2_-_court_of_mist_and_fury_a_-_sarah_j._maas

lunches. Didn’t charge me extra for it.”
Tarquin let out an impressed laugh. “I can’t say I’ve ever done that—sailor or no.”
“You should,” I said, meaning every word. “It was delicious.”
I’d worn the necklace he’d given me, and Nuala and I planned my clothes around it.
We’d decided on gray—a soft, dove shade—to show off the glittering black. I had worn
nothing else—no earrings, no bracelets, no rings. Tarquin had seemed pleased by it, even
though Varian had choked when he beheld me in an heirloom of his household. Cresseida,
surprisingly, had told me it suited me and it didn’t fit in here, anyway. A backhanded
compliment—but praise enough.
“Well, maybe I’ll go tomorrow. If you’ll join me.”
I grinned at Tarquin—aware of every one I offered him, now that Rhys had mentioned
it. Beyond his giving me brief, nightly updates on their lack of progress with discovering
anything about the Book, we hadn’t really spoken since that evening I’d filled his glass—
though it had been because of our own full days, not awkwardness.
“I’d like that,” I said. “Perhaps we could go for a walk in the morning down the
causeway when the tide is out. There’s that little building along the way—it looks
fascinating.”
Cresseida stopped speaking, but I went on, sipping from my wine. “I figure since I’ve
seen most of the city now, I could see it on my way to visit some of the mainland, too.”
Tarquin’s glance at Cresseida was all the confirmation I needed.
That stone building indeed guarded what we sought.
“It’s a temple ruin,” Tarquin said blandly—the lie smooth as silk. “Just mud and
seaweed at this point. We’ve been meaning to repair it for years.”
“Maybe we’ll take the bridge then. I’ve had enough of mud for a while.”
Remember that I saved you, that I fought the Middengard Wyrm—forget the threat …
Tarquin’s eyes held mine—for a moment too long.
In the span of a blink, I hurled my silent, hidden power toward him, a spear aimed
toward his mind, those wary eyes.
There was a shield in place—a shield of sea glass and coral and the undulating sea.
I became that sea, became the whisper of waves against stone, the glimmer of sunlight
on a gull’s white wings. I became him—became that mental shield.
And then I was through it, a clear, dark tether showing me the way back should I need
it. I let instinct, no doubt granted from Rhys, guide me forward. To what I needed to see.
Tarquin’s thoughts hit me like pebbles. Why does she ask about the temple? Of all the
things to bring up … Around me, they continued eating. I continued eating. I willed my
own face, in a different body, a different world, to smile pleasantly.