Map of Ember and Moonlight

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

There was no Ayverian Torrent left, not after Lyv and Gideon emptied Jules's only bottle the week before.

Sitting at the bar, Lyv looked down into her empty tankard after downing its contents for the third time. She had a little bit of a buzz, but nothing that could erase the thoughts that had been running through her mind nonstop over the last day.

"Don't you have anything stronger?" Lyv asked as Jules refilled the tankard.

"You don't need to be drunk, princess. I love you like my own, but you don't need to turn to a drink to get your mind of something," she told her. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Lyv gulped down her ale, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "Have you ever had a man give you such a mind-blowing kiss, one that you've never experienced before, and yet just walk away? One that completely shatters you and puts you right back together again? Then you learn from a past lover that he's leaving for good?"

Jules's eyebrows shot up. "Well, hell, girl. Sounds like you had a night, didn't you?"

Lyv groaned, putting her forehead against the counter.

"Was it Amory who you kissed? Because I told him if he ever hurt you, I'd have his head mounted on my wall as a warning to others," Jules smiled, and then winked. "But by the looks of it, he didn't exactly hurt you. But Balian...well, you know I've never liked the man. I warned you not to get tangled with him last year."

No, Amory didn't exactly hurt me, she wanted to tell her. Just made me want to lock the two of us in my rooms and never leave.

She didn't think that would be exactly appropriate for her to say, though.

The night before, once she was able to walk out of that alley on shaking legs, she'd found Amory talking quietly to Gideon. The wedding celebration was still going full force, but Amory left just as she spotted them, heading back to their rented room.

Gideon spotted her a few moments later, seeing her flushed face, her swollen lips...and started laughing. "Oh, you two are in so much trouble."

It was like he could smell him all over her. He probably did. She could, too.

"I don't want to talk about it, Gideon. Let's go, okay?"

But going meant they were going back to their room, where Amory had already taken his place on a mound of blankets on the floor by the bed. Gideon had claimed the sofa long before when they first got there. Lyv, of course, got the bed. After changing into a tunic that was long enough to cover the most important – and totally neglected – parts of her, she slipped under the covers on the opposite side of the bed from where Amory was.

She could feel him, though, still smell him all over her. But if she pulled him up into the bed with her, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have to kick Gideon out and have her way with him.

It had been hard falling asleep, but the next thing she knew, it was morning and the two men were packing up their things to leave.

They didn't get back to the palace until around noon. Gideon had been the only one to really talk the whole ride back, both Lyv and Amory being too lost in their thoughts to respond.

The atmosphere at the palace was still tense after finding Arnaud's body. Little did everyone know that the killer was walking their princess through the front doors. The extra guardsmen throughout made Lyv second-guess everything, wondering if they were in on the queen's plot or sided with the king.