Page 105 of Sworn to the Shadow Throne

Lunette lifted her water glass to salute Coryanthus with perfect composure, doing beautifully even as they hurt her. She’d taken such offense to being seen as a tool by her village, I refused to have her seen that way here.

“Larethia is most fortunate,” I said mildly. I could be charming while mentally holding a knife under his chin. “But Lady Lunette isn’t a resource to be allocated. I would hate for there to be any confusion about that.”

Lunette’s spine had gone rigid at my tone. I couldn’t tell if she was grateful or more furious with me.

But she didn’t know was that one of the people in this room would send magical correspondence to the Assembly about her before sunrise. I was already counting the days until they tried to take her—just like they’d tried to take me. The unfortunate truth was that she would never belong to herself again if I couldn’t lay claim to her first.

For now, I would let everyone think I’d been simply guarding a well-kept secret. Let them think she was merely a healer and I merely her regent. That way, when I retaliated, they wouldn’t anticipate the ferocity of my reaction.

I just needed her to let me…

I didn’t want to think about now. About what it would mean if she didn’t.

With her so near, every subtle shift of her posture tugged at the mate bond. Every breath she took dragged across my lungs as if my body had lost the ability to breathe independently of her.

She’d barely touched her wine, her food. The drive to care for her, to keep her safe, to make certain her belly was full was overwhelming. The need to reach across the table and tilt her chin up—to make her look at me, really look—was nearly unbearable.

If I didn’t do something to appease the bond soon, I’d lose control of my magic. It prickled against the underside of my skin, wanting to break out of its cage to be closer to her.

Fuck it.

I called a servant over and whispered instructions to secure anything she’d rather eat. That, at least, was safe to do here.

I ignored Reina’s glare as the servant leaned over to inquire about Lunette’s preferences. To my dismay, Lunette sent the servant away, having asked for nothing. Camrick was subtly shaking his head, barely concealing that he was laughing at me.

Arsehole.

When I glanced her way again, Lunette’s gaze finally met mine. Her lilac eyes held mine for half a heartbeat too long, charged with an intensity that wasn't sweetness, but lacked the hatred I had so deeply dreaded. Just long enough that I wondered if she felt the same pull—or if I was the only fool trapped by it.

And then, because I was apparently incapable of simply having a nice thing, unwelcome thoughts rose.

She still doesn’t know who you truly are. She knew a man lit by a simple hearth in an alpine cabin. Doesn’t know that your own brother hates you. Or that you’re the reason both your parents are dead. The reason the alliance with Gelida is blown. If she knew, she wouldn’t look at you like you want her to.

Reality extinguished the nascent, charged feeling immediately. I looked back at my wine. I had no idea if mate bonds were ever unreciprocated, and I hoped never to find out. All this meant was that I had to work harder for her.

Lord Coryanthus broke my morose thoughts as cleanly as I wanted to break his neck. “Lady Lunette, I don’t see an Assembly pendant.”

The question aligned too closely with my current anxieties for coincidence. It didn’t strike me like the simple curiosity of a man admiring a pretty healer. More like he was assessing something he wanted to acquire.

Reina snorted. “You’ve certainly perfected the art of not asking a question while making it sound like one.”

Seeing Lunette smile at him only intensified the murderous urge. “I’m privately trained, my Lord.”

Coryanthus leaned forward, so engrossed that his elbows almost landed on the table as if he were sitting at a grimy tavern instead of the royal table. “You’ll have to spill the secret of your tutors! How long will you be with us in the Tir?”

“I don’t know, my lord.”

Forever was the answer I wanted. Still, her non-answer might get him to back off.

“I would love to give you a tour of the city when you’re not with the king. Tomorrow, perhaps?”

Tomorrow, he would be found drowned in a pool of his own blood. I’d already downed enough wine to make the room tilt, and it still wasn’t enough to drown the snarl rising in my throat.

Reina noticed and saved me. “The lady is busy with me in the short term, Lord Coryanthus.”

Perfect aunt.

Coryanthus, rightfully, was terrified of Reina. He immediately backed down. Though I doubted this would end his pursuit. He still didn’t have an heir, and his house had spent the last four generations marrying for mageblood. A young grand magus of healing would be more than courted—she’d be acquired.