“What were you doing with Queen Trina anyway?” I asked when we were both seated. I realized, happily, that I could be as close to him as I liked without any unwanted side effects.
“I was questioning her. I thought she’d be more inclined to give me answers than anyone else.”
“Because of your history?” I asked quietly.
“Yes. Our ancient history.”
“Did you find out anything useful?” I asked, trying to hide my smile at his emphasis on the word ‘ancient’.
“No, not really. The entire exercise was futile—her master will rise, he will kill us all, etc. etc. And now she is gone. My only saving grace is that I believe it would have happened whether or not I had gone to speak with her. It might stop me from getting beheaded by King Kitchen, at the very least.”
I leaned my head against his arm, disappointed that we didn’t know more, but very glad that I could once again be close enough to Tejus, smell his distinct musk and feel the warmth of his body against mine.
“I love you, Tejus,” I whispered.
“Is this the potion talking, or you?”
“Me.”
“After everything, still?” he asked, uncertainty creeping into his tone.
“Still… Always.”
He turned toward me, cupping my jaw in his hand. His lips grazed mine in a soft kiss. He moved away, leaning back down on the floor and motioning me to follow him. I slid into his outstretched arm, our bodies lying side by side in front of the fire. My hands ran across the hard muscles of his chest, and I was just grateful that I could be touching him like this, feeling nothing else but the hot prickles of desire flooding my body.
“Can I try to mind-meld with you—give you some of my energy?” I asked.
“You can try, but it doesn’t seem that strong. What did that fool crone give you?”
I tutted at his mean assessment of Abelle—she was only trying to help. Without her, none of this would be possible.
“So, let’s try,” I encouraged.
Tejus smiled down at me, the tender, loving gaze quickly becoming something else entirely.
“I have a better idea.” He smirked, running his thumb along my temples and down to my lips. I didn’t argue. Moments later Tejus had locked the door and I was a million miles away, sinking into Tejus’s soft caresses.
Ash
“Dammit!” I swore, kicking the chair.
“Are you angry at Tejus or the furniture?” Ruby replied, cocking an eyebrow at me, clearly unimpressed.
“Tejus,” I snapped. “Tejus and Queen Trina and this entire situation. I think it warrants some chair-kicking.”
I was beyond furious. Ruby had said that Tejus was overpowered by the Acolytes, but even so, the warning of Memenion rang in my ears. Had Tejus been lenient on her, let her escape because when it came down to it, he wasn’t able to kill her? I couldn’t afford for Tejus to have that kind of weakness—what I had in mind for him wouldn’t be possible if he couldn’t protect us all, put Nevertide before his own feelings.
“I don’t think he could have done much to stop it, Ash. Keeping Queen Trina hostage was a mistake. She was always going to get out eventually, surely you could see that?”
Great.
As if I didn’t have enough worries, it now felt like Ruby was questioning my ability to make sound decisions.
“We needed the information,” I said.
“I know.” She sighed. “But we still need to read the book—we just need to find a way for you to become emperor. Maybe then we’ll get some real answers.”
She was right about that. I didn’t want to delay the trip to seek out the Impartial Ministers a moment longer. At dawn tomorrow we’d leave to find them—I just hoped that Tejus had some idea as to where they might be. The ministers had kept their abode secret for centuries, and I didn’t know of any non-minister who had ever visited them.
“All right. We’ll leave tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ve asked the guards to take turns in keeping watch, and I’ve put barriers up around the palace. It will have to be enough for now—hopefully Queen Trina will be busy recuperating and not planning a return.”
Ruby nodded.
“You should get some rest,” she replied.
“I know.”
I was so short-tempered that even Ruby was irritating me. I let out another breath, looking around the empty ballroom. The meeting with the guards hadn’t gone particularly well—if it hadn’t been for Ragnhild, I doubted that a single one of them would have listened to what I had to say. It didn’t exactly make me feel spectacular.
“So, where do we sleep?” I asked tetchily.