A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, #1) (77)

I could still feel Lorian watching me. How exactly had he ended up here? My heart thumped faster at the memory of the fae he’d met with near the Gromalian border. I needed to know what Lorian was planning and how his plans would affect my own.

I risked a glance over my shoulder when the room went quiet. The queen had gotten to her feet. With a few murmured words to the king, she walked toward the door.

“Do we need to follow her?” I asked.

Lisveth shook her head. “The queen likes privacy after one of the king’s dinners. And she especially enjoys being alone after the castle balls. We’re allowed to leave whenever we like.”

I studied the others at the king’s table, ignoring Lorian, who was deep in conversation with King Sabium. “Who are the other people sitting with the king?” I asked quietly.

Lisveth smiled. “They’re the king’s patriarchs. They own huge swaths of land, depending on how much of the king’s favor they’ve courted over the years. Down the end of the table is Patriarch Kofod.” She nodded toward a man with a mournful expression who looked drunk already. “Next to him is Patriarch Farrow—Madinia’s father.”

I studied the man. Madinia’s mother must have been a beauty, because other than their red hair, the two had no other similarities that I could see. I glanced at Madinia. She raised one eyebrow at me.

Patriarch Farrow was sitting next to the king. A powerful man, indeed. The Gromalian prince sat on his other side. “And next to the…prince?”

“Patriarch Thueson.” She smiled. Thueson had wiry white hair that stood out from his head as if he couldn’t help but run his hands through it. He looked deep in contemplation as he studied his plate. “He’s a nice man,” Lisveth said. “My father was rarely at court when I was young, and Patriarch Thueson always had a piece of honeyed fruit for me.” She leaned close and lowered her voice to a whisper. “He hates court. He’d much rather be managing his lands with his husband, but the king enjoys his company and often insists he stay here. Next to him is Patriarch Greve.” She nodded toward a man with a thin, sharp nose and a sallow complexion. Something like fear darted across her face, and I opened my mouth, but Lisveth turned back to face the table. Clearly, she didn’t want to talk about it.

I waited a few more minutes, but none of the other ladies showed any signs of retiring. Finally, I pushed back my chair.

“I’m tired,” I said.

Lisveth smiled at me. The others ignored me.

“Good night.”

I practically ran from the dining hall. I hadn’t seen Rythos or the rest of the group, but if Lorian was here, I had little doubt they were around somewhere.

Someone took my arm, and I stumbled. Then I was being swept into an empty room.

Lorian glowered down at me. My stupid body wanted to arch against him. Clearly, all the stress was impacting my mind.

“You were supposed to get on a ship,” he growled.

I took a deep breath, and his enticing scent wound toward me. He smelled wild, like the forest, and it reminded me of sleeping outdoors beneath the stars. “I’m going nowhere until Asinia is safe.”

He went still in that strange way he so often did. “You’re risking everything for a woman who is probably dead already?”

I sniffed. “I don’t know how to explain friendship and loyalty to you. You either know what those things are, or you don’t.”

The ghost of a smile crossed his face. We both knew he was intensely loyal to his friends. “Tell me.”

“It’s simple. She’s my best friend. More like a sister than a friend. And I know, without a doubt, that if I were the one who’d been taken, she’d do the same for me.”

“Yet neither of you knew the other had power.”

Something I’d avoided thinking about until I could talk to Asinia.

“Our friendship had secrets. But none of that matters now. The question is, what the hell are you doing here?” I hissed.

He just raised one dark brow. “How about you tell me how a villager gets a position as one of the queen’s ladies?”

“As soon as you tell me how a mercenary has a seat at the king’s table.”

He gave me a slow smile. “I never said I was a mercenary.”

Of all the— “You’re not from Gromalia either!”

“According to whom?” He had the audacity to look affronted.

“The idea of you being a prince is ludicrous.”

“Almost as ludicrous as a villager being a queen’s lady?”

I sneered at him.

“Although, for a savage villager, you certainly manage to outshine the other ladies,” he purred.

“Don’t try to distract me.”

He grinned down at me. “But you make it so easy.” He reached a hand up to play with the curl that had been left free over my forehead. “I like your real hair better. And I miss those strange eyes.”

“Strange?”

“Strangely beautiful.”

Something had sparked in Lorian since I’d seen him last. He was almost…charming. Was it because he was close to getting whatever it was he’d come here for?

His hand slid to my chin. “I missed the rest of you too. The way you scowl at me when I say something you disagree with. And that face you make when you’re wondering what I’d look like naked.”