Page 135 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

Silver flares in his irises. “How would the truth have served you?”

A dark pulse emanates from his fists.

But…that can’t be.

He doesn’t have access to his power.

“How would it have helped you,” Rian continues, eyes intense, “to know you share blood with the very race you’ve been taught to despise?”

I jerk back. “I don’t despise Fae.”

“No?” He snorts. “You could have fooled me.”

The words sting. Far more than they should.

I grit my teeth. “I don’t despise Fae. I only despise you. You’ve lied to me. Tricked me⁠—”

The deep timbre of his laugh rolls through the air, cutting off my words.

“Is that why you took my hand at the Late King’s Festival?” His eyes darken, and the air between us charges with something I dare not name.

He slides a boot forward.

My heartbeat quickens, but I refuse to retreat. “That was before.”

His second boot follows the first. “Before what?”

“Before I knew what a murderous villain you are.”

The silver encompasses the dark in his eyes. “Oh, Sunshine. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

My entire body trembles. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” He takes another step.

Stubborn pride keeps me in place.

I don’t even flinch when his hand comes up, and he twists a strand of my hair around his forefinger.

“Because I don’t like being mocked.”

He stares at my hair, smoothing his thumb over the strands. “I am not mocking you.”

I sneer. “Yes, you⁠—”

“You are the sunshine in my endless dark,” he says softly. “I knew it the moment I first saw you.”

My forearms tingle as the marks slither beneath my skin, gliding like something newly awakened. Heat blooms hotter in my chest and shoots straight down to my core.

“And no matter how hard I try,” he continues, voice low, “I can’t seem to keep my distance.”

My eyes widen.

He’s been trying to keep his distance?

Is that why he’s gone when I wake each morning?

No.