Page 24

She didn’t seem particularly affected by the information I just dropped on her head, but I was rattled all the same. I pulled the other glove off to toss it with its pair. “Shall we cheers again?” My voice was hopeful.

This time, she laughed and clinked her cup to mine again. With the other hand, she reached to pull the veil from her head so she could take a drink unhindered.

I had been waiting all night to rip away the damn thing that hid her face. “No, allow me.”

Fortunately, we were close enough to a side table set between the two chairs for me to reach over and set my drink down.

Haron waited patiently for me to remove the headpiece, but I could feel her smirking at me before I even saw the hint of her full lips peek from beneath the fabric.

As much as I would have liked to yank it from her head, I carefully pulled the pins holding it to her hair so it would not disturb the elegant twist she had styled it into.

A groan tried to fight its way from my throat when her face was finally exposed.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or the tension that had built when she hadn't been by my side at Pid's ball, but this close, her beauty was enough to make the gods weep.

Being able to look this closely into those mesmerizing eyes, I realized the left one appeared entirely black.

The whole iris was overtaken by her pupil, leaving such a small sliver of it behind there was no way of telling what color it was.

“Did you suffer from a head injury on this side?” My thumb brushed the corner of her left temple.

She smirked, stepping back to take a small sip of her drink. “Is that a subtle way of asking why I’m here in this room with you, alone? Because I’ve fallen and hit my head?”

The insult was so underhanded it took me a minute to realize it, but when I did, a deep, belly-shaking laugh almost had me bending over.

Haron was chuckling too, holding her elbow with her free hand and keeping the glass lifted close to her face as she wandered around the room.

Behar followed behind with his tail wagging as if showing her the space.

“I didn’t mean to infer you were brain damaged.

” I finally managed to speak, after much gasping and wiping tears from my eyes.

“But the way your pupil is dilated, I have only seen something similar when Beolf fell from his kisteral in our adolescent years. The healer had checked his eyes, and the right one looked just like yours. He was put on bedrest for a week over it and complained the whole time.”

Haron scoffed. “Well, in his case, it probably is a brain injury. That would explain a lot, actually. Have you checked his eyes recently? It could still be there.”

“Be nice. I told you, he’s a childhood friend and my general.”

She hummed again, another non-answer, wandering around the edge of the room until she came back to my side. “You two seem very close,” she observed.

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “Yes. We grew up together, trained together… his father was more of a father figure than my own. And he was the previous general until a couple of years ago. He was kicked in the chest by an untamed kisteral. It killed him instantly.”

She pressed her glass to the center of her own chest as if in sympathy. “That is unfortunate. But,” Haron sipped her goldtine again, “I am happy you have someone like him as an ally, even if he is a blundering idiot. I don’t have to like him to respect his loyalty to you.”

A wistful look crossed her face then, eyes going distant as if recalling a memory.

“Do you keep in touch with your childhood friend? I assume even you have one." I tried to hide my curiosity with a little joke. I wanted to know everything about her, whatever scraps of information she was willing to drop for me.

She smiled, still with that faraway expression. “I did. But, as I’m sure you’re aware, it’s frowned upon for necromancers to contact their own loved ones from the afterlife. He has been dead for a long time.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I managed to say around the jostle of jealousy and embarrassment.

It was bad enough I couldn’t stand her dancing with someone, but a dead friend?

I was disgusted with myself, and a bit ashamed to joke about her having a childhood friend.

Hopefully Haron couldn’t pick up on my bitter emotions as I quickly hid behind another sip of goldtine.

She shrugged, resting the glass against her collarbone and drawing my eye to the elegant curve of her bones, even as they were covered with intricate black lace.

“As I said, it was a long time ago. Olin and I were born within a month of each other, so we had always been together. And his mother, Sinna,” Haron chuckled fondly.

“Talk about a force of nature! The woman chided us both in equal measures…” Her voice trailed off, sadness pulling down at the corners of her dark red lips.

I berated myself for bringing up what were obviously painful memories to recall.

“I’m… very sorry for bringing them up. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Haron glanced over, and she tried to pull a small smile over her pain. “Life is not worth living without loss. That’s how we learn to treasure what we have.”

Both of our glasses were empty already, so I reached for hers. I kept my movements slow and intentional even as my fingertips brushed the delicate lace of her glove. She didn’t move away. “Would you like a refill?”

“Only if it doesn’t empty your barrels.”

While we didn’t empty all the barrels in the palace, two of my decanters were woefully empty by the time I tossed Haron onto the massive bed covered in all matters of finely woven burgundy blankets.

She seemed pleasantly surprised I was able to carry her through the parlor with her legs twined around my back, given the handful of inches in height she had on me.

I hoped to surprise her in many ways tonight.

The husky laugh she gave sent delicious shivers down my spine.

At the last rational moment, I waved my hand over the everflame candelabra set on my bedside table, bathing the light in its cool purple glow just bright enough to admire her laid out on my bed.

Haron had pushed up onto her elbows to watch me drop my shoes on the floor and hers along with them, a knowing smile on her face when my gaze landed on how the position accentuated her bust.

“I’m happy to see you’re mostly civilized, Your Highness,” she teased. "But I hope this will be the last of it tonight."

My hand gripped her right ankle and slid slowly up under her voluminous skirts to trace the toned muscles beneath sienna skin.

The catch in her breath was like blood scented on the wind, making that dark, beastly desire in my chest lift its head and uncurl.

A low growl, too deep for her to hear, rumbled between my ribs.

Haron’s long fingers reached to undo the small buttons down the center of her dress, nimbly undoing the fabric to reveal the rest of her skin to my hungry eyes and pull her arms through the short sleeves.

By the time I made my way up to her waist, the dress was bunched from the top and bottom.

“Allow me.”

This time, Haron didn’t stop my offer to help remove her clothes. It was a monumental effort to slip my fingers beneath the fine material to pull the rest of the way down and not shred it from her body like the beast demanded. Pulling them from her was like unwrapping the best present.

“Close your mouth, little princeling. Your tongue is hanging out like Behar’s.”

There wasn’t enough time for my brain to think up a witty response before Haron reached down to twist her hands in the front of my dress shirt and yank me further up the bed.

With a clever twist I ended up beneath her, and the smile that split her face was equal parts attractive and terrifying.

For a moment, my liquor-addled brain conjured her hands wrapping around my throat with that same smile as she watched the life leave my eyes.

The night is still young, I suppose.

My hands found their way to her wide hips as she deftly unbuttoned my shirt, giving me a few moments uninterrupted to admire her beautiful body.

I’d had my fair share of lovers, but most of the women in the noble houses prided themselves on being as thin and delicate as possible.

Everything about Haron told of a life outdoors, despite the noticeable fairness of her skin not touched often by the sun.

Freckles sprinkled down both arms and across the bridge of her nose, and sinewy muscles rippled under my hands as she shifted her position.

The dim light caught on a few raised scars across her torso and stomach, further hinting at a rougher life than the ladies who typically threw themselves at me.

Everything about Haron Val Toric drew me in like no other. Her confidence, her passion, her demand for justice, and even this more unhinged side of her. I wanted to sink beneath her skin and never leave.

“Where are you drifting off to, Irin?” Her sultry voice seemed to twine with the darkness itself, adding an extra depth and huskiness.

I realized belatedly she had managed to strip my pants off entirely, leaving me laid out in just my undone shirt beneath her.

Haron ran her sharp nails down my body lightly, bringing forth a violent shiver at the slight bite of pain that came with them. “Am I boring you?”

I answered breathlessly. “Not at all. I just… you’re so beautiful.”

That feral smile she wore grew a little soft, and she slid her palms back up to grip my shoulders. “Flattery gets you everywhere, Your Highness. But you already have me in bed, so there’s no need to shower me with praises now.”

“I mean it.” My voice was deep and sincere. “I’m the luckiest man in the world right now.”

“Mmmm,” was the only answer—and maybe warning—I got before Haron rose over my hips enough to slip her hand between us and angle my dick to sink onto.