“Fine,” she said, “you may speak with me alone.” As if she had a choice. He was the king, after all. “But here in the village, not at the castle.”
Demands. Who was she to make them? And yet she did.
A hint of amusement played on his too-handsome-for-words face. With a nod, he said, “The library then.” Turning his attention to Lisette, he asked, “Do you mind?”
She shot Jade a worried look, but Jade gave her a quick, albeit tight, smile.
“Of course not,” Lisette consented. What choice did she have, really?
“Jade,” Michael’s imploring tone made her head turn in his direction.
“It’ll be okay,” she said. “The king merely wishes a word and everyone here knows when and where we’re meeting. If anything were to happen to me, the king could hardly expect it to be dismissed. Particularly by the slayers, right?”
She glanced over her shoulder and found Walker and Tanner rigid and at the ready—for what, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as though the two of them could take on an entire kingdom on her behalf, should something go awry. Even with Lisette’s vanquishing spells to help. Still, having everyone bear witness as she made the arrangement with the king provided a modicum of relief.
Returning her attention to Darien, she said, “Lead the way, my Lord.”
Neither said a word as they stalked down the walkway, Jade’s strides wide enough to keep up with the king’s. Though, given his long legs, she suspected he’d slowed his usual pace so she could match it. When they reached the library, he burst into it and turned sharply to face her.
“First,” he said as he wagged a finger in her face, as though she were a disobedient child, “enough with challenging me. Do not forget, I am the king.”
“I know you’re the king,” she said. “I meant no disrespect. I’m simply hoping for honest answers. And while you may not believe I’m entitled to them, I disagree, given that your laws have been broken by your…creatures. Possibly even by you,” she added as she moved away. She crossed to the fireplace to warm her hands, since she’d left the meeting hall without slipping into her gloves and jacket.
Darien removed his cloak and offered it to her. She regarded the garment warily. To not accept the grand gesture would only infuriate him further when it came to her insolence. And though he’d appeared to find something about her inner strength interesting, she knew not to push too hard. There was such a thing as being too stubborn for one’s own good.
She took the cloak from him and draped it over her shoulders. Jade wasn’t a small woman, but the black material dwarfed her and pooled at her feet.
“Thank you,” she said. “And I apologize for being so blunt. I’ve not spoken to a king before, and I tend to say what’s on my mind without censoring it. I’ll behave as appropriately as I can manage during this conversation.”
He stared down at her with curiosity in his eyes, which told her he doubted she was capable of keeping her oath. “I’ll give you wide berth in private. But you try my patience in public and I won’t have you making a mockery of me or my laws.”
Her brow furrowed. “That wasn’t my intention. And why the leniency now that we’re alone?”
“Because,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I need you.”
Jade gaped. Darien swore under his breath. He did an about-face and stalked over to Lisette’s desk.
A flame of desire flickered along her clit, distracting her. The heat that rushed through her veins made her shed his cloak and hang it over the back of a chair before she spontaneously combusted.
The knuckles of his balled fist rapped the top of the desk in angst or frustration or both before he turned back to her. “What I meant to say was, I need to know more about who you are and what powers you possess.”
“Powers?” She shook her head.
He gave her a don’t-play-coy-with-me look.
Jade sighed. She wouldn’t win any battle of wills with this man. Demon. Man. Whatever.
“I don’t have powers,” she told him. “I have abilities that aren’t exactly the norm, but nothing mystical or magical. Well, not totally…”
He slung a thick, black leather-clad thigh over the corner of the desk, halfway sitting on the edge of the sturdy piece of wood. Folding his arms over his expansive chest, he said, “Do tell.”
Jade anxiously paced before him, suddenly feeling as though she were on trial for her life. In the meeting hall, she’d been fueled by her personal fears and aggravations, but also by Jinx’s death. Perhaps she had gone too far with the Demon King, but she wasn’t one to sit idly by as the villagers were picked off one by one.
Which made her wonder, if she told Darien of her gifts, would he do as she’d feared earlier—toss her in a cell and throw away the key because she was an anomaly he felt might be a threat to him and his kingdom?
“Jade.”
He said her name with such familiarity and intimacy, it brought her to an abrupt halt.