Page 51 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

Rian pushes back onto his heels, rising to his full height with fluid grace, his gaze never leaving mine.

Something unreadable in his eyes makes it difficult to breathe. Then he glances at the plate on the ground.

“You were eating?”

“I’ve been here for hours,” I say defensively, shifting from foot to foot. “I got hungry.”

A glint of emotion sparks in his gaze.

“What’s going on?” Jaxon flies into the tent, holding a pair of daggers in each hand. “Is it Darius? Has that prick found⁠—”

“There was a rat,” Rian clips out. His features shutter, and the shadows hovering over his back thicken once more. “Find it. Before it decides to snack on Darius.”

The reminder of my encounter with a rodent makes me shudder.

Rian’s eyes slide my direction for a split second before he turns away. “I’ll be in my tent.”

Then, without a backward glance, he leaves.

I stare after him, lips pursed.

As a healer, I’m good at reading people. Juniper drilled the skill into me—said it was as vital as mixing herbs or setting bones. Patients rarely tell you everything about their ailments. Embarrassment, fear, or plain ignorance keeps the truth locked behind their lips.

So, I learned to read what they wouldn’t say. The twitch of a hand. A shift in the eyes. The things that betray them.

And that instinct tells me I wasn’t the only one rattled by what just passed between Rian and me.

Dare I think he’s attracted to me?

No.

That can’t be it.

Fae are infamous for their beauty, their allure. I’m…fine. Pretty for a human. But compared to the otherworldly females who must surround him back in his homeland? I don’t compare. Whatever flickered in his gaze, it couldn’t have been that.

My gaze drifts to the cot, my pulse quickening as another thought forms.

Did he notice the book? Was he testing me?

“—did it go?”

I jolt. My head snaps up to find Jaxon watching me expectantly, one brow arched.

“I-I’m sorry. What?”

“The rat.” He sheaths his daggers in holsters on his belt. “Where did it go?”

“Oh.” I clear my throat and lie. “Near that trunk, but I think I saw it run outside.”

He strides over to the dark wood trunk and shifts it forward, peering behind it.

I huff a relieved sigh when nothing appears and inch closer to the cot while Jaxon continues to search the tent. I position my feet so they conceal the tome from view. If he gets down on the ground, however, I’m in trouble.

But what if I’m not? Should I tell Jaxon about the book? He’s, by far, the least aggressive of the three Fae. The others don’t care to interact with me, which means if there’s a Fae to ask for help, it’s Jaxon.

But what if he takes the book from me? What if Fae covet their knowledge and don’t want to leave it in the hands of a human?

I can’t take that chance. Too much relies on me finding a way to improve Darius’s condition.