Page 75 of Autumn Queens & Shadows

“You won’t tell her?”

“Why would I do that?”

Thora stood, looking down at me. If I wasn’t already on my knees, the look in her eyes would have made me go lower. “It was nice doing business with you.”

“What are friends for?”

“You aren’t my friend.”

Standing and towering over her, I said, “You must be tired.”

Her eyes dropped down my body when I pulled my shirt off and backed towards the bathroom. “I must be.”

She was right. I wasn’t her fucking friend. What friend would think of doing to her what I was thinking of doing to her. “Thora.”

“Yes?”

“Go to bed.”

Her dark lashes fluttered fast, and she lowered her head before quickly walking to her bed and jumping inside the thick duvet cover, ducking her head under it, too.

Chapter nineteen

Golden Sunflowers

Thora

He was too good at this. At acting like someone he didn’t want to be. We’d toured almost every city in Isjord as tradition required after the queen or king was wed, and he’d entertained every fisherman, villager, child and animal that had come to greet us. He was the man from ten years ago, but something was oddly different. He looked…alive. Like he was just seeing the world for the first time. Everything caught his eye. Everything impressed him. Everything entertained him.

Without realising, he was beside me, my hand was in his, our fingers intertwined. “Were you thinking about me?”

“What? N-no,” I stuttered, looking down at our hands.

“You better be making those faces only when you’re thinking of me.” He threw me a wink. “Your dear husband.” He tapped a finger on his cheek. “A kiss and I’ll forgive you.”

He sighed after I stood there stunned for a good chunk of a minute. “Fine. We’ll consider this our first marital fight.”

“You can let me go now.”

“I don’t particularly want to,” he said, stretching back, still holding my hand in his. “If I let go, will you slip away again?”

“Malik—”

My words were cut off when he shot me a withering glare. “Why are you holding secrets from me?”

“I don’t owe you any answers.”

“You do. Secret for a secret. We promised. If there is one thing I know about Thora Krigborn, it’s that she will not go back on the word she gave me.”

“Things have changed.”

“Not this. I didn’t say it could.”

“Will you really let me go if I tell you?” Truth was, I wanted to tell him everything. It was a terrible urge I was struggling to suppress.

He raised our clasped hands up. “This is my favourite hand, little bird, I’ve got to have it back at some point. Unless you volunteer to take on its duties.”

My face scrunched. “Ugh, you’re a pig.”