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I swallowed. “I…didn’t know.”

“Well you couldn’t.” His voice was as hard as his eyes. “You’ve only heard speculation. Stories.”

My lips parted, but no sound emerged. What could I say?

“Here’s another story for you, Princess. Varick saved my life, and then I returned the favor. All on the same night. He’s more to me than speculation. I don’t give a fuck what anyone in Ter Isir thinks of my relationship.” It was clear he included me in his definition of “anyone.”

Apologies formed in my mouth, but the words were big and bulky. Awkward on my tongue. Anything I said was certain to be inadequate.

“Get some rest. I’ll tell the servants not to disturb you.” He glided to the door, moving in his graceful, seductive way. I expected him to turn back before he left. To leave me with some other kind of acknowledgment. But he didn’t.

And as I stood alone next to the tapestry and watched the door shut, I realized something that made me brace a hand against the wall. By his own admission, few in Nor Doru knew the truth about his father. It was almost certain Rolund didn’t know. But Laurent had told me. Which meant he had no intention of letting me go home.

Whatever his plans for me, I would never see Sithistra again.

Chapter Twelve

VARICK

“Enjoying the view?”

At the sound of my voice, Given jumped and whirled from the tower balcony where she’d been watching my men train in the practice yard below. It was evening the next day and I’d been watching her undetected for the past ten minutes.

“General,” she said, a hint of warmth in her voice. She even dipped a shallow curtsy. Her gaze flicked to the shadows behind me.

“I’m alone.” I walked to her, removing my gloves as I went. Despite the chilly air, I was sweating under the fitted leather armor I wore for training. I stopped at the railing and peered over it before meeting her blue gaze. “It’s a long drop to the ground. Are you afraid of heights?”

“I…no.”

“Lie.” I slapped my gloves against my palm. “You forget your lessons already.”

Her lips pursed with disapproval. It was hardly surprising that Laurent wanted her. She was immaculate in the light of the setting sun, her white-blond hair spilling over the shoulders of a black velvet gown. The stark color suited her icy beauty. She should have looked tired after the feast and her unsettled night. Instead, she glowed, flush with the blood she’d taken from me. Maybe she’d orchestrated the whole thing—the “dream” and the shredded wrist and the feeding. The orgasm that followed. She’d drawn Laurent from my bed to hers.

Her gaze searched mine. “You want me to be afraid of you.” She seemed genuinely surprised by that, her blue eyes wide and guileless. Had she stood before a mirror practicing that expression? It probably worked on Laurent.

I ran a dismissive look down her body. “You didn’t seem afraid last night when you spread your legs and soaked your bed with your fangs in my arm. A performance worthy of the brothels of Gate Street. My apologies, Princess, I should have left a coin on your pillow.”

Her nostrils flared. All pretense of friendliness dropped from her face. Now, she looked like she’d gladly toss me over the railing. “Judging from your reaction to my performance, General, you enjoyed yourself.”

“A normal response to feeding. Meaningless.”

“Is that why you ran away with your tail tucked between your legs?” She tilted her head. “Or maybe you just needed to replace the laces in your pants.”

It was a vicious retort, delivered with the polite poison of someone raised in a royal court. In two sentences, she’d told me she knew I’d been unsettled by my arousal and that Laurent and I had fucked before coming to her aid.

But the latter didn’t bother her. On the contrary, her body temperature had gone up as she spoke of it. Pink tinged her cheeks. Interesting.

So the ice princess wasn’t as prim and proper as she appeared. It didn’t make her presence in Nor Doru any less irritating.

“What do you want.” I didn’t make it a question. The Serenity Tower was the oldest part of the palace. The whimsical name was something of a misnomer. The tower was the tallest, and men-at-arms used it as a lookout. At the first sign of an enemy approach, they would alert Lar Katerin’s defenses. My knights lived and trained in the tower’s lower levels. No courtiers ever came here. I’d bet half of them didn’t know how to find it.

Which meant the princess had sought me out, probably without Laurent’s knowledge or permission. He wouldn’t want his prize wandering among soldiers without an escort.

From the look on her face, she wanted to fire back an equally abrupt reply. But then her features smoothed. “We don’t have to be enemies.” She paused, clearly waiting for me to agree. When I didn’t, she plowed ahead. “I have no designs on the king. He said he won’t take me into his bed unless I ask, and I have no intention of asking. I’m no threat to you.”

I tucked my gloves in my sword belt. Then I stepped into her so she was forced to back up. I didn’t stop, which meant she couldn’t either. Not if she wanted to stay on her feet. Fear bloomed in her gaze. She shuffled backward until her shoulders bumped rough stone. I’d backed her to a wall without touching her, but now I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger.

“D-Don’t.” Her throat worked as she swallowed.

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