Page 20

“What are you doing, Al’fa?” I ask, softly.

He doesn’t answer right away. Instead he strides around the table and circles around me. A predator assessing a rival.

Or a mate.

The air hums with something I refuse to name. When he finally stops before me, the distance between us could be shattered with a breath.

“You play a dangerous game,” he says.

“I play to survive,” I reply.

Our gazes lock, and for the first time, I see the full weight of his burden. The fear he hides beneath command. The too familiar ache of someone who has lost too much.

“You will stay under guard,” he finally says, stepping back.

“And you’ll consider what I’ve offered?”

His answer is a slow, reluctant nod. I exhale deeply, heart pounding. We stare into one another’s eyes for much too long. The longer I do the more depths I see beyond the façade of bluster and bravado. There is a sharp mind here but more than that. He worries about his people. How can he not?

He has lost much. Perhaps not as much as I have, but enough to understand my pain. The silence stretches, thick and fragile. The pulse at my throat races, but I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me flinch.

“I don’t trust you,” he says finally, voice like gravel. “But I’m beginning to believe you mean what you say.”

“That is all I can offer right now,” I say. “Truth without the expectation of trust.”

His jaw tightens. For a heartbeat, I wonder if he’ll lash out, verbally or otherwise. But instead, he huffs out a slow breath, and the corners of his mouth twitch. Almost a smirk, almost a snarl. I can’t tell which.

“I lead warriors, not diplomats,” he admits. “I do not play politics.”

“But you’re standing in the middle of it,” I say, taking a careful step closer. “And like it or not, you’re playing now.”

“And what if I no longer wish to play?” he asks, narrowing his eyes and a soft growl slipping free.

“We have a chance,” I say, soft, not pleading but close. “One chance to change the future for both our races.”

His gaze drops to my lips. This time, it lingers. The tension between us shifts, turns molten. My breath catches. The heat from his towering form is intoxicating, but I won’t lose focus.

“Does this tactic of yours include tempting your captor?” he asks, voice lower now, rougher.

“Only if it serves my purpose,” I say, tilting my chin up and refusing to break eye contact.

He lets out a quiet growl, sharp teeth flashing briefly.

“And does it?”

“Perhaps,” I whisper.

He studies me for another long, heavy moment, then steps back. The spell shatters, and cold air rushes between us.

“You will have your chance, Queen,” he says. “But know this, cross me, and no strategy will save you.”

I incline my head, hiding the smile tugging at my lips.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The heavy leather door rasps as I pull it open. Khiara waits just beyond, tense and silent.He says nothing, but I feel the weight of his disapproval. I don’t blame him. He is loyal to the end, but even he doesn’t fully understand what I must do here.

I’m not sure I do either.