Fortune Favors the Cruel - Kel Carpenter Page 0,62
savageness that enraptured her. A heat that scorched her soul.
Quinn didn’t want it. She didn’t want to see or to feel any of it—any of him. But if he was so bent on setting her aflame, maybe she should just strike the match and watch it all burn.
Her hand came up lighting fast, and she could have sworn that thunder boomed when she swung. A crack split the air and the music died out.
Lazarus’ face didn’t twitch, not as the flush of a red handprint bloomed on his tanned flesh. “Scortum,” she snapped in N’skaran. “Oh, my apologies, my Prince, I forgot that you don’t speak that language. Allow me to translate. You’re being a prick.”
“And you’re playing with fire,” he growled as he stepped around her and began hauling her through the crowd. “A fire you don’t know how to control.” Some of the men let out a laugh and the women squealed in delight just before the music began again. The melody no longer lulled her into a false sense of calm, but instead trailed behind as they turned into the brutal wind that whipped through the trees. He pulled her along the high wooden walkways, either not noticing or not caring how the wood planks swayed beneath him. They came upon a tree hut far removed from the party where the noises were a world away. He flung open the heavy wooden door and hauled her through.
A taupe colored wooden table with two sturdy chairs sat to one side of the room. On it, a candle was already burning, giving off faint traces of light. A narrow hallway to their left led to a small bedroom.
Lazarus paused in the doorway and quit dragging her.
Not that Quinn stopped fighting.
“Let go of me, you pompous ass—”
“Why were you upset tonight?” he asked in a tone so silky and smooth that she paused. The reason she was fighting temporarily forgotten. She’d expected anger, and perhaps, some yelling. But this … she narrowed her eyes, not trusting it.
“Why were you?” she replied.
They stared at each other, neither willing to talk; neither willing to yield.
“You made a fool out of me.” He grimaced as soon as the words came out. Looking to the ceiling and running a hand down his face, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fawning over that boy … wearing those clothes—”
“I didn’t do anything more than speak to him, and Lorraine is wearing the same thing,” Quinn interrupted, lifting a silver eyebrow. “And if you want to talk about embarrassing, let’s talk about why you never told me you’re next in line to become king. Hmm? Shall we?”
“It’s not that simple, Quinn.” He dropped her wrist and turned away.
“Oh, it’s not?” she snapped, unrelenting. “You didn’t lie to me about your intentions?” She circled him even as he turned away from her.
“I never lied to you. You signed a contract to be part of my house for five years, whether it’s the house of a noblemen or king matters not,” he said, turning for the hallway.
“So, you can just walk away when it suits you, but I do it because you’re making a fool of yourself and, suddenly, I’m playing with fire?” she growled, following after him. “Black Baac.”
“You’re driving me insane,” he groaned, striding into the bedroom. She didn’t hesitate to follow him in.
“You’re already there,” she shot back, stopping at the foot of his bed.
He rounded on her and the expression on his face made her halt. His eyes were unfocused. Hazy. She squinted, slowly inching forward.
“You have no idea,” he murmured, the words barely audible in the silent air between them, his hands bunched into fists at his sides. Quinn blinked.
“What are you talking about?” His constant changing was giving her a headache—or was that the spirits talking? It was hard to tell when the colors swished together and shone so bright it hurt. The fear in her veins wrestled against the small modicum of control she held, wanting to come out and play again. To test him. To taste him.
“Your magic,” he breathed, inhaling deeply. There was a spark of something in his gaze that she didn’t want to put a name to. She wanted to go back to the cold, safe space, to where the world didn’t sway as much as it did. “You used it on me. You tried to hurt me, and I fear…”
Quinn tilted her head up, her expression puzzled and heart pounding.