Page 47 of The Night Prince

He sighs. “You can ask three questions about the bond,” he says. “I’ll answer truthfully. Yes or no.”

I turn around, hiding my smile. I take his hand once more. His scent curls around me as he brings me toward him. We continue our dance around the hall, and I ask him the most important question first. “Do you know how to break it?”

Something unreadable flickers across his face. He looks as if he’s trying to figure out how to answer. Finally, he says, “Yes.”

I overheard him tell Callum he read about the bond in a book. I need to have the same information as him if I’m to find a solution. “The book in which you read about the bond... is it here at Lowfell?”

“No,” he says.

Again, I think he’s telling the truth. I’ve been wasting my time in the library. I keep my features blank. “You’ve been living at Madadh-allaidh for a while. That’s where the book is.”

He opens his mouth to answer my question, but I shush him. I want to find out precisely where the tome is, so that when we take the castle, I can find it immediately.

“Your entire plan relies on the bond, so you wouldn’t have left it out in the open.” I search his eyes, and try to read the secrets that glimmer there amid the gold flecks. There was a wall of books beside his bed. “Is the book in your chambers at Madadh-allaidh?”

“Yes.”

The triumph that tickles my lips dies. I don’t have a chance of retrieving it until Callum has overthrown James. What’s more, Blake betrayed James. James could have destroyed Blake’s possessions. Blake’s smile shows me he’s well aware. Despite finding out where I can find some answers, the victory of this game belongs to him.

I’m surprised by the force of the anger that erupts inside me. My throat tightens, and my teeth tingle. I’m fed up of males like Blake thinking they can manipulate me. He thinks he’s the only one who can play a game. I’ve been playing games with obnoxious lords my entire life. I don’t see why Blake should be any different from the rest of them.

“I have another question for you, Blake.” I curl my hand tighter around the back of his neck. I know he can feel the challenge that is coming from me, just as I can feel his intrigue.

“Okay. I’ll play,” he says. “One more.”

I let my guard down entirely. I allow his darkness to flood me as I search for something that can be used against him. He breathes in deeply as if he can sense what I’m doing.

I smell pine, and parchment, and stale air. I hear a dripping well and someone screaming. I catch a glimpse of a dark cell, and the glint of a metal scalpel. I feel his essence—amusement, and danger, and something feral that lurks beneath. He feels like a viper, tightly coiled, that one day will strike.

I catch a whisper of something else, too. It’s hotter. Hungrier. More dangerous. My blood heats as it takes its hold. I remember when I was in chains in the dungeons. His eyes flickered to my lips, just for a moment, and he’d stumbled back in disgust afterward.

His gaze, right now, is fixed on my face.

“Do you think I’m beautiful, Blake?” I ask.

He swallows, and a surge of power rises within me. For the first time, I think I’ve caught him off guard.

But then he smiles. He steps closer, and his heat and the scent of pine crashes over me, dark and all-consuming. He dips his mouth to my ear.

“Tread carefully, little rabbit.” His warm breath brushes my skin. “That is not a game you wish to play with me.”

A shiver travels down my spine as the song comes to an end. Blake steps back, and air fills my lungs once more. He inclines his head, the gesture polite, his expression as nonchalant as usual. His eyes are lethal in the flickering torchlight.

Wolves head to the tables to top up their drinks, and Blake walks through them. He leaves the Great Hall as the bagpipe player starts a new tune.

Jack stands by the exit, and watches him go with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. He seems concerned for his alpha. He follows him.

It takes a moment for my pulse to calm and my breathing to steady. I’m playing a game with the most dangerous wolf in the kingdom, and his words were laced with threat.

I don’t know whether I’m winning or losing.

But I think I just rattled him.

I smile.

Chapter Nineteen

The Great Hall is too hot. The scents of food and wine and sweat are heavy in the air, and my dance with Blake has made my skin feel tight. When I can’t find Callum, I decide to get some fresh air.

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