Iodore didn’t move away. If anything, he leaned in a fraction closer, his voice dropping to that low, velvet register that made my pulse stutter.
“Then why does the thought of him showing up make you flinch like that?” he murmured against my ear. “Why does the word ‘little sister’ make you grimace? Is it because you wished you were something else?”
I closed my eyes for half a second, fighting the urge to lean back into him just to see what would happen.
“Because I don’t like him,” I admitted. “Kayden didn’t want me to be his sister, and I only agreed because the king was kind to me. We hate each other, and I don’t want his attitude to bring more problems to the king. What do you think he will do if he sees me wearing his family crest? I’m sure he will lose it and say mean things, ones I
