Page 105 of Given

“Rem,” Laurent said quietly.

Air rushed into my lungs. I coughed violently and flopped onto my side. Somewhere nearby, I heard Varick wheezing. I lay in the dirt and struggled to catch my breath.

Black boots appeared in front of me. Laurent crouched, his forearm slung over his leather-clad knee. His rings were gone, replaced with thick, white bandages.

“You’re far from home, princess.”

I struggled to a sitting position. “Don’t call me that.”

There was a rustling sound behind me, and then Varick’s deep voice rumbled. “Laurent, we need to leave. Now.”

Laurent didn’t take his gaze off me. “I’ll speak to you in a moment, General. Right now, I have a few questions for my wife.”

“I have questions for you, too,” I said, standing on shaky legs. Everything hurt, but I was too vulnerable on the ground. Laurent rose, too, and he seemed larger now. More dangerous. Snow dotted his hair. His jaw was shadowed with dark stubble. Menace huddled around him like a cloak. We stood in a clearing with a ring of trees around us.

I took a step back, my slipper sinking into the mud. “You said you couldn’t bind people without placing your blood on them. Another lie?”

“You’re one to talk of lying.”

Deflection. He did it whenever he didn’t want to answer a question or divulge information.

“Laurent.” Varick strode from the fog, which seemed suddenly thicker. “Your Grace, we shouldn’t linger in the Thicket.”

I lifted my chin as I faced off with my husband. “I admit I should have told you about the solstone.”

Laurent’s eyes gleamed. “Don’t forget your little trip to Sithistra.”

“I haven’t, my lord. It was a mistake to keep those things from you. But you kept things from me, too. How could you plot to kill my child?”

He swung his gaze to Varick. “You told her.”

Varick radiated tension. He barely looked at Laurent, instead darting his gaze around as if he sought to peer between the trees. “We can speak of it later. The three of us, back in Lar Katerin. But right now we need to move.”

“Oh, now you want to return to the city?” Anger flashed in Laurent’s eyes. His voice rose. “How cozy, the three of us riding home together. I’ll be sure to make myself scarce so the two of you can scheme in private.”

Anger threatened to choke me. “It was you who schemed. You were going to sacrifice an innocent child to the Rift.”

“It’s the prophecy.”

“It’s monstrous.”

He stepped toward me, and his growl echoed around us. “Monstrous is letting an entire kingdom die under a naked sun. You can’t hide behind your humanity anymore, Given. You said vows before all the gods. You let me put the crown of Nor Doru on your head. Trust me when I say the weight is heavy. You’re a halfling no longer. You’re a vampire, and we are all monsters here. Even you, princess.”

Varick winced. “Dammit, keep your voice down.”

Fog swirled thicker. Somewhere in the forest, the high-pitched shriek sounded again.

Ice slid down my spine. I moved closer to Varick, my anger forgotten.

But Laurent clung to his. He didn’t seem to notice the shriek or the fog. His eyes tracked my movement as I stepped toward Varick.

My husband’s expression hardened. He extended his uninjured hand. Black waves rolled from his fingertips. Tendrils of inky power curled like smoke and spread outward.

Varick’s eyes went wide. “Laurent, don’t do this here.”

Laurent’s fangs descended. “You want us to return to the city? Fine, but the two of you are going in irons. And since you’re so fond of running, I’m going to hold you until I can gather my men.” He nicked his thumb on his fang and strode to a tree. He smeared blood on the trunk. “Hesseth.”

Varick lurched toward him. “Laurent, don’t!”

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