Page 106 of The Ever King

I startled when Celine emerged from a damn wall. “How . . . where did you—”

“I heard you stand for him.” Celine shifted on her feet, then all at once wrapped her arms around me. “He’s never had someone stand for him. Wouldn’t allow it, honestly, but I’m glad you did.”

Stunned, a little uncertain, I gingerly patted her back. “Do you . . . do you know where I might find him?”

“Follow me.”

CHAPTER36

The Songbird

Cool, crystal water rippled over my bare toes. Celine pointed me to the narrow cove at the base of the palace gardens. Here, the water appeared like green glass and sand was soft and light.

A solitary place, but one I found laden in peace. Opposite to the violent shores near the isles of the fort back home, this place was calm and soothing. Erik’s scent of oakwood and clean rain was everywhere. Even the damn stone in the walls seemed to breathe of the king.

The sun bled beyond the horizon, and in the distance, cerulean fins splashed about. The merfolk dove in and out of the rising tides. Their hair was made of all colors—pale as the sand, raven’s wing dark, tree moss green, even the deep blue of the lagoons.

Merfolk weren’t as lovely as the walking sea fae, a touch frightening with their long fingers and orb-like eyes, but I could watch the graceful way they carved through water all night.

At the water’s edge, Erik was seated, knees bent, and in his grip was a green bottle. His hair was tousled, his sword removed and laid in the sand at his side. He’d stripped his boots and dug his bare feet into the wet sand on the water’s edge.

Damn the hells, he was haunting and beautiful. Like a thorny rose in a tomb.

I quietly crossed the sand to him. Ten paces away, he tilted the bottle to his lips and took a long gulp. With a wince, the king tossed the bottle aside and let his head droop.

I shook out the sharp nerves from my hands. “Regretting me, Bloodsinger?”

His head shot up. “Songbird?”

“Serpent.”

“What are you doing here? I thought you might have convinced Narza to send you home by now. I assure you, she’d find a way to do it.”

“I’m not so sure.” I sat beside him and hugged my knees against my chest. “I might’ve scolded her in front of the revel. I doubt she has much interest in helping me.”

Erik studied me for a long breath, then his mouth parted in a white grin, and he laughed. “Bold at the strangest times.” He faced the shore again. “Go enjoy the revel. It is for you, after all. My absence will soon be forgotten.”

“True, I hardly noticed you’d left.”

“Ah, I wish I could say the same of you. Unfortunately, I notice your absence as much as I notice your presence.”

Bastard. His words caused my heart to beat against my ribs, bruising the edges.

Erik dragged his fingers in the sand. His position barred me from getting too close.

“Are you drunk?”

“Not nearly enough.”

“Good. I want your head clear.” My lungs burned from holding my breath, and protested when I blew it out too swiftly. “Will you answer the question you know I want to ask?”

His jaw pulsed through his pause. My pulse raced, my body heated, and for a moment I could nearly taste him searching the connection between us.

“You don’t want to believe I’m a monster,” he said softly. “You want to believe there is more to the story. There isn’t, Livia. I’m not the broken hero you wish me to be. I’m the one who slits the hero’s throat.”

“A monster would not despise himself for taking a life if he did not care.”

Erik glowered at the sky. “I’m starting to truly hate this bond.”