Page 43 of Kingdom of Tomorrow (Book of Arden #1)

My stomach lurched. Yeah, his father must have questions. Before I responded, I needed to decide what to admit and what to keep to myself. It all depended on what the listeners had understood and what remained a secret between the prisoner and me, but I wasn’t sure how much they’d heard.

Tagin Dolion exited a room beside ours, and every soldier near us jerked to attention, saluting him. “Dismissed,” he barked with none of his usual charm. The men and women marched off in a hurry. “Tell me what Victors said to you. Leave nothing out.”

I met his probing stare head on. Here goes.

“Mr. Victors gave me the usual Soalian spiel. Soal is the answer to every problem, old gods rise, and a war heats. He mentioned reading a portion of his book and said he’d once found a pritis stone but hadn’t recognized its value until he washed it.

He implied Shiloh Cruz broke without being infected with Madness, asked me if I knew what EOS stands for, and stated someone named Astan is defeated.

” No part of me wished to mention the marriage thing. “What does EOS stand for?”

The king scowled and jumped his gaze to his son. “When you get back, make sure she receives a dose of aidem.”

“I’ll take care of it personally,” Cyrus replied with a firm nod.

Aidem. The same injection Dr. Korey wasn’t positive she’d given me on my first day at the academy. One of the shots mentioned in the Lemon Ade file. “I don’t need another.” I wasn’t even sure why I’d gotten the first or what aidem was.

“You need whatever I say you need.” The king pinned me with a hard stare. “If I discover you’ve lied—”

“She falls under my jurisdiction.” Cyrus stepped in front of me, acting as my shield. “I handle her.”

My eyes widened as the two faced off.

“You fall under my jurisdiction,” the king snapped.

“Do I?” Cyrus said nothing else. He tilted his head, all calm and assurance.

To my shock, the king backed down. “Just ... see to it, or we’ll have this conversation again, and it will end much differently.”

Cyrus turned on his heel and strode off, expecting me to follow. Which I did. “Not another word until we’re alone,” he commanded at low volume.

As if I knew what to say.

We entered the elevator stall.

“You know what EOS stands for, I’m sure,” I remarked as soon as the door had closed.

“You’re due for guard duty at the pritis mines,” he said, as if I hadn’t spoken. “I’d rather you stay with me. Stay, and I’ll share one of my interactions with Soal.”

My heart fluttered at his husky tone, and oh, the temptation. But I couldn’t shake a portion of Mr. Victors’s speech. Pritis stones die but shouldn’t. There’s no such thing as coincidences.

“I won’t neglect my duties.” I hoped my easy tone masked my frothing determination to peek inside the mines. “And I won’t stick my teammates with extra work because I fail to do my portion.” Excellent reasons. Very true and totally buyable.

He inhaled sharply, then nodded stiffly and poked at a panel of lights. The elevator shuddered into motion. “Victors told you more than you admitted to my father,” he stated, matter of fact.

Everything inside me seemed to stop. I looked straight ahead and admitted nothing.

“It’s okay. Don’t share the details with me until you’re ready.” He interwove our fingers, then brought my knuckles to his mouth for a kiss, leaving me breathless. “But maybe do me a favor and get ready in a hurry.”

My defenses threatened to crack. So soon? “How did I understand his words when others couldn’t?”

A muscle jumped in Cyrus’s jaw. “You weren’t given an aidem shot. If you had, Victors would’ve been forced to speak in a way we could all understand.”

“My file says I received the shot.” I remembered Dr. Korey and the medic discussing it. “I don’t understand how the aidem prevents me from detecting the use of a foreign language.” Or why Cured would ever desire to suppress such an ability.

Cyrus’s gaze captured mine. With his free hand, he brushed a lock of hair from my cheek. Ambrosia scented my next inhalation, and I shivered inside. “Why don’t I tell you what I’d say to you if we were a couple.”

I licked my lips and clasped his wrist to push him away ... or hold him close. He’d turned up the heat again, taking his pursuit of me a notch higher. I wasn’t immune.

I held him close.

Maybe I’d misconstrued his reasons for doing this. Maybe it had nothing to do with capturing Ember and everything to do with his feelings for me. Or even keeping me tied to Cured . But no matter the reason, encouraging him was anything but wise.

“Yes, please,” I rasped like the fool I was. “Tell me.”

He cupped my cheek, branding my skin with his searing heat.

“I would tell you I wasn’t supposed to like you.

Then you showed up wearing your pink running clothes, broadcasting all kinds of vulnerabilities.

Afraid but determined. Unwaveringly loyal yet guarded.

Serious while being exceptionally fun to tease.

It wasn’t long before staying away became the problem. ”

I wanted to look anywhere else. Needed to. But I couldn’t. He’d trapped me in a web of yearning. It was okay, though, because right now we were only pretending.

“If I trusted you completely,” I said with a wispy catch of breath, leaning deeper into his personal space. “I would press myself against you, like this. I might even play with your hair and tell you things I shouldn’t.”

“Show me. Give me examples,” he commanded, nuzzling the tip of his nose against mine and releasing my hand.

Stomach fluttering, I glided my nails up his arm and caressed his jawline.

His brand. I traced my thumb over the raised tissue, fascinated by the intricate webbing.

As soon as I realized what I was doing, I tried to pull away, but he clasped my wrists and returned my hands to his face, then snaked his arms around my waist and locked me in place.

“Continue.” Another command.

I melted into him. “I’d probably tell you I’m amazed by your strength,” I rasped. “That I admire you.” My hooded gaze dropped to his mouth. He might be harsh, but parts of him appeared so soft. “I’d definitely wonder if you would kiss me if I trusted you.”

His eyes smoldered. “I would move mountains to kiss you.” He gently pressed the pad of his thumb into the center of my lower lip and stroked, almost but not quite letting his finger slip inside my mouth.

My knees went weak. We stood like that, with his hand on my face and my hand on his, breathing each other in with ragged inhalations. Waiting. Hoping.

“But I won’t let myself,” he stated, and I nearly whimpered. “I’ll wait. When you’re ready, you’ll take your kiss because you want it for no other reason than you want me.”

The elevator stopped and dinged, shattering the moment.

Common sense returned in a blaze, and I dropped my arms to my side and stepped away from him.

I’d let myself be distracted. Traded the opportunity to learn more about the aidem injection for round two of bantering. A mistake. One I wouldn’t make again.

The doors opened. Armed guards marched the hall outside our little hideaway.

“I will be exceedingly displeased if you endanger yourself during guard duty today,” Cyrus stated.

Did he suspect my intentions? “I’ll be safe,” I intoned, going for businesslike but not sure I succeeded.

“Make sure you are, Pink.” His expression softened. “Find me when you’re done.”

“Yes, sir.” Gathering my resolve, I marched off as if I weren’t planning to do something very, very bad.