Page 51

I listened and observed the workers as we traveled down the wide tunnels, catching glimpses of jewels as they used chisels and pickaxes to carefully carve them out of the stone.

Soon, Kol’s words became drowned out by the echo of metal on rock.

Clangs and vibrations filled the caves until we reached a set of rough steps.

“Down here is one of the newer sections,” Kol shouted over the noise. “There aren’t as many people assigned there, so it’ll be quieter.”

We made our way down the steps, the air growing colder and staler the farther we went. A little hand snaked its way into mine, and I looked down to find Marigold perched at my side. She stopped moving and bit her lip with a frown on her face.

“I don’t like the dark,” she whispered up at me.

I glanced around at the others as they kept filing through and pulled Marigold to the side. Thorne shot me a look, but I quickly shook my head and gestured for him to keep going. Once everyone moved on, I knelt to face her, keenly aware of Thorne lingering not far out of sight.

“I used to be scared of the dark too,” I said. “But we’ll all be down there with you. Me, your daddy, your grandmother, Uncle Galen. We won’t let anything happen to you. ”

“It’s not me . What if something happens to you ? All of you?” she said, her bottom lip trembling.

I remembered Thorne had mentioned his daughter suffered from anxiety too. I wondered if this had anything to do with it. Some deeply rooted fear she couldn’t shake—not necessarily for herself, but for those around her.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked, and she nodded. “Did you know that where I come from, we have magic ? And that some of us, like me, can even turn into other animals ?”

Her brown eyes widened in shock. “You can ?”

I smiled. “When I’m back home in my empire, I can become a fox.” Her mouth fell open. “Do you know anything about foxes?”

“They’re soft. And…they have sharp teeth.”

“Yes, that’s true,” I said with a chuckle. “But they can also see in the dark. Everything looks bright, even when all the lights are off. What if we both pretend to be foxes? They aren’t afraid of the dark because they can still see.”

She looked at me for a second, then propped her hand on her hip. “You know I’m not a fox, right?”

A snort escaped me. “It’s called pretending , little girl,” I said as I tickled her sides and underneath her arms. That earned me a giggle.

“Okay, I’ll pretend. And if anything tries to hurt me, I can bite them.” She mimicked biting the air.

I ruffled the top of her head and stood. “I feel safer already. Do you want to go now?” She nodded and tucked her hand back in mine, and we followed the path the others took deeper into the new cave.

Thorne emerged from the shadows a short distance from us. “Thank you,” he said under his breath, holding his hand out to touch mine.

I pulled away and stepped ahead of him. “Of course,” I said, more briskly than I meant to. That look in his eyes was already threatening to draw me in, and I had to put distance between us.

“These caverns are a bit smaller than the ones out front, so we’ll split you into two groups to explore these areas,” Kol was saying when we reached the rest of them.

Azura saw Marigold’s hand in mine, and her sharp eyes narrowed before turning back to Kol.

“You four can come with me”—he pointed to my mother, Leo, Rose, and Taryn—“and the rest of you will go with Amalia.”

A young woman who had been on her knees inspecting part of the wall stood up, brushing dirt off her hands and smiling at us. Her eyes caught on Thorne, and they slowly scanned down his body.

Something coiled in my stomach.

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty,” she said to Galen, giving a quick bow. “And who else do we have joining us?”

“Empress Clarissa Aris of the Veridian Empire,” he started, gesturing to each of us in turn. “My close advisor and Regent Lord of the North Territory, Thorne Reaux, his daughter Marigold, and his mother, Lady Azura Reaux.”

Amalia shook each of their hands, ending with Thorne. I didn’t miss the way she glanced at his left hand.

She flashed him a coy smile. “So nice to meet you, Lord Reaux,” she purred.

I turned my head and rolled my eyes.

“Right this way.” She placed a hand on his upper arm as she guided us down the opposite tunnel from Kol’s group.

She spoke of the mines and what a day in the life for the workers looked like, but I wasn’t listening.

My gaze was homed in on her fingers as they brushed down his arm, the way she threw her head back in laughter at everything he said, how she flicked her golden braid over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes like some lovesick teenager.

“It seems my granddaughter has taken a liking to you,” a voice said behind me as we walked, and I twisted my neck to find Azura smiling down at Marigold.

“As has my son, although he’s always had a fondness for pretty things.

Until the next one comes along.” Her blue eyes glanced at him and Amalia ahead of us .

I clenched my teeth but said nothing, simply nodding and returning her smile.

A moment later, she let out a sigh. “I believe we started off on the wrong foot, Your Majesty. I would like to apologize.”

“Oh?”

We both stopped walking, and she slowly bent down to rub Marigold’s back. “Why don’t you run along and catch up to your father, dear,” she said, then straightened as we watched her trail after Thorne and Amalia.

“You have to understand that Galen is like a second son to me,” Azura went on. “You must see how difficult it is to trust others who walk into his life when we can only guess where their interest lies.”

“I have no interest beyond securing an alliance with your kingdom, Lady Reaux. One that would strengthen both Mysthelm and my empire.”

She tilted her head to the side. “I understand that now. Forgive me if I wasn’t sure of your true intentions in the beginning. But it has become obvious what your purpose here is.”

None of this sounded like an apology to me.

She hadn’t done or said anything overtly antagonistic or untrustworthy, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way.

However, I was nothing if not diplomatic.

“I’m glad we can work together to move forward.

All I want is to help King Grimaldi and your people. ”

“At least we have that in common, dear,” she said, patting me on the shoulder. “I was terribly sorry to see what happened at the Harvest Festival. I hope you’ve since recovered.”

“I appreciate your concern. I’m getting better.”

She hummed. “Let’s pray to the Fates that the rest of the tour goes smoothly. I’ll be here if you need anything.” With one more firm pat to my shoulder, she sauntered off ahead of me to take Marigold’s hand, her black skirt trailing behind her in the dirt.

“I’m sure you will be,” I muttered under my breath.

A few seconds later, the tunnels opened into a new cave with a low ceiling. The rocks jutting down from above were close enough that I could reach out a hand and touch them. Thorne and Galen had to stoop to avoid hitting their heads on the points.

Galen pulled Amalia to the side to speak with her and another miner stationed at the entrance, while Marigold dragged Azura to a wall full of glittering rubies.

I averted my gaze from Thorne’s and wandered to the back of the cave, taking in the array of silver, red, green, and purple jewels still covered in grime, waiting to be shined to perfection.

I skimmed my fingers along the sharp edge of a diamond.

“Something catch your eye?” Thorne asked.

I looked over my shoulder to see Amalia still standing with Galen across the cave. “Well, something has certainly caught yours ,” I said without thinking.

A smirk toyed with the edges of his lips. “Is someone jealous?”

I gave him a bland look. “Hardly. You’re allowed to spend time with whoever you want.”

Propping an arm against the cave wall above my head, he spun a strand of hair that had come loose from my bun around his finger. “If you wanted my attention, Empress, all you had to do was ask.”

I slapped his hand away, sudden irritation flaring through me.

This was the Thorne from the hedge maze that night, the one who used his cocky grins and flirtation to get whatever he wanted.

Not the Thorne from the bonfire. The one who let me glimpse the emotions hiding behind that mask, who was genuine and warm and felt like both sin and safety at the same time.

“Don’t play games with me,” I snapped. “You know I’m not that girl.”

I didn’t know where this bitterness came from, only that my tongue was saying the first thing that came into my head. The desire to push him away was equal to the desire to pull him in, and I was sick of how twisted it made my thoughts.

I was a master of control. But this man got under my skin and ripped that control from me without even trying.

His roguish smile dimmed. He lowered his arm back to his side. “ I never meant to play games with you, Clarissa. This is who I have to be.”

I shook my head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

He ran a finger along his lips while the crease between his eyes deepened. “I can’t let you be anything other than just another woman.”

A scoff left me. “Well, thank you , Lord Reaux. That clears things up.” I moved to slip away, but his hand closed around mine.

“You don’t understand,” he said, voice low. “If I let you become what you are to me, if I let you become anything other than the woman marrying my best friend, I…” He trailed off, his eyes resting on my fingers clutched in his.

The rest of the cave faded around us, save for the sound of my pounding heart and the heat spreading from my hand all the way to my core.

“And what am I to you, Thorne?” I whispered.

His thumb rubbed against the inside of my palm, sending a shiver down my spine. Images from my dream slammed into me. His lips on my neck, fingers at my thigh, my pulse racing to the warm breath below my ear.

He swallowed. “Clarissa, I?—”

A thunderous crash rang through the cave. The floor shook violently, the force of it throwing me into the wall. Small rocks and dust fell from the ceiling as a rumble echoed all around us.

“Thorne! Clarissa!” Galen shouted from across the space, and the last thing I saw was Marigold’s big brown eyes widening in horror as she shrieked for her father.

Then the ceiling collapsed.