The corridor to the council chamber was too long. Too quiet. Too polished for a man whose mind was an absolute mess.
Rhane's boots echoed softly against the marble floor, but the pounding in his chest drowned out every other sound. It wasn't the council that made his pulse riot. No, those crusted bastards couldn't stir fear in him if they tried.
It was her.
Jenna. Delicate as a damned porcelain sword, fragile and sharp in equal measures.
He could still see her standing there, lips parted just slightly, like they were remembering the taste of something forbidden. Her nose had flared when she'd snapped at him, and gods, he'd never wanted to kiss someone mid-argument so badly in his life.
And it wasn't going to be pleasing, he wanted to wrap his palm around her small neck and press on her with his weight.
The way her hands fluttered when she was nervous, always trying to look collected, but those traitorous fingers gave her away every single time. Those same hands had balled into fists once, just to avoid shaking. She didn't think he noticed. He noticed everything.
Every bloody thing about Jenna! Rhane didn't fail to notice even when the wind pushed a single strand of her hair awkwardly. Damn it, he'd noticed for the life of him. Rhane lived for her and he couldn't help it.
Even now, with the weight of his bloodline on the table, all he thought of was her sigh, the real one, the one she tried to muffle when she thought no one was listening. He'd kiss her.
No, he wanted to. Which was worse. And if she kissed him back? If she leaned in with that infuriating softness and let him taste all that fire?
Rhane closed his eyes briefly, dragging in a breath that did nothing to calm the storm inside him. His chest ached. Not the kind of pain you admit to anyone, not even Kali, because it came with hope. And hope, in his world, was just another form of insanity.
"Is my brother still lost in the clouds?" a voice drawled from the wall.
Rhane opened his eyes.
It was Kali. Languid, lethal Kali. Resting against the stone like she was posing for a painting of war. One leg crossed over the other, arms folded like she had time to kill and enemies to mock. Her smirk was permanent.
Rhane didn't answer at first. Just looked at her, filled with mirth dancing in his eyes. Then he kept walking.
"I'm guessing," she said, pushing off the wall with a fluid stretch, "you don't even need seven days to make her stay, eh?"
Rhane slowed his pace. "What seven days?" He remembered Jenna had said the same thing earlier, but he didn't quite understand what she meant and didn't see the need to ask.
Kali sniffed, the corner of her mouth twitching with mischief. "Something…" she waved a hand, dismissive. "I just gave her a little push. She wants to stay but wasn't sure. That's where I came in."
Rhane turned, his brow lifted slightly with suspicion. "What did you do?"
Kali shrugged as if she hadn't just meddled in the private affairs of a man who rarely let anyone in. "She was teetering. All I did was nudge her toward the cliff."
Rhane ran a hand down his face. "You know she's not—"
"She's not weak," Kali finished for him. "That's why she scares you."
Rhane didn't respond. He didn't need to. The answer was clear. And it wasn't news to him either. He was glad Jenna wasn't so weak.
Kali leaned against the wall again, this time with a sigh that was far too casual for the storm brewing outside. "But some people don't need seven days, brother," she said. "Some people make their choice in one look, one thought, one stupid conversation where no one says what they mean."
Her voice dropped lower, something dark laced in it. "Those council men? Bloody bastards. They ratted us out."
That snapped Rhane back to the moment. The softness inside him turned cold. Rage simmered beneath his skin. "Names?" he asked, voice flat.
"Three of them. Two old, one stupid," Kali said. "You'll know soon enough."
Rhane nodded. The tension in his jaw returned. He didn't think the councilmen would be so ungrateful, even after he had hosted them like kings. The gluttonous group had wanted him gone long before he even began the trade group.
They'd never seen one so invincible as Rhane, a child of lowborn and it scared them. Rhane wasn't going to wait for them to push him away. He was ready for them too.
But beneath it all, Jenna still lingered. Her scent. Her sharp tongue. Her fearlessness tucked beneath that elegant neck. Though she wore her doubts like jewelry, obvious, sparkling, begging to be taken off. And he was going to take it off every pain, every tear. Every broken trust... he was going to prove himself to Jenna.
"You'll have to choose soon," Kali said, watching him too closely. "Either we are kneeling once again or... we fight them."
Rhane sucked his teeth. "What about Gerald?"
Kali's eyes dropped, a sigh escaping her lips. It was enough to let Rhane know.
"Do you think he's the one pulling the strings? The reason the councilmen are acting like bloody fools?" Kali ruffled her hair.
Rhane hummed. The possibility was there, but he'd find out after talking with them. "I'll handle the councilmen. Keep an eye out for Gerald. The idiot doesn't learn."
Kali twitched her lips. "Tell me I can kill the bloody cantankerous fool when I find him," she pushed her back away from the wall and stood straight.
"Do whatever you want, but he shouldn't get close to her," Rhane warned, his eyes darkened as he held the door to the hall open.
Kali chuckled and turned to leave. "Just don't think of her while in front of the council. They've already had their share of heart attacks. We should keep them alive long enough to sign and hand over the Henderick family seal."
Rhane gave a crooked grin, the first in days then turned the doorknob. His steps were steady now. He was still thinking about her. Always her. But this time, it wasn't just want. It was yearning.
And to keep Jenna beside him, as a man, he needed his own name. A name their family would have. And just the thought of Jenna bearing Henderick brought a warmth that filled Rhane inside out. Hope settled in his chest as he stepped into the room.
"Welcome again, council men," Rhane said, and shut the door behind him.