Bell laughed. “That’s easy. Anything sweet enough to rot her teeth.”
“And for him?” Eros glanced at Stolas, who was examining what appeared to be a bottle of very old, probably very expensive wine he’d somehow talked a nervous servant into procuring. “Or would he rather stay here and deplete my expensive wine collection?”
There was no animosity in his tone. Perhaps he was relieved that Stolas seemed more interested in draining the wine than the servants themselves.
But how long would that last? Other than the Asgardian she let him have, Haven had no idea how he was staying fed. The crystals in Shadoria kept him nourished but not . . . sated. She knew that much.
And now that they were here, would it be enough to siphon light magick from the wards and spells hewn into the city, or would he need to be taken care of somehow?
As a servant led them to their rooms, Haven realized how very little she knew about Stolas Darkshade.
Her need to compartmentalize him as Lord of the Netherworld started first as necessity, and then, because it was easier when pretending he didn’t have feelings and desires, to keep him at a safe distance.
But now . . .
She jerked from her thoughts to see Stolas at the end of the sun-filled corridor, the rare bottle of wine all but forgotten in his hand as he watched her quietly. Something in his raw gaze sent heat rushing up to sear her cheeks.
She wet her suddenly dry lips as she mentally asked, Do you trust him?
His intensity shifted to caution as he shrugged. He withstood my provocations when most mortal males would have reacted. That alone makes him worth more than half the kings in Eritreyia. And . . . he has impeccable taste in wine.
She rolled her eyes, murmuring aloud, “You spoiled royals and your love of old, overpriced grape juice.”
He tsked, and then something warm and liquid smoldered inside his silver eyes. “Join me for a drink and I will show you how marvelously wrong you are.”
Her pulse quickened. Other than last night, when was the last time she was truly alone with Stolas? Training, but that didn’t count. All her concentration was focused on conjuring the correct magick and avoiding his brutal attacks.
If she entered his room, there would be nothing between them to hide behind. Only the warm sea breeze and endless sunlight and calming rush of the ocean below. At least during training her high heart rate could be explained away.
But here, without the constant threat of attack or demands of Shadoria, there was no hiding the building feelings she had for him.
And that terrified her for two reasons.
First, he could reject her, and she wasn’t ready for that kind of pain. Not from him.
But if he didn’t reject her, if he felt the same way . . . if something happened between them, Archeron would know.
Somehow, he would know. And he would turn all of the resources of his kingdom from hunting Haven to assassinating Stolas—
No! A violent shock of horror and fear slammed through her, the visions of Stolas’s death hurtling to the surface of her mind. It was Stolas’s slow, agonizing end that still invaded her thoughts. Still tormented her whenever she closed her eyes. Infecting her like a plague that had settled deep inside every part of her being.
Archeron had seen to that. Whatever magick he used to craft the nightmare, it had been so real. So painfully real . . . almost like a prophecy of the future.
No. In some ways, Stolas knew her better than anyone here, even Bell. Stolas was the only one who could understand the darkness that lived inside her.
She couldn’t lose him. Terror and agony ripped at her heart just imagining a life without him.
A cold finality came over her.
Doing her best to look tired, she gave Stolas a bland smile. “Another time. I—I need to freshen up before the tour.”
The fleeting disappointment in his eyes was so brief she could have imagined it.
Stolas was her friend. Her mentor and protector.
That was enough—it had to be.
15
The few hours before dinner passed by in a blur of cafés and shops. Neri sent two of her cousins to take Haven and the others around the city using the slender little boats that glided down the winding canals. When Haven had asked what they did when the gate was fully opened and the water let out, one of the cousins simply explained