Page 87 of The Crown of Moonlight

“It felt like it.”I refuse to look away.

“Ah, a soft heart to go with that pretty face,” Daire says.“How deliciously unsurprising.”

“Because I don’t enjoy killing people in their sleep?”

“Because you’re a shiny new toy.”

“A toyanda prisoner.Better and better,” I say as thunder cracks outside.

Daire’s grin is too sharp for humour.Or charm.“Is it really so terrible here with us, little flower?You don’t seem the type to sit at home gossiping over your embroidery.”

Unintentional or not, it’s a gut punch, and tears sting my eyes as his words conjure an image of my mother in her solar.The way she used to be.

Furious, I make a show of letting my eyes travel over Daire, from the glowing gold runes along his jaw and throat and down the wide chest and the defined muscles that disappear into his breeches.Then I lift my attention back to his face and shake my head.

“I would have better options for entertainment at home,” I say, “and the scenery is prettier.Also, death-by-crowning isn’t exactly a dream come true.”

Lorcan bursts into laughter, and Ronan chuckles.Daire waits a beat, then lets his grin widen wolfishly.He bends too close, his breath warm on my ear.“Something you should know about me, love: I can never resist a challenge.”

“Learn,” I suggest, stepping back.“Self-control is all part of growing up.”

“Oh, I’m all grown up.”Daire shifts closer again, forcing me to take another step.Then he glances around at the others.“See what happens when you give a woman a crown or two?Suddenly, she gives orders like a queen.”

I raise my eyebrows at him.“That’sMaidento you,love.”

Daire’s eyes drop instantly to my lips.“But are you?”he whispers.“Still?”

A hot flush crawls up my cheeks, and I step past him, circling around the fire.

In the rare event that I’d ever need a reminder of how much I loathe the Evers, a minute in Daire’s company will take care of that.

Light flashes and thunder cracks outside again, and at the mouth of the cavern, something moves.A fox slinks in and stops a few feet inside the opening, red fur dripping with rain and golden eyes dull with fatigue.Her tongue hangs from the side of her mouth.

“Rua, you’re back!”Grinning, Ronan strides past me, his arms opening as he approaches the vixen.She jumps into his arms and joyfully licks his face.

I’m not even surprised that the fox I saw back at the camp is Ronan’s pet.My capacity for astonishment is spent.

All I want is to go to sleep.Tempting as it would be to run back to Dunhaelic while the Riders rest, I am wearing proof that the gods are real.The crowns are burned into my skin, and I don’t know how to hide from that.Not yet.

Chapter 33

Sovereignty’s Maid

Flora

T

he rain has stopped.After the violence of the storm, the near silence and the stillness of the air feel expectant, like the pause before something worse.

I am curled up alone in the same spot where, a day ago, Chyr and I slept tangled in each other’s arms.He is sleeping at the back of the cavern with the other Riders, leaving me with all four of our plaids to make my bed.That shouldn’t soften my feelings towards him.But it’s another example of his kindness, and I do know he feels things deeply.

Maybe I’m a fool, but despite all the things he deliberately didn’t tell me and everything he let me mistakenly believe was true, Chyr’s sense of honour is the one thing I cannot doubt.That has nothing to do with his oaths—it’s who he is at his core.

In some ways, he’s a prisoner as much as I am.It might be impossible for him to choose between his oaths, and he hasn’t broken any promises that he made me.

I roll over and check on him and the others.The sound of steady breathing fills the cavern.I’ve slept in my clothes, so I’m dressed already.I wrap a plaid around my shoulders, pick up my boots, and tiptoe towards the light that streams in from outside.

Ronan’s tame fox, Rua, is still curled up near the cavern mouth where she fell into an exhausted sleep last night.Her head is cushioned on her tail, and she opens her eyes as I sneak past her.Shade and Shadow pad silently behind me.The fox pays them no attention.