Page 86 of Thorns and Echoes

Each slow step she took nearer pulled a rope taut in his chest. A performance. That was all this was.

Gently, she removed the cloth from his mouth, then offered a mug of water. He coughed and swallowed carefully, vaguely wishing for the brew. She set the mug aside.

“Castien…” She leaned closer. Too close. Her breath was warm, her lips red. All he had to do was let his eyes drift slightly upward, and he would find the fascinating emerald gaze that saw too easily into his soul.

He turned to stare at the wall.

Perhaps he wasn't so good an actor to pretend kissing her didn't affect him.

Her soft sigh broke his heart, but it was better if she thought he hated her. She shouldn't be here. She should never have trusted him. She was a Queen, and he wasnothing.

His lips pressed together as she leaned back. She said very quietly, “I know you're in there, love. The story about a frog prince and a princess… I wish a kiss could save you.”

The back of her knuckles brushed his cheek.

A tightness in his chest made it difficult to breathe. His heart cracked. Reluctantly but unable to resist, he leaned into her hand and closed his eyes.

He had wondered if the compulsion had tainted or erased his feelings for Anais. When he had attacked her, he had felt nothing. Even when he had realized she wasn't a fake, he hadn't felt this… this indescribable joy suffusing his entire body with her gentle touch.

His love for Anais didn't feel hollow. The warmth that filled his soul was peaceful. He didn't need to obey her. He just wanted to be near her.

He forced himself to pull away. The tightness moved to his throat. It took a few tries to swallow the lump and convince his muscles to relax.

He said nothing, didn't even open his eyes.

Her hand left. The air felt colder. The cold spread. Perhaps his heart had been tainted, after all.

Chapter 28

Anais

She leaned beside the door, spinning a ring between her fingers. Jerome had stepped out to guard the hall. Her father was summarizing their escape.

Vern mentioned Commander Aurora’s aid. “She wanted me to pass on a message to you. ‘Stop playing the game.’”

If only she could. “We leave in the morning. Pelios will take the first watch, and– Father, you're bleeding.”

Trickling down the side of his head was a thin trail of wet blood. She lifted a hand.

He caught her wrist. “It's nothing. Clean that leg before it festers. We'll talk on the road.”

Her eyes went to Castien. He still wasn't looking at her. When she had arrived, she would have sworn he had been himself. The swirl of chaos in his eyes and the parting of his lips had drawn her like a moth to flame. But when she approached, his fire had extinguished. Only the empty, hollow look he'd had in the throne room remained.

They had found him, but he was still lost.

Love makes you weak.

When her mother said that, she had meant that a Queen couldn't show the world her heart. Escorts were servants, tools, toys. Nothing more. Vern’s back had tasted Jana’s whip. No one was exempt.

The Consort ring flipped between her fingers.

Anais nodded. “I’ll stay with him tonight.”

“No, you will not.”

Her brows rose. “I’m not going to bed him. I won’t remove his bindings. He can’t hurt me.”

Her father’s cold glance at Castien was reminiscent of the way he surveyed the court. “Stay in this room tonight, and neither Jerome nor I will sleep.”