I carefully studied Torran’s expression. “Are you having an affair with the empress?”

His eyes widened in shock and the colors shifted as the teal and silver streaks spread. But his voice, when it came, was quiet and firm. “No.”

I believed him. “Is someone in your house?”

He shook his head.

“But the empress is involved somehow.”

Torran said nothing.

I growled and jabbed a finger at him. “This is the most annoying game ever, you know that, right?”

He stepped closer, until my finger was pressed into the soft fabric of his tunic—fabric that covered firm muscles. My brain short-circuited, and I almost didn’t catch his words.

“I apologize,” he said. “I am trying.” He dipped his head, until his mouth was near my ear. “And I am not having an affair with anyone.” He slid back and slanted a heated glance at me. “At the moment.”

I kept sneaking sidelong glances at Torran, trying to figure out if he meant that last statement the way I’d heard it, but he was acting like he hadn’t said anything shocking at all.

My pulse jumped every time I remembered the heated look in his eyes. He had to have been flirting . . . right? Doubt and certainty warred with each other.

Luna continued to enjoy her time in the sun. She never got so far away that I couldn’t spot at least a bit of her white fur, and I wondered if she could feel my turmoil. I knew that she would be happier on a planet with plenty of room to roam, but if she decided to stay behind this time, it would break my heart.

We came upon a relatively clear piece of the outer wall, and I stopped. I couldn’t see the house behind us, but it wasn’t far away. Multiple feet had trampled the plants leading from the path to the wall. “Is this where the thieves got in?”

Torran’s eyes glinted as he nodded.

A tall row of densely packed shrubs with sharp, spiky leaves surrounded the property, and if that wasn’t enough of a deterrent, the stone wall itself was three meters tall. So how did the thieves get over it?

I mentally apologized to the gardeners as I stepped on the edges of a few plants in order to get a closer look. The wall was too tall for me to pull myself up, so I waved Torran over. “Give me a boost. I want to see the top.”

“There isn’t anything to see.”

“Doesn’t matter. If you won’t do it, I’ll ask Eli. He shouldn’t be too far away.”

Torran’s jaw clenched, then he jumped, caught the top of the wall, and pulled himself up with ease. If he expected me to do the same, then he was in for a major disappointment.

“Take a deep breath,” he said.