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“That?” He shook his head. “I had far more important things on my mind.”
“Like?” I swallowed.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped beside me and plucked a grape from a bunch in the fruit bowl. He crushed it between his index finger and thumb, letting its juice dribble down them before he sucked the entire thing deeply into his mouth. He licked them slightly and reached for another grape.
Okay, not a dream.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from his sensual mouth as he chewed, remembering the wet heat of his tongue on my fingers. I flushed at the dark hunger in his eyes, knowing he was recalling the same thing, and looked at my plate. I was hungrier than ever—starving, even—but none of it looked remotely appetizing anymore. Not when what I wanted to devour was standing next to me.
Lach licked his lips and frowned. “So unsatisfying after I tasted—”
I coughed loudly and cleared my throat. Time to change the subject. “So, not everyone is happy about getting rid of clover, huh?”
His smirk slid into a frown. “Bain is throwing a fit.”
I still didn’t understand why he would let his sister marry into a court he clearly hated or why they would even care how he ran his. “She mentioned that. I don’t know why he needs clover when he has ambrosia.”
“We discovered our private supply was tainted, so we had no choice but to ask the other courts for what we had given them, too. It was a precaution.”
A prudent one. I nodded.
“Bain accused us of trying to kill him and summoned the other courts to call off the engagement publicly.” The look on Lach’s face told me that he almost wished it had. “He claimed we knew the clover had been tampered with and had still given it to the rest of them.”
“You should have let him end it,” I murmured.
Lach’s mouth flattened, but he didn’t disagree with me. “His spectacle ensured that the light courts will hesitate for a long time before making any new deals with us.”
“But you asked for it back. Surely that proves you didn’t intend to harm them.”
“We didn’t tell them why.” His mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “And Bain revealing that piece of information is enough to plant doubt regarding our intentions. There’s not a lot of trust between light and shadow courts.”
There never would be until they learned to work together. But I doubted he would be receptive to this insight.
“Bain made sure the others trust the Nether Court less than ever”—he continued—“which means an alliance with the Infernal Court is even more important. Bringing them into it is a power play so he can negotiate new terms. The light courts can’t fill the clover void. Without it or ambrosia, something worse will find its way onto the streets. Bain knows we need him, and he just ensured that the light courts remain suspicious of my intentions.”
Negotiations that would drag on as they all fought for their own agendas. Too busy considering their own priorities to listen to one another—so maybe it was time for someone else to do it for them. If the crown royals wouldn’t work together, maybe others would.
I glanced at where Ciara was visiting with Titania and Sirius. Right now, she was a bargaining chip because she didn’t know how powerful she was. What about the others? “Bain should be begging to marry Ciara.”
“I think he knows she’s less than enthusiastic about the prospect.”
But if Bain was having second thoughts, maybe Ciara could get out of this. “Maybe you don’t need ambrosia.”
“There’s more at stake over this alliance than our economy,” he said darkly. Before I could press him on what, he continued with a sigh. “He postponed the banns to negotiate a handfasting instead.”
What ever happened to buying a ring and saying “I do”? The fae made everything so complicated. “Handfasting?”
“Ritual fuckery that used to mean something. Now it’s just a magical prenup. It means we’ll skip the rest of the banns. It puts our backs to the wall now that he’s in a position of power.” Lach sighed and swiped a beignet off my plate.
I swatted his hand. “Hey. Get your own.”
“Consider it compensation.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Compensation for what?”
“Coming to your aid last night.”
I knew from the way he smirked that he wasn’t talking about the redcaps.