Dear L,

According to my sources, you recently became quite unhinged when the woman you claim is the bane o/ your existence almost died. It was said that you threatened a healer with a “long, excruciatingly pain/ul death” and declared that you would kill everyone in the castle until you /ound whoever had poisoned her.

This kind o/ behavior is not what we

agreed to.

C

Dear C,

Go /uck yoursel/. L

 

 

 

 

I

 

opened my eyes. Lorian’s gaze met mine, and then he was standing next to me, shoving pillows under my head until I was sitting up. His eyes were shuttered, but I caught a glimpse of relief.

I could relate. I was alive. My body ached, but the pain had dulled enough that I could think.

Lorian handed me a cup of water. “Drink.”

I gulped at it, but my hand trembled so violently, I spilled water over the side. Lorian’s expression darkened, and he held the cup for me.

“What happened?”

“You were poisoned.”

“I know that much. How long have I been…” “Fighting death? Two days.”

My blood turned to ice. “That means it’s only nine days until the Gods Day ball.” How could I have lost two whole days? I needed every second. “Who—”

“Poisoned you? One of the queen’s ladies. Her name is Caraceli.”

I closed my eyes. Lorian took my hand, and I opened my eyes once more, startled by the feel of him. “Don’t sleep again. Not yet. Please.”

A lump formed in my throat. Despite our complicated relationship, I’d obviously scared him. I didn’t know how to feel about that.

“I think that might be the first time I’ve ever heard you say please. How do you know it was Caraceli?”

He scowled. “She was stupid enough to brag about it to one of the other ladies. It got back to the queen.”

She’d finally snapped. I’d feel guilty if she hadn’t almost killed me. “She has suspicions about me. Correct suspicions.”

“She hasn’t been interrogated yet. I’ll take care of it.”

“I don’t want her dead.”

He dropped my hand. “Your soft heart will be the death of you. It almost was. Did you take a cup from her?”

“I didn’t think she would poison me!” He just shook his head.

“Surely there must be some way to silence her temporarily until this is all over. Please.”

He sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

I raised my hand to his jaw, wanting to feel the scruff along his chin. “You stayed here the whole time?”

He shrugged, glancing away. “Whenever I could. The entire castle is gossiping about our so-called relationship.”

I rolled my eyes. “The queen’s lady and the handsome prince. Of course they’re gossiping.”

His gaze returned to my face. “You enjoy the way I look?” His eyes glittered, and for a wild moment, I wanted to pluck them from his face.

My cheeks burned. “Yes, yes, your face is very symmetrical. An incredible achievement.”

He stared at me. Then he threw back his head with a laugh. The sound was the best thing I’d ever heard.

“You could convince the gods they were little more than peasants with that sharp tongue of yours.”

“You stayed here with me all that time? What about Pelopia?” He sent me an affronted look. “You were dying.”

“I suppose I should feel flattered.”

“Oh, how you wound me. I would rather be holding your head over a bucket than whispering sweet nothings to any of the ladies in this court.”

The visual was so disgusting, I curled my lip. Lorian and I stared at each other. His mouth twitched.

I couldn’t help it. I dissolved into laughter. Lorian chuckled.

“I’m glad you’re having so much fun,” Rythos’s voice came from the doorway. He grinned at me. “You look much better than you did two nights ago.”

I grinned back at him, delighted. “From what I hear, it would’ve been difficult to look worse.”

“You made Lorian laugh,” Rythos said. “That’s a greater miracle than surviving viperbane.”

“What are you doing here?”

All amusement had left Lorian’s face. I reached out and took his hand.

He stiffened but allowed it.

“I’m not supposed to be here, which is why Lorian looks like he’s ready to gut me. But I wanted to see for myself that you were okay.”

“I missed you.”

Rythos grinned. “Missed you too, darlin’.” “Out,” Lorian rumbled.

Rythos winked at me and disappeared.

Lorian and I looked at each other. Something had changed between us.

But I couldn’t put that change into words. “I really need to, um…”

He raised one eyebrow, clearly delighted with my mortification. “Say it, Prisca. You need to what?”

“Forget it.”

I swung my legs over the bed and immediately regretted it. My head felt like it was about to explode.

“You need to rest.” Lorian didn’t look amused anymore. He plucked me from the bed, carried me to the bathing room, and insisted on standing outside the door.

“Shouldn’t the maids be in here helping me?” I muttered when he hauled me back to the bed.

“They scattered when I roared at them,” Lorian said. “They haven’t been back since.”

I sighed. Since I had him alone and we had a few minutes, perhaps it was a good time to clear the air. “We should talk about the other night. About…Thol.”

His face went blank, and he placed me on the bed and then drew away. “Don’t do that. You can’t be by my side when I almost die and then

push me away again.”

“You want to know what happened?” Lorian caught my chin in his hand. “You looked so fucking beautiful, dancing with that piece-of-shit courtier. And all I wanted to do was rip your dress off you and press you up against the closest wall. I thought I knew what jealousy was, and then you saw him. The man you’ve always wanted. The man you’d choose if you had your way. And I almost slaughtered him right there.”

My heart tripped, fluttering in my chest, and awareness burst through me. I’d mocked Lorian about being jealous, but here he was, in the light of day, admitting to it.

That muscle ticked in his cheek. I should probably say something. I managed to close my mouth. “I wanted to rip Pelopia’s hair out,” I admitted.

He gave me a slow, feline grin. And then his mouth was on mine, and all thought fled.

“I want to make you scream for me.” His mouth traveled up my neck, and he caught my lobe between his teeth. “But you’re too weak right now.”

“I disagree.”

He pulled back and gave me a look. “When you can walk to the bathing room by yourself, then we’ll talk. But, wildcat…” He leaned close once more. “When I finally get you in my bed, I’m not stopping until you forget your own name.”

I was speechless for long enough that his mouth curved in a faint smile, and he turned away to pick up something from my nightstand.

I gaped at the sweet fruit. “You’re the one who has been leaving me valeo?”

He gave a sharp nod. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Lorian looked… uncomfortable.

“But how did you— Marth.”

He nodded. He was already backing away. Marth had likely informed him about my reaction to the valeo I’d found in the hunter’s belongings. When he looked into my past.

“Lorian. Thank you.”

His nostrils flared, and laughter bubbled in my chest. This man could take any insult I hissed at him, but the moment I showed gratitude, he looked like I’d run him through with his own sword.

“I need to go before anyone begins to question what I’m doing here.” His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Get some rest.”

My core clenched at the promise in his eyes. And then he was gone.

 

 

Dear L,

I do hope you’re /eeling more yoursel/ a/ter your last letter. Please update me on the current situation. Is it true that the woman has the power o/ time?

C

Dear C,

I’m taking the wildcat with me when we leave. She won’t be pleased by this, so I’m a/raid you’re unlikely to meet her at her best— although, you’ve always enjoyed seeing me with my hands /ull.

And I have no doubt that she will make

me pay.

/es, she has the power o/ time. And has even kept me /rozen /or several moments.

Everything else is going according to plan. Apart /rom the /act that I still can’t /ind what we’re looking /or.

L

 

 

 

 

I spent most of the next two days in bed through no choice of my own. The one bright spot was that Tibris had told me Thol and his father had left the castle. I wouldn’t need to focus on avoiding them. Each night, I stumbled down to the kitchen, loaded up a sack of food, and hauled it down the dungeon stairs, my limbs shaking. The poison hadn’t just impacted my body. It had also made it more difficult to use my magic. It felt as if I was swimming through mud instead of water.

Demos had glowered at me when he’d seen how I trembled. “What are you doing down here?”

“You all need to eat.”

“Where’s… Ah, you didn’t tell Tibris you were coming down here, because he would have told you no.”

I scowled. “Tibris isn’t in charge here.”

“And he would have been right,” Demos continued, ignoring me, “because you almost died.”

I wasn’t surprised he’d heard about that.

“While it’s nice to see you and Tibris finally agreeing on something, I’m okay.”

I turned to Asinia, who’d been quiet so far. I let myself into her cell, and she wrapped her arms around me. “I would’ve been really annoyed if you’d died.”

I let out a choked laugh. “Same.” “Poison?”

“Yes. This court…” I shook my head. “Vicer warned me, but I think Caraceli couldn’t handle the idea that I’d replaced Katina.”

“Do you think they’re lovers?”

I shrugged. That was an angle I hadn’t considered. “I don’t know. At the very least, they’re best friends.”

And I knew just how much a woman would fight for her best friend. “How come she’s not down here?”

“The queen is having her confined to her rooms. Which means she won’t be a threat for at least a few days. Lorian also paid her a visit.”

Asinia raised her eyebrow. I sighed. “I don’t know what he did. He wouldn’t tell me. But he convinced her not to speak a word of her suspicions about me. She told the queen she lashed out because she missed Katina. And she thought she might be having some problems with her mind. The queen said she will miss the Gods Day ball as punishment.”

“She almost kills you, and her punishment is she misses a ball?”

“The queen summoned me to her chambers today. Formally. She said I had the right to ask for Caraceli’s death, but she would appreciate if I spared her.”

I’d stood in her sitting room, gazing at my reflection in her silver mirror. And I’d agreed. The queen had been elated. She was incredibly fond of Caraceli, although puzzled by her actions.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because if Caraceli knew she was going to die, she would have nothing to lose. There’s a chance people would listen to some of her accusations and pay closer attention to my background. And my papers. Besides, all her accusations are correct.”

“That doesn’t give her the right to poison you!” “I know. Believe me, I know.”

Asinia let it go, taking the bread I handed her. She was still thin but had gained a little weight. So had Demos. According to Tibris, he’d ordered the prisoners down here to eat as much as they could, hounding the hybrids until many of them were pacing their cells for hours each day.

We needed as many of them able to walk as possible. Demos studied me as I let myself back into his cell. “You should be—”

“If another male tells me to rest, I’ll scream.” He gave me a faint smile. I sat next to him. “What’s wrong?”

Our gazes met, and I almost sucked in a breath at the hopeless rage in his eyes.

“You were dying, and I was stuck down here. Tibris…he let me know.” “He shouldn’t have worried you.”

“I’m your brother. I have the right to know. I deserve that much.” “You do. I’m sorry.”

“It was hell, knowing I might lose you. When I’ve just found you.”

I took his hand. “I had a dream when I was battling the fever. It was about the day I was taken.”

He tensed, and my throat thickened. “I want you to know that I remember how you fought for me that day. You were so young. But I know if you could’ve, you would have gotten to me.”

He swallowed, and it was a long moment before he could speak once more. “She took you from us. The woman you called your mother.”

“I know.” And I was struggling to understand why. Struggling to understand how I could forgive her myself.

My birth father’s servant had betrayed him, allowing me to be taken. Using his power to hold Demos back. And then I’d woken in a huge satchel, in the dark.

Now I knew where my fear of small spaces had come from. “I have a question for you.”

“Ask it.”

“When we snuck into the city, I used my power. But there was a man who didn’t freeze. A man with blond hair. He turned and looked at me… and winked.”

Demos closed his eyes briefly with a sigh. “A cousin. Now’s not the time to go into that family history.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “You’re not going to be able to help any of us if you don’t recover. Go to bed, Prisca. We’ll talk soon.”

It must be difficult for him to call me Prisca. And yet he did it. For me. I squeezed his hand back. “Look after yourself.”

With a whispered “good night” to Asinia, I went in search of Lorian.

He’d been writing something at his desk and didn’t look surprised to see me. But he frowned as he took in my shaky legs.

“Sit.”

I didn’t have it in me to argue, and I slumped on his sofa. “I know where your amulet is.”

Lorian cocked his head in that strange way of his, and his eyes narrowed on my face. “Where?” His voice held no inflection. It was as if he’d turned cold. Emotionless.

“I can get to it. With my power. But you have to help the prisoners get out in return.”

He shook his head. “If you think I have the ability to trust anyone else with my task, you obviously don’t know me at all.”

Frustration rose, sharp and swift. It was what I’d expected from him, and yet it was still disappointing. “Yes, yes, you’re a tyrant who believes he must always be in control. That’s not exactly a secret.”

“I could get that information out of you,” he said softly.

I raised an eyebrow, although my heart thumped harder in my chest. “I thought we’d moved past threats of torture,” I muttered.

He took a single step closer, and my skin tingled at the look he gave me. Dark, hopelessly amused, dripping with lust. “I wouldn’t need to torture you. A few hours in my bed and you’d answer any question I asked.”

“How do you bear the weight of such an ego?” He just smiled. “Not ego. Fact.”

My toes curled, even as I fought the urge to growl. “You just ensured I’ll never be in your bed.”

He gave a low chuckle that made me want to slam my fist into his face. “We both know that’s not true.”

“Take the deal, Lorian. We can do this together.”

“You’ve come a long way with your power, but I swore not to leave this castle until I found what I came for.”

“You can trust me.”

He was already shaking his head. I let out a low, slow breath and fought for patience. “I would be trusting you with everyone I love, Lorian. Everyone.”

“I’ll consider it.”

I blew out a breath. That was all I could hope for. Getting to my feet, I eyed him. He watched me back.

“What is it?”

“You’ve been in the dungeons.” Disapproval dripped from the words.

Spare me from overprotective males. “I…I had a memory when I was sick.”

Something feral flickered in his eyes. “When you were dying.”

“I’m still here. It was from when I was taken. When Mama took me. From my real parents. I needed to see Demos. I can’t lose him, Lorian. I can’t lose any of them.”

My lungs seized, and for a long moment, I couldn’t breathe. So many people. And if I made one wrong move, they were all dead.

Lorian grabbed my hand and pulled me close. “If anyone can get them out, it’s you.”

I blinked. “You really believe that?”

He cocked his eyebrow. “The better question is, why don’t you?” “There are so many things that could go wrong.”

“You’ll prepare for them.”

The way he looked at me sometimes, it made my knees weak. I still didn’t understand what was happening between us. I’d imagined I’d always loathe him, but the more I glimpsed the man behind the mercenary, the more I wanted to see.

He was brutal, yes. His solution to most problems was murder. And yet, despite his obvious reluctance, he’d slept next to me that night at the inn when I’d killed the bearded man. He’d worked with me until I could use my magic to defend myself—and I knew it wasn’t all just so he could get past the city walls. He was there for me when Wila died. And without his quick thinking and the healer he’d summoned, I would have died from that poison.

“What are you thinking?” His voice was low, intimate. “Nothing,” I said, too quickly.

His lips curved in a slow grin. “Were you thinking about me?”

I squirmed under that look, backing toward the wall. He followed me, until his huge body was caging mine. And I liked it.

“Tell me you want me, wildcat.”

“Why? So you can mock me for it?” “Is that what you think I’d do?”

“Maybe.”

He leaned closer. “Tell me you want me, so I can tell you how badly I want you too.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and his eyes darkened.

Always with the power games with this man. “Why do I have to say it first?”

He laughed, and my stomach tightened.

“Fine. I want you so badly that I wake up in the middle of the night, a single stroke away from coming. I dream of your face. Especially your mouth. Gods, that smart mouth. You don’t want to know the things I’ve dreamed about doing with your mouth.”

My toes curled, my knees weakened, and I fisted his shirt in my hand. “What kinds of things?”

He just gave me a smug, male smile. “Tell me all the ways you want me to touch you, Prisca.” His eyes glittered, and I knew if I let him take me to bed, I’d be ruined for any other man.

The trouble was, it would likely be worth it.

I peered up at him. “I’m not good at this kind of thing.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “At what kind of thing? Telling men what you want?”

My cheeks heated, and his expression turned oddly…tender. “You’ve been fucking the wrong men. Those village boys would never have satisfied you.”

He cupped my face, and then his mouth was on mine, my back against the wall, and I was moaning, my body saying more, more, more. He slid his other hand to my breast, his thumb caressing my nipple, and my thighs clenched.

My hands were scrabbling at him, pulling him closer, needing him closer. He slid his hands to my ass, and a desperate groan left my throat as he was suddenly pressed against my stomach, so thick and hard and long.

He ground into me, and I writhed against him, even as his lips swallowed all the tiny noises I was making. Then he was carrying me to the sofa, pressing me into the cushion and pushing my dress up, until he was staring down at me, eyes dark.

“These are…interesting,” he breathed, one hand sliding to the lace band of my undergarments.

I blushed, unable to say a word.

“So this is how I make you quiet.” He smirked. I opened my mouth to snap at him, but he was already nibbling on my lower lip, slipping his hand beneath my underwear and along that spot that made my knees weak.

His tongue swept into my mouth, just as one finger slid inside me. I clenched around it, and he let out a rough groan as I pushed his shirt up, desperate to feel his skin. A second finger joined the first while his thumb teased my clit, and pleasure rippled through me. I let out a sound that would likely make my cheeks heat tomorrow.

He raised his head, his eyes on my face. “You like that.” Arrogance dripped from his voice, and I snarled.

He thrust his fingers again and smiled at me. “I like you,” he said, and his voice was filled with something that sounded almost like wonder.

I opened my mouth, but a low moan came out, and Lorian cursed, his voice hoarse.

He pulled off my underwear, and then he was lowering his head in a way that made me squeak.

He just met my eyes, raising one dark eyebrow. I shivered at the sight of him, poised between my legs.

“I—”

He’d already leaned down once more, and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to stifle the sounds I was making. His mouth was so warm, and he let out a growl as he slowly explored, his tongue teasing until I was panting, begging for more.

He lashed his tongue over my clit, and I bucked beneath him. He laughed, and the vibration, combined with his warm breath, almost sent me over. He caught my hips in his hands, holding me in place for him, and I slid my hands into his hair as I arched my neck, desperate, writhing…

“Knew you’d be like this,” he growled. He lowered his mouth once again, his fingers thrusting deep as he flicked my clit with his tongue. Then sucked.

I shuddered, my pleasure cresting in a wave, until my breath caught and all I could do was gasp, trembling through my release. Lorian continued playing with me, continued that steady thrusting until I was boneless.

“You…” My voice was hoarse.

Did that just happen? While it was difficult to believe I was just that intimate with Lorian, at the same time, it felt strangely…inevitable.

Lorian met my gaze, his cheekbones flushed. Then his gaze swept over me, spread out for him, limp and satisfied, even as my body craved more.

“Yes,” he murmured. “Me.”

I reached for him, but he was already pulling my dress back down, my underwear disappearing into his pocket.

“What—”

“I need you healthy for the things I want to do to you,” he growled. “Now leave, before I can no longer control myself.”

I took a shaky breath. The idea of Lorian—the man who was always in control—now having to fight for restraint…

“I feel fine.”

“Out,” he grumbled. I was standing before I realized I’d moved, hauled to my feet by the mercenary who glowered at me.

I couldn’t help it. I grinned.

He shoved me out of his room, ignoring my delighted laugh.