impossible. And this put her square in the path of all those fears.
But deeper than her fear she wanted... What she wanted was to explore the dark link she felt with Alex.
It was something new and exciting and magic.
Or perhaps it was old magic.
That truth echoed inside of her.
This thing between them wasn’t new at all.
He’d said that he’d nearly claimed her. Taken advantage of his power and taken her back when she’d been with his brother.
And what she had always deemed to be dislike felt like it was something else altogether.
She had been so convinced that she loved Dionysus, but here she was agreeing to marry his brother.
His brother who was different from him in every way.
She did not understand herself.
And she needed time to understand herself, and running away wouldn’t help.
She’d been running for years now.
They finished the dance, and the rest of the evening went by in a strange blur.
They were on the receiving end of many congratulations, though some of the interactions were with men, and they were quite strange.
“They thought they were coming here to view you as a potential bride,” Alex said at one point, as he handed her a glass of champagne.
The glass was crystal, the stem a tree, the branches wrapped around the cup. It reminded her of the wood, encroaching on her.
“And you announced that you were going to instead.”
“Yes.”
“What must it be like, to wander through life without fear of reprisal. Most people would never be so bold.”
“I am not most people.”
“No indeed. Sometimes I wonder if you’re a man at all.”
His dark gaze burned into her. “Do you? Perhaps I have not made it sufficiently clear.”
A thrill raced down her spine. She was frustrated with herself. That she would be consumed with his brand of sexuality while there were much larger things at stake.
But there was only so much that could be spoken about here, in a ballroom full of hundreds of people. There was only so much that could be said.
For she had discovered more about herself and more about him and the time they had spent with no words at all.
Everything that had happened after they’d had sex had been... Wrong. It had driven a wedge between them.
She had felt vulnerable and hurt, and small because of what he had said. And then he had surprised her by declaring that she would be his Queen.
She could not join up the two moments. But she had a feeling that the truth, the answer, was somewhere in that physical connection they shared.
It had to be.
For there was something between them that burned hot and bright, and there was no explaining it. No untangling it with mere words.
They had known each other for years. They had not managed it.
And when the evening wound to a close, she did not know what to expect. For it was late, and there were so many unspoken things between the two of them, they could fill a novel with it.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
“You’re hungry?”
“I never got a chance to have anything during the ball. People kept talking to me.”
“Something we will solve,” he said.
He strode toward the dining room, and she lifted her dress up off the floor so she could try to keep up with him. He sat at the head of the table, and she took a seat next to his right.
“Food will arrive soon.”
“You didn’t...ask for any.”
“I am here,” he said. “Seated at the dining table. My request is clear. And it will be met.”
He wasn’t wrong. Moments later, trays of food were brought out before them, savory and sweet, more than she would have ever thought to ask for.
“This is... This is a bit much.”
“This is what it is to be royalty.”
“Yes. I’m seeing that. I spent a lot of time in the palace but not... There’s so much that I don’t know. Alex, I’ve known you for years, but I don’t know you.” She put her hand on his arm, and his gaze burned with unspoken things. “I want to know you, Alex.”
CHAPTER TEN
“A KING IS not meant to be known.”
“But I can’t live that way. I can’t live not knowing you. We are going to be married, and I need to understand you.”
He frowned. “There’s nothing to understand. I’m a king. You will be my Queen.”
“Those are both labels, not personalities.” She looked at him. Hard. “I’m Tinley. You think that I’m too loud, and a bit clumsy. I like to knit. I enjoy baking. I hope I’ll