Page 89 of Embrace the Serpent

His gaze fell to my lips.

I was so aware of my mouth, of the wind on my lips, and the dryness that bound them together.

I licked my lips, and he drew in a ragged breath.

“Saphira,” he said. “Tell me that I’m not alone in feeling this.”

Heat washed over me from my head to my toes, and I felt too alive, too visible. I whispered, “What do my eyes say?”

His breathed a laugh that diffused across the skin of my jaw. The light pressure of his fingers as they ran through my hair, cradled the nape of my neck. I tilted my head up; my body arched toward him.

The air between us warmed, and my skin came awake. Something was happening, and I was afraid to admit it, afraid to close the gap between us. And yet I yearned for him to come closer, to give me what I dared not take.

An entire world of promise fit in the gap between us. I held my breath as his gaze fell to my lips.

A tap came at the door.

The promise held for a moment, as real as a thread of silk, and as fragile. We drew apart, and it snapped. He shook himself, and I let out a slow breath, rubbing my arms, trying to contain all that had bloomed in me.

“Oh stars,” Rane cursed. He pulled on an illusion between one heartbeat and the next, growing taller, his shoulders broadening and arms thickening with muscle. Silvery scales shone on his neck and his features lost their softness and lanky charm, gaining sharpness and the subtle lines of someone a decade older. All traces of his injury disappeared. “Enter.”

A huntsman came in, and his eyes darted to me. Apologetically, he said, “The update you requested on Vanon and his four, my lord. We think he may have detoured to the east to avoid Imperial Guards.They may be a day or two behind.”

“Fine,” Rane said. “Give me another update in the morning.”

The huntsman bowed. “My lord, my lady.” He retreated as quickly as he came.

We were alone again, save for Grimney and the nightingale, who were both asleep. Something had softened between us, a veil had fallen. But there were things I could say to Rane that I was too shy to say to the Serpent King.

He noticed something in me, because he said, “What is it?”

“The palace is asleep, isn’t it?”

“As asleep as it gets. Shall I show you its secrets?”

We took the back stairs down and ended up near the kitchens. Rane pressed a finger to his lips and cast an illusion on me. As it trickled down my spine, my vision blurred. I blinked hard.

The hallway seemed larger than before. And before me, where Rane had been, stood a short figure in the neat robes of the palace attendants. His face was that of a toad’s.

I felt my cheeks. Smooth, cool, a little wet.

“Charming,” Rane croaked.

I laughed.

We crept past a large archway. Inside, a cook was sitting at a large table, his head in his hands.

A kitchen maid was organizing stacks of dry goods.

“What about ginger?” the cook was saying.

“About a dozen fresh roots and five bottles of powder.”

The cook clicked his teeth. “We’re low on pearl milk, spiny fish,plum wine, no mulberries at all—how am I supposed to put on a wedding?”

He wailed, and the maid patted him on the back.

A three-fingered hand grabbed mine and tugged me away.