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when something barrels into me from behind. I nearly lose my footing, but I catch myself, though a huge pressure impedes my overskirt. A reprimand is already on my lips as I turn, but I’m brought up short. There’s a dog panting before me.
“I suppose,” Rhoda says after a pause in the conversation, “that I would be distrustful, too, if I were a king, knowing that the last one had been murdered.”
Passion doesn’t lead anywhere good.
The Shadow King is trying to root out his parents’ murderer. He’s invited everyone who was there the night they died to stay at the palace. He’s ordered their indefinite stay so he can keep an eye on them and find the culprit.
“You are beautiful,” he continues. “But not so beautiful as to tempt me.
“Oftentimes, it is not fear of punishment that prevents wrongdoing.”
“Sometimes working to gain something is better.
“You are an absolute gem, do you know that?” My whole body warms at the praise.
“The poets say a virtuous woman’s worth is above rubies. I should think the king values you more than all the precious gems in the world combined. I know I would if you were mine.”
The poets can say whatever they damned like. A woman’s worth is not decided by what’s between her legs but by what is in her mind.
“Call me the Shadow Queen.”
“I canceled my evening of meetings,” he says. “I thought to surprise you by taking you out tonight. But you weren’t anywhere to be found. I thought to wait for you.”
“If I were to touch someone skin to skin when I’m not in my shadow form, my ability would go away whenever I’m in their presence. I would be corporeal anytime they were around. I would be susceptible to death and pain and all else.
Rest assured, the only dangerous thing out here is me.” “And should I fear you?” I ask. “Never.”
“I hadn’t meant for us to keep our clothes on.” The words are out before I realize they might be too forward. Kallias turns to me, a wicked grin on his face. “Why, Lady Alessandra, the more I learn about you, the more I like you.”
“Have you ever been in love?” “No,” he says. “Not ever. What’s it like?” “Horrible.”
You’re the most stunning thing to ever set foot in my palace.”
“The king is a fifteen. Perhaps not for everyone. But he is a fifteen for me.” And it’s the starkest truth.
Something about sending a healer to the queen’s suite?
“To you, Alessandra. May your wit never be used against me.”
“I can’t call on my shadows.”
“Well, a lady must always get what she wants.”
“I wasn’t speaking of that game.” His eyes dart down to my lips briefly, before he turns on one heel and walks away.
“I think that when you care enough for someone, you reach a point where it’s far more painful not to have him at all than to have him and risk losing him. You realize the risk is worth it. Because happiness, however short-lived, is always worth it.”
millennium. I don’t care about a long life anymore. I can’t stand being alone for one second longer. I can’t stand being apart from you for one second longer.”
“No, you know him from before that. He looked a little different then, with hair as black as yours, a nose that wasn’t broken.
