Page 112 of A Touch of Poison
I scowled and upturned my glass, catching the very last drop on my tongue for a disappointingly brief flash of fruity sharpness. “It’s… complicated.”
“Hmm.” Perry swirled her wine glass, its fullness mocking me. “But you said he apologised while you were away.”
“He did.” I frowned at the glass.
“And I’ve heard rings holdspecialmeaning to fae.” Ella eyed the slight bulge in my glove where the enchanted ring sat on my finger.
“I don’t think it applies toallrings.” And even if it did, what was the point of possessing something if you weren’t going to claim it? Despite every lingering look and almost kiss, Bastian had left me thoroughlyunclaimed.
“You’ve forgiven him, though.” Perry gave me a long look. “And he doesn’tseemangry at you about the marriage thing.”
I shrugged. “I apologised. And I think he’s forgiven me.”
“So, what’s the sticking point?”
How was I meant to explain that while I wanted him, something still felt wrong between us?
Ella narrowed her eyes. “Why are you sitting here with us rather than fucking him until you both die in a haze of exhausted bliss?”
I huffed a laugh and toyed with one of the fine seams of my glove, trying very hard not to imagine how much sex that would require.
Perry screwed up her face. “You want them to fuck themselves to death?”
“I don’twantit.” Ella spread her hands. “Though as deaths go, it’s definitely not the worst. I just… well, it would be better than whateverthisis.” She gestured from me to the door. “Because the tension between you two is…” She exhaled, cheeks puffing out. “It’s heady. Every time I leave the room, I feel the need for a cold shower.”
After sighing and shaking her head, she turned back to me with a glint in her eye. “Have youtriedseducing him?”
The conversation turned to well-meaning advice for doing just that before dissolving into some highly detailed descriptions of how to ensure a lover was well satisfied. I’d never sucked a cock, but after Ella’s explanation, it felt like I had a wealth of experience. Not that it seemed I was ever going to get to use this new knowledge.
But I noted how pink Perry’s cheeks went as she gave a private smile behind her glass.
Ella and I exchanged looks, and I knew she wondered the same thing I did. When was Perry going to tell us about her relationship with Asher?
Not tonight, it seemed. And I wasn’t going to push.
Many hours later, I went to hug them goodbye and remembered myself. Gloves firmly in place, I squeezed their shoulders and blew harmless kisses.
No hugs. No touch. Distance. As I waved them off at the door, I prayed my broad smile disguised my tears.
42
Kat
Ineeded a cure.
Desperately.
I couldn’t keep living at arm’s length from everyone. Perry had reassured me that she’d given the stable hands clear instructions on how to care for a sabrecat, since they were used to deer. Before my latest appointment, I’d gone to visit Vespera every day. But it wasn’t the same.
So, the next morning as Bastian sat by the sitting room window and read through reports, I looked up from selecting my next research book, an old, old volume of stories—the fae equivalent of faerie tales. “Has Elthea sent word of my next appointment?”
He blinked, stared at me, blinked some more. “What?”
“I thought she might’ve made some progress after the other day.”
The crawl of the manticore’s poison echoed through me and I shuddered. I’d scratched my chest raw, waking from nightmares where the poison was many, many times bigger, wrapping around me, consumingmerather than me it.
Still, however horrible Elthea’s methods, they were my only chance at a normal life. Gathering myself, I gave a firm nod. “I’m ready for another treatment.”
