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“Something to remember me by.” He’s several steps from me now, though his eyes are still locked on mine. “Oh, and darling?” “Paedyn.” “You were right.” He takes another step backward. I huff out a sigh. “I’m not sure I should even listen to what you’re about to say since you didn’t address me by my name, which is—” “Paedyn,” the sound of my name from his lips cuts me off, “the ladies do love me.” And with a wink, he turns and strides out of the alley.
She loves the sight of a prince pinned against a wall. And not just any prince: the future Enforcer.
I lean toward her, letting the sharp steel of my own blade bite into my throat, drawing a thin line of hot blood. “Careful, darling. You forget that spilling blood is what I do best.”
“Looks like I messed up your pretty face after all, despite my best efforts.” “Oh, this is nothing.” She laughs breathlessly. “You should see the damage I did to your pretty face.” My lips quirk into a smile as I lift my head toward hers. “Oh, darling, as long as you still think I’m pretty, I don’t give a damn what I look like.”
“Remind me to make you smile like that again, when you aren’t dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorize it.”
So I said her name, again and again. I finally let myself do it. Let that last piece of attachment to her lock into place. Just saying her name felt intimate, personal, somehow. And now I forever want her name on my lips and rolling off my tongue until I’m drunk on the taste and sound of it.
If I am to be her enemy, I want it to be because she loathes herself for wanting me.
“And I’ll save your life again and again, aimlessly hoping you will allow me to stay in it.”
“Well, money like this could feed dozens of Ilyans in the slums for weeks, months even,” I say evenly. “And yet, here it sits, wasting away for people’s wishes.” Kitt’s eyes flick to the fountain, and he frowns. “You’re right. I’ll see about having it removed and distributed.” My heart leaps against my chest. “Really?” His frown flips into a wide grin. “We made a deal, remember? You keep looking at me, and I’ll keep listening to you.”
“Oh, darling, a trophy implies that I won it, earned it, deserve it.” He leans in farther, a certain reverence reflecting in his gaze. “But if I get to have you, it will be because you let me.”
nod in agreement, watching the king smile at his queen in the way he’s only ever done for her. He never fails to give her the affection he never gave to us. To me.
Kitt may be the one trapped in the palace, but I have never known freedom from killing. Never known choice.
“So, you just want someone to keep you company?” “Not someone. You.”
“How do you not hate him?” I whisper. Silence stretches between us. The small smile he wears is sad. “Because he made me strong.”
I turn, slowly, and meet his gaze. His breath catches, his gaze softens. He didn’t think I would stay. He expects everyone to leave him.
“As tempting as it is to watch you stare at me all night,” his voice is a caress, lulling me to sleep with a single sentence, “sleep, Pae.” I manage to give him a groggy grin before asking, “Are you going to sleep?” “Oh, darling, I’m already dreaming.”
“I don’t know that I ever lived before laying eyes on the likes of you.”
“Tell me,” he murmurs, “what do you want me to call you?” My eyes slowly meet his, confused by his question. “What do you want to call me?” “I want to call you mine.”
“But I’m never sober around you, Pae. Never not drunk on every detail that is you.”
his speech consists of how the Ordinaries want to live, even despite the disease they will spread to the Elites. But if there are as many Ordinaries living among us as he says, then why have we not felt the effects? The loss of power?
