Page 38 of What Fury Brings (Wrath and Fury #1)

The queen invited Sanos and Olerra to sit with her.

Pillows were placed beside the thrones, and Sanos sat with his spine straight atop one while women came up to congratulate him on the performance.

He was once again uncomfortable with such attention, but he bore it with good humor this time.

For her. He was proud to have garnered some more respect for Olerra as heir.

It probably didn’t fix everything, but it had to be a step in the right direction.

“Where did you learn to do that?” one noblewoman asked him.

“Playing dare with my brothers.”

She laughed, proclaiming Brutish boys brave devils.

Another woman whose name he didn’t know approached and said, “I saw you dancing and drinking with the princess. You’ve clearly warmed up to her. What changed in so short a time?”

He was, for the most part, truthful in his answer. “When she saved my life, I knew that I needed to do more for her. To be more for her. And when she proclaimed me her seul, I knew that was the end of it for me.”

The surrounding women were delighted by his responses.

They brought him drinks and food, as though he needed more after all he’d been consuming.

He took it gratefully but didn’t try anything that didn’t come straight from Olerra.

The crowd around them grew bigger and bigger until it was larger than Glen’s.

He locked eyes with Olerra, who beamed at him. He felt his whole heart swell. He was done ignoring his attraction to her. Done pretending that helping her get the throne wasn’t the right thing to do or even the most beneficial thing for him in the long run.

There was his family to consider, but having Olerra as a powerful ally could only help him in that regard, too, he realized.

Feeling a bit brazen and perhaps a little drunk, he reached over and pulled Olerra off her pillow and into his lap. He stroked her hair, let one hand drift to her hip. He found excuses to lean down over her, bringing his lips to her ear as he spoke.

“How many of the court do you think are too drunk to remember anything tomorrow?” he asked.

Olerra grinned up at him. “I think we’re safe. We’ve won some back to our side. Thank you for selling this romance so admirably.”

When he looked down at her lips, he saw her breath catch. Gods, he wanted to kiss her more than anything. But not here. Not in front of this crowd, where it would be a show. He wanted it to be just the two of them. When it meant something only for them.

Olerra couldn’t get enough of the way he was looking at her.

The usually frowning, intimidating, handsome prince of Brutus was something else when there was heat in his eyes. His attention was arresting when he was angry. But when he wasn’t? It was hard not to squirm on his lap.

But her chosen was so much more than just an attractive body. He was a brother who protected his little sister. A prince who sought out fairness. A man who had killed for her.

There was still so much more to learn about each other, but she knew that each new revelation would only draw them closer. She looked forward to the time ahead of them.

Olerra met Ydra’s eyes across the room. Her friend held up her cup before taking a large drink, and Olerra could hear her words from before.

Stop worrying about it.

Ydra had no doubt meant the lack of sex. As though Olerra could just stop thinking about how much she wanted Andrastus. But what if she’d actually meant to stop worrying about the fact she didn’t have the Gift?

Women in other countries had to put their faith in men. Just trust that they wouldn’t be hurt by them or taken advantage of. Olerra didn’t have the goddess’s strength, and that meant she would have to do the same if she wanted to draw closer to her Brute.

And she really wanted that.

Olerra rose and held down her hand to Andrastus, who took it. She helped haul him to his feet, showing her strength to the whole room.

“I think we’ll retire now,” she said.

“Enjoy your evening,” Toria said.

The queen simply nodded.

Olerra tugged her prince after her, eager to reach her rooms.

The hallway was quiet, and Andrastus kept apace with her easily. He seemed just as eager to reach her rooms, which only made her more excited. They walked hand in hand. She kept darting glances at her man, waiting for him to drop the act now that they were alone.

He didn’t.

She was so caught up in the moment that she failed to notice when they were no longer alone.

Something barreled into her from behind, sending her off-balance, and Olerra cursed herself for not being more observant.

Andrastus caught her before she could stumble more than a step, and he spun her behind him before Olerra could see what the danger was.

“Watch where you’re going,” the newcomer said.

Olerra peered around Andrastus’s body to find the boy that Glenaerys had bought at auction all those weeks ago, before Olerra had set out to steal her prince.

He now wore Glen’s armband, and his face had a bit of fear mixed with anger as he moved along.

Did he not realize whom he’d shoved? Or was he afraid because he was on Glen’s orders to do something?

Andrastus raised a hand as though to stop the boy for his rudeness and demand an apology, but Olerra wrapped a hand around his bicep. “Don’t. Let him go. He doesn’t have an easy time of it. He’s one of hers.”

Andrastus relented. Once the boy rounded the corner, he turned to her. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Olerra’s guards spilled into the hallway, having caught up with their sudden disappearance. One of them gave her a disapproving look, as if to chastise her for not telling them she and her prince were leaving.

Olerra had been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t even paused to think about safety. How did this man make her lose all sense?

“Let’s go,” Olerra said.

The prince seemed only too happy to follow.

Sanos had drunk plenty, but he’d always been one to hold his drink well. He was perfectly coherent as Olerra led him down the halls of the Amarran palace. She locked the door when they reached her rooms.

They were alone.

And he was unchained.

He had exactly zero desire to leave.

Not with the way she was smiling at him or the way her hand felt so warm in his.

The stab of guilt that suddenly jolted through his body was both unwelcome and unexpected, but it must have shown.

“What is it?” she asked, making no move to pull away or draw closer.

If they were going to do this, and he desperately wanted to do this, he needed to be honest with her. At least about the things he could.

“I have to show you something.”

He left her room, entering his own and crossing over into the next bedroom. He got down on his knees, feeling Olerra’s presence over his shoulder. His hand went to the ashes in the hearth, where he quickly found the hidden knife.

Olerra leaped back when she saw what he held, but Sanos carefully stayed on his knees. He adjusted his grip, holding the weapon by the blade and turning. He held the hilt out to her.

“Glenaerys gave me this. She wanted me to kill you. I accepted it, but not with the intent to hurt you. I wanted to keep the knife just in case escape ever became possible. I wanted something for the journey home. Your cousin is using every tool at her disposal, but I am not one of them. Take it.”

Olerra looked down at the ash-covered weapon before turning her eyes to his. “How did she manage to get you alone to give you this?”

“Your eunuchs are in her employ.”

Olerra’s jaw clenched. She left the room, leaving Sanos on his knees before the hearth.

His head and hopes fell. He understood she might be angry that he didn’t tell her about this right away, but surely she had to believe his sincerity.

He really hadn’t intended to use it on her.

This was for him. He thought that maybe after everything that had happened—

Olerra suddenly burst back into the room. “All right. The eunuchs are being dealt with. Their keys to my rooms are being revoked, and they’re being locked up in the dungeons for further interrogation. Thank gods I can trust Ydra to get things done. Now, how long ago did Glen give you this knife?”

The reappearance was jarring, but he said, “Not long. A week, perhaps.”

“And how did she intend for you to harm me with this?”

“She told me to wait until you trusted me. Until you let me be around you without chains. Only then was I to strike. When you least expected it. This is the first you’ve allowed us to be alone together in your rooms, unchained, and I want you to know that you can trust me.

That I trust you. I don’t need this. I’m going to stay and help you win your throne. ”

Gods, he had so much to figure out. His men fought the Ephennans without him, and his family was without his protection. He needed time to come up with solutions, but he meant the words he said to her.

Her face unreadable, Olerra finally reached for the blade and took it. “Why the change?” she asked.

He was still asking himself that question, but the answer turned out to be right in front of him. “You, of course.”

She raised a brow.

“Your forwardness and kindness. Your fierceness and loyalty. Your plans for the future of Amarra. You’re unlike anyone I have ever met, and I would see you be the next queen. I’m in.”

What was she meant to do with this prince on his knees offering her a dagger and a kingdom?

Kissing him seemed like a good start.

Olerra took the dagger from him and tossed it over her shoulder, not bothering to see where it landed. Then she pulled him to his feet. She meant to say thank you, but he was already closing the distance between them.

He claimed her mouth with a savagery that might be more suitable to a thief than a prince. His lips were firm, they were demanding, and she loved it.

She was expected to be in control of so much all the time, and she loved that he was just fine taking control of this moment, when he’d had so little autonomy since arriving in Amarra.