it? I could have framed it and saved it for whenever I’m having a bad day.”
“Shut your mouth.” I return to the bed, staring up at the ceiling. I refuse to let a smile grace my face.
But Kallias’s mirth is so very contagious. And I enjoy his smile more than I care to admit.
