you must know that I’ve only ever acted out of love for you.”
“I know,” Tiron said impatiently. “I know that’s what you think and I don’t care. I want the king of autumn. Where is he?”
“You married Alisa.” Her voice was full of joy. “You followed the plan after all. Are you going to follow through with the next step?”
The next step? I stared at Tiron, but he didn’t look my way.
“Enough,” Tiron warned her. “Where is Azrael?”
“Is my life forfeit to you because of my betrayal?” she asked.
“Not quite yet, but we’re getting there,” he said in exasperation. “At least you call it what it is, Perin. Betrayal. Rank betrayal that doesn’t suit a warrior like yourself.”
“Tiron, you know warriors must look to the endgame—”
“Don’t call me Tiron.” His voice was low and dangerous.
There was a hesitation, and then she said, “My king.”
Her voice was subdued.
“Better. You forgot yourself, Perin. But you can begin to heal this by bringing Azrael to me.” His voice was ice, hard and unyielding, and it sent a shiver up my spine.
Maybe I didn’t know Tiron at all. Maybe the cheerful, friendly male I knew had been a part he played.
“As you will, my king,” she said. “Where do you want me to bring him?”
Tiron told her about the cove in the summer court.
When he wiped the ice away from the mirror with the towel though, his gaze was troubled.
“You don’t trust her?” I asked.
“I’m a king,” he said. “I don’t trust anyone.”
“Far more true when you’re a queen,” I said lightly, because I’d made the mistake of trusting him. But then, I hadn’t known he was a king.
He turned away from me, bracing his hands on the wall as he stared out the porthole. His handsome face was troubled as he gazed out at the sea.
“I’m sure you have questions,” he said.
“One big one. Who the hell is Perin and what was she talking about?”
“She raised me,” Tiron said, and his eyes were full of pain. “Betrayed me, too.”
“It seems to be going around.”
“I didn’t want this, Alisa.”
His tone hurt my heart, but I hardened myself. “What was she talking about? What’s the next step in the plan she wants you to follow?”
“To take the throne from you.” His voice was regretful.
“And how exactly do you intend to do that?”
“I don’t,” he said. “I just want the winter court, Alisa. To myself. To begin to fix everything that’s gone wrong there. No more summer soldiers occupying, no more of the High Whatever’s knights.”
The high whatever.
“You told me that my people needed me,” I said. “Needed me to be the High Queen.”
“Your people do need you, just as mine do,” he said. It sounded so dismissive, as if he intended to part ways forever. “Unfortunately, as long as Faer is in play, you can’t help me take back the winter court.”
He raked his hand through his hair; it seemed as if he didn’t care about anything right now except getting back to the winter court. I understood we all wanted to take care of our people, but I didn’t understand how he could be so cold when he’d hurt me and when Azrael was still missing.
“It’s pretty obvious that you used Azrael and Duncan to get close to me, that you always intended to marry me, and that I was a useful tool to you, all the while I thought we were friends,” I said crisply.
The word friends seemed insufficient when I remembered how the two of us had kissed. His kisses had stolen my breath away, his hands in my hair, sudden passion breaking through his light, easy-going personality. When I remembered those kisses, my breath still stuttered in my chest, remembering how it felt when his lips seared to mine. Part of me still longed to brush my mouth against his soft lips.
It was hard to believe kisses like those were a lie.
“A king doesn’t have friends,” he said. “Especially when he’s trying to save a kingdom.”
“Dramatic bullshit,” I told him. “You know you do have friends. Or did. You could have told Azrael and Duncan and me.”
“I did tell you.” His voice was just as cold as it had been with Perin.
“From the beginning! We would have tried to help you.”
“Sure,” he said. I hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. “But then what? How far would you go to save my kingdom?”
“I went with you into the winter caves.”
“That cost you nothing.” He shook his head, still staring out at