Page 39 of The Night Prince

“I know why you claimed me. You did it to provoke Callum.”

“I have no interest in provoking your master, little rabbit.”

I narrow my eyes. “To provoke me, then.”

“Not everything is about you.”

I turn my expression to stone. “No. You’ve made that clear. I’m nothing but a pawn in your little game of kings, to be moved around as you see fit.”

“You could have been a queen. I gave you that choice. You still could be.”

“If I ever become a queen, it will be without your help.” I yank my arm out of his grip.“You bit me.”

“I de-escalated a situation.” He steps closer, and invades my space. “We are not ready to fight James yet;Callumis not ready to fight James yet. You were about to go with him. I felt you.”

I’m forced to look up. “Don’t you dare turn this on me. What else was I supposed to do?”

“You had limited choices, as did I. If you’d gone with him, Callum would have overreacted. I had to play the villain to stop you from playing the hero.”

“Have you considered that you did exactly what James wanted you to do? That James might have come here specifically to cause trouble between you and Callum?”

“Of course I have,” he hisses. “Why do you think I gave you the moonflower? I don’t want that territorial oaf getting worked up about it and acting irrationally. I don’t want other people to think you’re mine, either.”

“Good. Because I’m not yours.”

“Do you think Iwantyou as part of my clan? You’re...” He looks me up and down and I feel the weight of his gaze on my body. “A liability.”

My muscles tighten as I lock down my emotions. I can’t believe he has the audacity to call me a liability when he’s plotting against us. “And you’re a manipulative, obnoxious snake.”

His face is close to mine. “At least I’m not a brat.”

My cheeks heat as my blood runs hotter. “A brat?”

“Yes. A brat.” There’s a gleam in his eye now, as if he was fishing for a reaction and is pleased he has got one. “You’re behaving quite the opposite of how you should when I’ve saved your skin yet again.”

“How, pray tell, should I behave when you sink your teeth into me like a bloodthirsty brute? Should I fall to my knees and thank you?” His smile widens and I have to suppress my snarl. “Yes, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? I should have expected no better from a sadist. Is that how you like your females, Blake? Weak-willed and pliant?”

He arches an eyebrow. “Is that how you like your men?” There’s something pointed in his tone, as if he thinks this of Callum. My fingers curl into fists and my nails dig into my palms. His voice drops to a dark caress. “I bet he’s so gentle with you, isn’t he? So afraid you might break.”

My blood is wildfire, and my skin burns. I feel another wave of the fever coming for me, and I can’t push it back. “How dare you speak to me in that way.”

My senses are heightened. The scents of the infirmary overpower me—herbs and blood and Blake. I can see each individual eyelash fanning against his cheek, each fleck of gold in his irises. His heat wraps around me, and through it all, I hear another heartbeat, competing with my own like a war drum in my ear.

A slow, dangerous smile spreads across Blake’s face. He grabs my chin. “Oh, hello, little wolf,” he says. A wave of panic rises through me as I wonder if my eyes have changed.

I grab his wrist, and though he doesn’t release me, his breathing shallows. A hiss fills the air, and I remember the wolfsbane I spilt on my skin. It’s burning him. Though my heart is beating fast, though there is something unsettled in my chest that longs to break free, I smile.

“And I’m the sadist?” he whispers.

I’m about to retort, when I realize that though his skin is burning, I don’t feel it. My brow furrows, and he tilts his head to one side as if he’s trying to read whatever emotion I’m feeling.

I kick him in the shin. Hard. I yowl as pain flares in the same spot, and my wrist feels as if it’s on fire. Blake makes a low, startled sound in the back of his throat and releases me. Both of us stagger back a step. My senses return to normal. The backs of my eyes sting.

“What was that for?” he asks.

“Do I need a reason?” I fold my arms. “I hate you.” I don’t want him to know about my discovery. His whole plan relies on Callum not wanting to hurt him in case he hurts me, too. He must feel my flicker of triumph, though, because he laughs.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You didn’t feel my pain because I decided you wouldn’t.” My shin stops throbbing, and my wrist feels as if it has been dowsed in cold water. “See? But I can bring it back. So don’t get any ideas.”

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