Page 82 of Shadow Mark
“I delivered justice to the people who conspired against me, maimed me, and killed my karu. They left me alone and friendless. They deserved worse,” he said, his voice growing hard. “And that is another reason you should not trust me. I do not regret the blood on my hands.”
Glancing down at their joined hands, very much covered in real blood, seemed a little too on-the-nose for that to be a metaphor. He meant real blood, then and now.
And she didn’t care. She should be appalled. Baris was the perfect embodiment of a horribly elegant and violent world.
“You want to know why I love you? Because you are my friend, my first true friend in this life,” he said.
Oh, that was a dirty trick. How could she not swoon after that? A rooftop garden, sunset, romantic music in the air, and he gave her his family-heirloom feather cloak to keep her warm. He wasn’t playing fair.
“Why now?” she asked, barely refraining from a swoon. “Is it because of Troublemaker? Because I’m in the nobility now?”
“No,” he said in a definitive tone. “Raelle has taken up against you. She demanded you cease your association with me. I can only speculate as to your response, but whatever it was, it displeased her.”
“To put it politely. You know, she plans to marry you off to her granddaughter.”
“I am aware, and I reason that Raelle is against you because she knows that plan has no hope.”
“Nia would be a better match in every possible way,” she said.
“Except my heart is against her. My heart desires only you.”
See? Swoon.
“Tell me there is some small chance of hope.” He tugged, drawing her closer.
“More than a chance,” she answered. “I do love you, Baris. You’re insufferably proud but also thoughtful and kind. And you’re my friend, too. I don’t have a lot of those. My personality is too prickly, I think.”
“Is that a yes? Will you be my queen?”
She should ask for more time. The situation was too complex to rush to an answer. She wouldn’t be marrying just Baris Shadow, a man she admittedly loved; she’d be marrying Baris the King. His proposal had been impulsive. If she answered impulsively in return, she’d only doubt her decision.
His eyes shone with adoration.
Fuck it. Impulsive was the theme of the day.
“Yes,” she answered.
His mouth crashed down over hers in a hard, claiming kiss. His free arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. There was so much to consider, so many questions about what this engagement meant, but all thoughts left her. On that winter’s night, in that moment, there was only them. No kingdom. No responsibilities. Just two souls who found each other against improbable odds and liked what they found.
A portal took Lenore from Earth and landed her in a world as glorious, violent, dark, and marvelous as a fairytale, and this was her happily ever after.
Nothing was ever as easy as that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LENORE
First came the headache. By the time they returned to the palace, Lenore’s head pounded. She took two tablets in an effort to stop her head hurting long enough to sleep and collapsed into bed.
By the morning, she had chills and a low-grade fever. A glass of water and two tablets waited on the nightstand. Grateful, she chugged them down.
She stumbled out of the bedroom to find Baris enjoying a morning coffee by the balcony, the drapes open to let in the sunlight. The table had been set with a service for four. The two karu sat in chairs on either side of Baris, their heads bobbing up to sneak a piece of fruit or meat from their plate and then vanishing below the table once more.
“You’re looking far too chipper,” she grumbled, slouching into a chair. Baris poured a cup and pushed it across the table. Grudgingly, she stirred in sugar and cream because sugar and cream made everything better. The first warm sip soothed her grouchiness but not the headache or chills. She felt achy all over, like her immune system was putting up a valiant fight, but could not avoid the inevitable full-body slam of a horrible cold.
“Shouldn’t you be having an adverse reaction to the symbiote?” she asked, only a little jealous that Baris appeared to be hale and hearty.
“My physiology is more welcoming to the symbiote than yours.”