Page 104 of A Cursed Son

“I’ll go get it.” He crawls out of the tent without waiting for a reply.

I look outside and see him gliding over the river, and take the opportunity to exhale slowly.

I can’t believe what happened, or perhaps, what didn’t happen. I can’t believe we were so lucky tonight.

The dream with the Nymph Queen comes to mind. “Tell him,” she said.

Is she right? Does it mean he doesn’t know?

And then I recall the destroyed Amethyst Palace. There’s a knot in my chest, a tremor in my hands. Was it a prediction? Is something bad happening? The morning air is colder than yesterday and I shiver and return to the warmth of the tent. Even though it’s not properly insulated, it still has Marlak’s warmth. I can sense it’s his.

Odd that someone with icy magic would create so much heat, but maybe there’s no correlation. I can still taste his blood, still feel a fiery sensation all over my body. Well, it was Marlak. Of course I’d feel his magic as something hot. Not only hot, there’s something else, an odd warmth in my chest when I think about him.

Something changed.

Was it really just his thoughtfulness in making sure the tent stayed intact? His fury at Commander Rowe? His words, telling me to embrace my magic? But I hated those words. Or was it his face staring at me, admiring my power, instead of fearing it?

And then maybe I’m making up all that in my mind. Maybe he has a plan that involves uncovering my identity, and here I am, catching feelings for the man who has told me more than once that I’m pathetic. Right now, I can see his point.

He opens the flaps of the tent and puts the suitcase there with a smirk on his face.

“See? I got it. Nothing was lost or taken.”

I stare at that thing that should have been a barrier between us.

The real barrier between us is our secrets. I don’t think either of us can wish them away.

There are no clouds hiding the sun today. I changed my clothes in the tent, we ate dried bread and cheese, and now Marlak’s packing everything.

I can’t forget the feeling of holding him, feeling his skin, his warmth, making part of the dreams real, and yet I can’t shake the awkwardness of it.

“Your magic, Astra,” he says as he’s folding the canvas. “It might have attracted the bloodpuppets. They tend to track a magical signature. Until now, I was thinking they were searching for Nelsin. That perhaps someone found out he was working for me, or he got into some trouble. But now…” He stares at me. “I’m thinking they might have been searching for you. I can’t help you, Astra, if you’re not honest with me. I can’t figure out who tried to attack you.”

His words make sense, except for one huge detail. “I didn’t use any magic that day, before they found us. How could they have been tracking me?”

Marlak throws the folded canvas into a pouch bag, his expression thoughtful. “And why would they be tracking you? Because you’re my wife, sure.” He looks up, thinking. “But how would they know?” He shakes his head. “You need to be honest with me. I made a vow to protect you, but I can only do so much when you keep so many secrets.”

“As if you didn’t keep any.”

He throws his hands in the air. “It’s different. You might turn around and tell your kingdom everything, and they’ll tell my brother. What am I going to do with your secrets, Astra?”

He could do a lot if he wanted to destroy me, destroy Otavio, even put my sisters at risk. Even then, a part of me wants to open my heart to him, a part that thinks he’d never harm me, but that’s the same part whose heart is already more than open, who’s completely dazzled by him.

“Give me some time,” I say. “To trust you. And trust goes both ways.”

Strangely, I don’t feel that there’s any deception in my words, that I’m trying to gain his trust and snatch his secrets. It’s more that I need to think about it, I need time to breathe and mull it over. The truth is that I want to trust him, and that’s a terrifying truth.

He sighs and looks at me. “Don’t put yourself in danger, Astra, because of some misplaced fear that they instilled in you. We don’t know if there’s something after you, and we don’t know how long we have.”

I still can’t believe anyone would chase me. It doesn’t make sense. I decide to change the subject. “The Court of Bees will be safe, won’t it?”

“We won’t stay there forever, wife.” He clicks his tongue. “I’m not mocking you. Or me. As a matter of fact, in the coronation, we’ll need to look like a genuine couple. Using an endearment helps. I don’t want any more queens with proposals, and I want word to reach the Spider Court, to prevent them from thinking I’m available or lying about my marriage.”

I don’t want queens proposing to him either, so there’s no reason to say no. But there’s another problem. “Won’t they try to make you a widower?”

“Not in the coronation. But that’s not the greatest danger. The greatest danger is my brother. That’s why we’re always hiding.”

“It could have been a queen trying to kill me, a queen who knew how to target Nelsin’s magic.”